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Whether you're in dire need of some deliciously priced food or your favorite cocktails with a twist, Austin restaurants are here to make the best of happy hour.
Here are 9 happy hours around town worth trying.
Licha's Cantina, 1306 E. 6th St.
If you find yourself at Licha's Cantina from Tuesdays to Fridays, we completely understand. The killer happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. is filled with great deals on cocktails, beers and delicious Mexico City-inspired soul food. For drinks, Licha's Cantina offers $6 cocktails such as margaritas, palomas and vampiros as well as deals on Corona and buckets of beer. For a snack, you can enjoy $6 sopecitos, huaraches and quesadillas and $5 exquisite and camote.
Black Sheep Lodge, 2108 S. Lamar Blvd
If you're looking for a reason to enjoy happy hour deals everyday of the week, Black Sheep Lodge has you covered. With different drink specials every day, the bar and grill offers over 120 different beers and cocktails. From Monday to Sunday, you can enjoy $3 Texas pints and liquors, $2 off tequila shots and drinks, $1 12-ounce cans of white trash cans (Lone Star, PBR Tallboys Schlitz, Pearl and more) and so much more. You can check out the full list of specials here.
Parkside, 301 E. 6th St.
A downtown favorite, Parkside has a weekday happy hour from 5 to 6 p.m. that will knock you out of the park. On Mondays, specialty martinis are half off, and from Tuesday to Saturday, you can get half off beer, cocktails and food including fries and oysters from the bar menu. Plus, you can get half off oyster platters and sparkling wine every Wednesday night.
Olive & June, 3411 Glenview Ave.
As part of Chef Shawn Cirkiel's Parkside Projects Restaurant and Hospitality Group, Olive & June is another great choice for getting a great deal during happy hour. From 5 to 6 p.m., you can get half off beer and cocktails plus snack on delicious antipasti options.
Café No Sé, 1603 S. Congress Ave
Rosé lovers will be happy to know there is a place in town where you can get 25% off all bottles and great reverse happy hour specials. Café No Sé offers a reverse happy hour everyday from 6 to 8 p.m. with $2 off beer, wine and menu cocktails, plus a speciality treat of 25% off bottles of rose everyday. That's seven days a week to enjoy great deals on wine and get the most out of happy hour time.
Uchiko, 4200 N. Lamar Blvd.
Uchiko, the upscale sushi restaurant connected with the beloved Uchi, has a sake social everyday from 4 to 6 p.m. that might be one of the best deals in town. Award-winning chef Tyson Cole's blended knowledge on Japanese food and creativity in dishes is worth a visit any day of the week, but sake social is a happy hour not worth missing. You can find the menu for the sake social at Uchiko here.
P6, 111 E. Cesar Chavez St.
At the LINE austin, you will find a rooftop lounge with great happy hour specials, tasty cocktails and a great view. P6, located at the way top of the hotel, has a list of specialty curated Mediterranean small plates such as artisanal cheeses, whipped feta roasted tomato dip and more as well as seasonal cocktails that will make your visit worth it. Happy hour is Monday through Thursday from 4 to 5 p.m. You can find the menu for happy hour at P6 here.
Clark's Oyster Bar, 1200 W. 6th St.
Clark's Oyster Bar has a happy hour that will cheer up any Austinite, and on any day. From 3 to 5 p.m., any day of the week, you can find yourself ordering an unhealthy amount of oysters as they are 50 cents off. On weekdays, the happy hour includes half off burgers, $5 martinis, oyster shooters and draft beer. On weekends, Clark's has half off bottles of wine and $5 oyster shooters.
The Peached Tortilla, 5520 Burnet Road #100
From 5 to 7 p.m daily, The Peached Tortilla offers a happy hour with delicious bites and great cocktails. The happy hour includes $5 beers, $6 wine and cocktails, $4 tacos, $5 snacks such as shishito peppers and crispy fries and a $9 burger with peached sauce, american cheese, miso caramelized onions, japanese pickles and lettuce. You can find the menu for happy hour at Peached Tortilla here.
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If the idea of the metaverse makes you feel more scared than excited, you’re not alone.
In a recent poll on the metaverse, a third of respondents leaned toward feeling more scared about it. It’s a response fitting for a tool that’s in its infancy stages, where it’s not uncommon for some to find it elusive or irrelevant, or require a virtual reality headset.
Amber Allen, founder of metaverse company Double A, has noticed these concerns. Now with the Austin-based company, she’s working on advancements in the metaverse, which may see progress in business use before it becomes mainstream in the general public. But getting to that point involves demystifying misconceptions over it, like that we’ll all put a headset on and avoid real life.
“A lot of people are talking about the metaverse and like what it could be in 10 or 30 years. And they're not talking a lot about what it is right now. And I think that's what scares people and confuses them,” Allen told Austonia. “I'm just very passionate about what is the metaverse now. It's the next wave of the internet. No, you don't need to wear a VR headset.”
(Amber Allen/Twitter)
She broke this down last week in Forbes, writing about what is hype versus what’s actually happening with this phase of the internet.
Allen sees how eventually, the metaverse could become a part of how we play and interact. But before the Metaverse extends to the average consumer, many predict that it will be popular in business first.
It’s why some think Microsoft may have an edge over Facebook turned Meta in the industry. And why Allen has designed for work that’s 3D, interactive and business to business, garnering interest from companies like General Mills, Dell and Chanel.
She points to how many workers now prefer a hybrid work environment, but says the business tools are not there right now. It’s not just within the workplace, however. Double A also offers tools for boosting sales and generating brand engagement through activities like watch parties and meet and greets.
With companies like Allen’s, corporate metaverse use could see wider adoption. Double A has hired 13 people this year, adding to the ranks of nearly 30 employees plus dozens of contractors. Some are remote workers outside of Texas while others use the office in East Austin with graffiti art that includes popular gaming figures like Zelda and the Mario Brothers.
Allen takes great pride in working in her home state, saying that she’d like to be a great ambassador for Austin. She said she wants people new to the city to feel welcome. She has meet ups from time to time so that new people who have moved in can get face time with others who have been in Austin for a while.
Still, her work is bound to extend outside of Austin as she aims to create products that will have global reach.
“I want to change the world,” Allen said. “You got to think localized. If I'm creating something, how does this work for Europe? How would this work for Asia? How can they build on things?”
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(Austonia)
The record-breaking heat seen last week is officially coming to a halt as some much-needed rain is expected in Austin from Monday through Wednesday.
The National Weather Service has issued a Hazardous Weather Outlook for Central Texas as thunderstorms headed this way could be strong to severe.
Thunderstorms are forecast to begin in the west around 6 p.m. Monday, bringing about a half-inch of rain through the night. Then Tuesday, thunderstorms will likely begin after 1 p.m. lasting through the night. Temperatures on Monday and Tuesday will be in the mid-80s before dropping to the mid-70s on Wednesday. Wednesday will also bring rain and thunderstorms in the morning before clearing out.
Rainfall chances will increase today beginning in the west before spreading east. Rain chances remain elevated through tonight and then again tomorrow and tomorrow night. Strong to severe storms and locally heavy rain will be possible from the stronger activity. pic.twitter.com/f8OpN50dkX
— NWS Austin/San Antonio (@NWSSanAntonio) May 23, 2022
The rain comes after a dry spring that has pushed drought conditions from moderate to severe, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Lake Travis has dropped to its lowest level in almost 4 years as a result.