Longbranch Inn
1133 E 11th St
Austin, TX 78702 (512) 472-5591
- Price Range: $
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
- Music: Juke Box
- Best Nights: Mon, Tue
- Happy Hour: Yes
- Alcohol: Full Bar
- Smoking: Outdoor Area/Patio Only
- Coat Check: No
54 Reviews for Longbranch Inn
Lately I've enjoyed the place more than I used to. I like the old wooden fence better though.
Also, whoever keeps puking in the little half-room entryway to the men's restroom, please stop.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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09/19/2007
I'm cool with Longbranch. Its one of the closest bars to me, its not downtown, and everyone is… Read more »
In every city I've ever lived in I've had that one bar that was my home away from home. Not a place to be seen, or to be part of a scene. Just a bar. A place with good bartenders and a great jukebox. A comfortable place to drink beer and have great conversations. And whether I went there on a weekday or a weekend, I'd have an equally good time. Up until last night I didn't have that bar in Austin. Then I met the Longbranch.
The Longbranch isn't anything fancy, and I like that. It's not trying too hard. The bathroom is trashy and the patio isn't much to look at. Hell, the building itself isn't much to look at. This certainly is no 6th Street bar. And I like that. It's just a comfortable space with good seating, an old wooden bar, a pool table, a great jukebox, cool bartenders, cold drinks, a good mix of people and a laid back vibe. A place where you can pull up a seat at the bar, drink and talk, and have a great time.
I have officially found my bar in Austin. Longbranch, you'll be seeing a lot of me.
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i've been a fan of the longbranch since it opened in 2003 and kevin was the sole bartender. it was about 3 blocks from my house so i stopped in often. i got to know the locals - which was the majority of the patrons then. then i got to know and love noah (now of east side pies fame) and squirrely stockbauer. (sometimes you'd go in and kevin and james would be shirtless dancing on the bar and breaking things)
i spent many a night and good times here over the past 5 years. i used to play pool with noah and he'd slip me dollar bills to keep feeding into the jukebox. it used to be really empty so i'd sit in the big, luxurious leather chairs in the front and write in my journal. met ALOT of great people here. drank ALOT of jagermeister here. laughed alot, don't remember alot.
it hasn't been the same since fast was murdered.
he was a highlight of my every visit.
i do not recommend going on a weekend night - too packed with hipster younguns (yawn).
but after work on a weekday? - sit outside and gather a group. you'll meet some of the locals, some of the good ol cats.
kevin and james bought and revamped red's scoot inn - now called the scoot inn.
just a few blocks away ...
long branches in short pantses!! (i still have one of these bumper stickers!)
Longbranch, I love you. Far away from the hustle and bustle of downtown, surrounded by plenty of parking, and equipped with a jukebox that is always worth my $2.
PS. Sorry about my 26th birthday. Where did I find the mop?
If I ever wanted to meet a woman who was tall and thin and wore cooler clothes than me and had a jaded outlook on life, who probably had a cool job like painting all day and the appearance of a starving artist, but could afford to live in a really cool neighborhood and drink cheap beer all day while actually having a shit-ton of money. This is where I would meet that woman.
This place is great for people watching.
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On a Monday night, it was pretty empty but perfect for having a beer and catching up with friends. Longbranch Inn is a bar's bar. It's dark and divey. The drinks are straight forward. And the service is nice but not particularly friendly. Oh, and it totally gets and extra star for having a bust of Mr. T above the bar.
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Went here last weekend with a gang of yelpers. I really liked it.
It was very crowded, but once we were able to sit down, it was cool.
I'd like to go back and get to sit in the comfy chairs up front.
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Doesn't look like much from the outside, but I met my Love at the Longbranch Inn! Therefore, I give it 5stars!
I've only been to Longbranch twice, and both times I was part of a quartet. Both times the four of us huddled over a table and our drinks, cackling as we talked about boys, boys, and then boys. Both times topics such as numbers and age at the loss of innocence came up. And although the groups were different, both times I was the Charlotte character. That's so disappointing. I long to be Miranda.
Longbranch is great for these kinds of conversations. It's dark, so if you blush as you make a confession, no one knows. It's crowded enough that you can tell detailed stories without fear of everyone hearing you, but it's not so crowded that you can't hear each other. The drinks are strong enough to loosen your lips, and the bartenders are fast and attentive and keep 'em coming.
Much has been made of the changing crowd. There seems to be a lot of "oh-no-they' ve-taken-over-another-of-my-f avorite-bars!" anguish. OK. I don't really get that. Everyone seemed laidback and non-offensive to me. But really, I wasn't paying any attention to them. I hope nobody committed any crimes because I sure as heck couldn't help the police come up with a sketch of anyone. I was there with my friends having a good time. The atmosphere and the people around us were just the backdrop (though the guy playing pool with just one arm was kind of interesting to watch). And I'm a fan of bars that make me so comfortable that I'm oblivious to my surroundings like that. To me, that's a job well-done.
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What? Were you people still drunk when you gave this place all those stars?
Last time I was in there they were hosting a tool convention. Yuppies, posers and yuppy posers. You know it's bad when you leave for LaLa's for a better crowd.
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Got some strange looks after coming here from a western theme party.. was wearing a plastic shooter, ammo belt, and a noose round my neck. The crowd was pretty diverse.. got your mix of college students and young professionals. I talked to lots of random people about god knows what.. blame the bartender b/c the long island he made me was stout.
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I really like this place... It's pretty close to home, and it's good for slinking into a table and having a quiet drink alone, or talking to whomever you've decided is luck enough to come along. The bartenders have always been friendly, and are good at what they do. I tend to go randomly, on weeknights, so I've missed the hipsters that have been mentioned here.
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This bar is the center of the Austin hipster scene, which in Austin is dominated by failed musicians, who now have a day gigs (myself included). So the jukebox is awesome, pretty diverse and all good. The bartenders are surly and could really give a shit about you and your problems, which in a strange way is part of the allure of the place. Probably has something to do with the fact that they pour the alcohol, and they pour it very generously.
These drinks are some of the strongest in town. Like "holy shit is it really 1:30" or "How did I get on the floor" strong. Part of the problem could be they don't serve food here, but I don't see them changing that anytime soon, and they will let you bring it in.
If I want to have a drink I'll go elsewhere, but if I want to DRINK I'm coming to Longbranch.
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I'm dedicating this review to all the pinheads in town for SXSW. You pale, scrawny vegans from San Francisco can review BBQ joints while you pocket mulch all you want. Nothing is more Texan than talking propane and propane accessories.
You know that memo that says don't use a propane heater indoors?
Yeah, well, they didn't get that memo at the Longbranch.
The last time I was in here (admittedly several months ago) I sat at the bar for a couple hours shooting the shit with a friend. And then, I realized what it was that wasn't sitting right with me. Namely being indoors and staring at a lit propane heater.
Thatherton!
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What happened to my favorite bar? Crowded beyond my comfort level which wouldn't be a problem but . . . who is this crowd exactly? It's not hipsters, sorry (and you're welcome). Would you call is yipster? Or yupster?
Sadly, tis no longer a dive bar . . . :(
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After reading several reviews mentioning a crowd with a high hipster quotient, I was a little apprehensive to stop in for a drink, even though it's a short walk from where I live. Putting all of that aside, my wife and I decided to stop by around 9pm on a Saturday night, and are glad we did. I love bars like this that have history and character, and a crowd that is mixed enough so that everyone fits in with the task at hand...which is to drink and have fun. We ended up ordering wine, which was a nice surprise to find at a bar that doesn't advertise its wine list. We'll definitely be back now that we've discovered the neighborhood gem. I can picture this being a great place on a hot summer night.
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Everything you'd want in a bar. Liquor, beer, wine, a patio for the smokers, good jukebox, free parking. Feels like home (if your home is very much like a bar).
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Equally as annoying as the "Scenesters Movement" is the "Anti-Scenester Movement", which attests to how cool this bar really is, that together, they will begrudgingly unite under one wooden roof, in a smallish shelter, on a forgotten street in East Austin.
Lo, this place IS special after all.
Any old place can serve beer, host a DJ, and cheapen their prices. But considering MANY Austin places do this, or HAVE done this, Longbranch is the place that keeps everyone coming back to a no-frills shack with nary a sign of a smoking patio except for a converted dog-run o'er on the side, there.
Its the vibe, y'all. Its charming here. The bar itself, the 'tenders, the music, and the people, all rolling their eyes out of their own skulls for their very own reasons. THAT makes this place one-of-a-kind.
One of my favorite places in the city to drink.
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Everything I want in a bar: dim lighting, strong drinks, and a diverse cliental that can just as easily engage you in a conversation about french versus german existentialism or which Darrin (from Bewitched) you would rather punch in the face. This is the place I come to replenish my soul after a saturday night at beauty bar.
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Really?! People LOVE this place?! Not to judge anyone's beloved hangouts, but I just don't get it. Whenever I've walked in to this bar most of the people were like, looking around at other people to see if anyone was looking at them.
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even though they kicked out my good friend at my birthday party, it was damn good time. they allowed my outside food and cake. they never fail with their mixed drinks and i enjoy their jukebox. all in all, kudos and i love this place.
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It's small. A hole-in-the-wall, if you will. It's off the beaten path and as natalie g says, nothing special... and that's exactly why I love it. No gimmicks, no pretenses, come-as-you-are goodness.
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I don't know why we keep coming back to this place. It's nothing special. It's just a bar. There's not much more you can say about it.
I do enjoy the outdoor area for smokers, but that's nothing special either. There are large piles of trash piled up in the corner of the outside, as well.
I do like it that the people that frequent the bar seem cool, and I like hanging out on the Eastside. Those are my two pluses for the place.
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"Please Mr. Hipster" should be this bar's theme song.
You know that old Marvelettes' tune "Please Mr. Postman"? Imagine a bunch of androgynous, poorly dressed (lots of dirty tunics and skinny jeans) young 20-somethings doing the robot to it. Then doing a sort of scuba-robot combo to some Christina Aguilera. Then doing a scuba-twist combo to some Chingy.
That's what the dance floor's like at the Longbranch. I liked the music the DJ spun, I just had to wonder if the dancers had a clue.
Drinks were inexpensive, the bar was really cool looking, bartender was fairly attentive, and the patio area looked like it'd be good on a less wet night. Not quite enough seating inside for the Tuesday crowd, and I bet it'd get pretty bad on a Friday night, but the lighting was good and the tables along one wall seemed good for groups.
I'll try it again, for sure.
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One of the bartenders looks like David Bowie. Or maybe David Bowie looks like this guy. Or did I just blow your fucking mind?
To start off, I went there with a friend a couple of years ago and he asked the bartender a couple of questions (such as, "hey does that guy work here?"). Maybe the bartender was a dick, or he had a bad day, or he's a tortured soul who needs a hug to open up. Whatever it was, he wasn't chatty, but that was about the worst of my experiences there.
One night I left my credit card there, and the next night I stopped by to pick it up. Unfortunately, it was during SXSW and there was a long line to get in. However, I saw the bartender as he was walking around and I asked him if I could get my card. He went in, ran the card for the bill, and gave it back to me. He didn't charge tip either, so I tipped extra the next few times just to make up for it.
I've noticed that the clientele used to be the epitome of racial harmony when I first went there in 2005. However, it's changed (I doubt it's LBI's fault), but it seems like it's predominantly young hipsters. Speaking of, I also miss Fastblack Carl Miller - this charming happy-go-lucky old guy that used to hang out there and occasionally dance with the young ladies. He died a very unfortunate death :(
http://community.livej...
During the Marked Men show at SXSW 2006, my friend Bobby had an empty plastic cup of what used to be whiskey and coke in his hand. I was rocking out, he was rocking out, and the next thing I see is a beer bottle in his hand. Apparently, a beer bottle flew from somewhere, possibly outer space, knocked the plastic cup out of his hand, and he caught the beer bottle. I shit you not, and there were two witnesses.
Moral of the story: weird, strange, and magical things have happened at the Longbranch Inn.
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The hipsters do run rampant, but there's a pretty good mix of people here, too. And to their credit, at least the hipsters are mellow. They definitely beat the drunk sorority girls of downtown - screaming and grinding on each other like hookers desperate for customers.
It's a chill eastside bar. Nothing special about it. Seating is scarce. People-watching is plentiful.
Its not too hard to get a beer. The bartenders are quick and attentive. However, every time I've been there the bouncer has been an asshole - a fact of which I informed him.
$10 minimum on credit/debit cards.
Good, not great. There are better places in Austin.
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I adore this place.
It is the only real neighboorhood bar in Austin, a place for everyone to take a load off and down a cocktail. The staff is awesome. The drinks are made well always. The Margorilla may be the death of me but I will die happy. The bar itself is gorgeous. It is a good mix of people and of events.
I have been going there since before they had a hard licqour license. It is the opitome of what I think a bar should be. But maybe all things aside I am just in love with the jukebox.
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I loved this bar the one time I went to it. Very cool! Very diverse crowd which is why I miss my Austin!!!
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Not necessarily the friendliest bartenders in town, but luckily they seem to be equally rude to whoever is standing there. :)
Maybe my pink Barbara Mandrell t-shirt wasn't tough enough? Next time I am going back with a tattoo on my neck in hopes of getting better service.
Great bar clientele, stiff drinks and usually plenty of good looking ladies to flirt with.
I have met lots of friendly Austinities at this bar so be sure to smile and say hi to your fellow bar mates, who never know who you may run into?
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So the problem I always run into when going out with my guys friends is that they just want cold cheap beer, and I want a good glass of wine. It doesn't have to be the most expensive wine, but my taste is a little more sophisticated than Yellow Tail (not that there is anything wrong with that).
Luckily, we have Longbranch. It's perfect! Very cool, excellent bartenders, just enough of a dive that we are all happy, and they have a small selection of some good wines, plus a great jukebox.
I can't give this place 5 stars, because when they have a band playing, its is so loud I can't even hear myself think! I prefer the nights when it is a little bit slower, quieter and we can all hang out and talk.
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Longbranch Inn lives on the eastside, which as of late, is a pretty damn cool place to be. As is characteristic of bars, Longbranch's reputation precedes it. However, unlike most reviewers, I do not get the pretentious hipster vibe from this chilly (there's a draft), narrow, one-room watering hole. Rather, I sense it's the regulars that can be a potential threat to newcomers. Quietly leaning on the bar, chatting it up with the bartenders, glancing at the door as each warm body steps in.
But notice I said "potential threat". I don't think I've received anything more than a quick once-over at Longbranch. A subtle look of half-curiosity, half-indifference. Maybe I've walked in on the wrong nights. Maybe I forgot to brush my hair again. Maybe someone really cool walked in ten seconds before me and thus diverted attention away from the door. Point being, I think Longbranch is much more laid back than we all might think. Sometimes the best way to judge a dive bar is by its billiard table's relative hostility toward newcomers. No trouble racking up here.
Longbranch is easy to miss in a dull, nondescript building on East 11th. Plenty of street parking, generally no cover (unless I'm misinformed), good selection or beer/wine/liquor.
Branch Out.
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Another good time thanks of Longbranch inn! A cold and rainy night, a hand full of good friends, some old school music on the rockin jukebox, cheap drinks ands easy parking.
Just make sure you don't breath through your nose when you hit the guys bathroom. It easily offends sensitive nasal passages.
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I've only been here once, last week, but I plan on going again and again. As a newbie to Austin, I'm loving this place, I felt right at home. The drinks were cheap, the juke is awesome, and the bar itself is gorgeous. All the people I met were nice, and the bartenders were fast and friendly. Plus its the only bar I've found so far in Austin that serves Vanil Stoli, my drink of choice.
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While I didn't get to sample the famed jukebox, I did get to lift a few with friends and family.
This place is fast becoming my new favorite. Why?
1. The bartenders were on top of it. My drink was empty and there they were with another drink.
2. Not so loud that you can't hear yourself think.
3. Mixed crowd. There was a great mixture of young and old, mingling and just straight drinking.
4. Decor. It doesn't belong together and somehow it all works.
The best part is that I got to bring my (almost) sixty year old kick ass uncle to Longbranch and even he loved it! Hey, Uncle Pat!
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This is the bar I miss the most from Austin. There's always going to be some illogical reason behind someone's favorite bar that's directly tied to the good times you had there. But I will attempt at some logic...
Good location, downtownish without the crap. The bar has a nice aged and relaxed atmosphere. I like the bartenders, perhaps a bit surly but they're not assholes. Good prices and a great selection of alcohol. Awesome jukebox.
But don't listen to live music here...bad acoustics.
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Is there a preceding review that doesn't mention the hipster cadre? No, and there is a reason--they are, save for the wooden bar, the dominant feature. I have a high tolerance for this, apparently: Longbranch was immediately comfortable, sort of a Lovejoy's with parking. It filled up as the night went on, but never became too loud or crowded. Smoking was confined to the patio.
Many have noted that drinks were pricey for the dive environment. This is a valid point, but our drinks were ample and stout. This saves you money and trips to the bar if you are going to be there a while. The jukebox is great; your friends are here. Why wouldn't you stay?
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One of my favorite bars in Austin, and I never get there enough. It's a bar, just a bar, nothing more. That's why ya gotta love it. The juke is one of the best in the city, the people are real, its always comfortable, and there is always a cliche hanging around somewhere. Really.
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The Longbranch Inn is indeed a peculiar little animal: tucked along a main tributary in East Austin, it features what was the original actual bar from the Driskill (a large, ornate wooden carved classic setup), one of the more interesting jukeboxes in town (a real achievement in Austin), and a fair collection of hipsters and locals. That said, I've always enjoyed the place: whatever their pretensions, the service has always been steady, though it may be different on band nights, I've never found the place to be particularly distracting, even when heavy with crowd. Like most other hipster-friendly locales, The Longbranch added a half-ass patio when the smoking ordinance went through, and in this case it was the right thing to do, in my opinion. The patio adds a little extra room on those rare nights when there are too many folks crowded into the shotgun.
Stop by on a weeknight for a gauge of the true vibe.
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In the ghetto patois I curiously am amused by...eh, it's AIGHT.
I went here a handful of times to meet friends. Open bar tab makes everything a little sunnier, sure. But the space is cozy and the weird little stage at the end of the joint add character. Weekends the place fills up like a hipster halfway house so you have been warned. Also I suggest parking your piece (um, car) under a streetlight or something as I have seen some dodgy types lurking around there the nights I have stopped in for a drink.
In my alcohol induced torpor I do remember the single bathroom for women and that is a little inconvenient. I also remember how impossible it was to flag the bartender to get a drink. Short of exposing my lady bits, really, what to do to get that drink order filled huh?
Towards the end of the night I was so frustrated that I made the party come to me as I literally camped out at the bar to counter this phenomenon.
Go on an off night (i.e. earlier any weekday evening) and you might get a curious once over from the regulars. Not hostile, however. I went with my husband and there were 5 people drinking, not speaking to each other (neighborhood regulars I am sure) and the bartender had on a tv program about beauty contestants. The volume was turned up to 11, in Spinal Tap phrasing. It was too obnoxious to handle so we took our drinks outside. There is a small patio.
There was a cold snap so we decided to turn on one of the electric heaters in the back (there were several). The bartender came outside and demanded that we turn it off as 'he was low on fuel'. Not only is this not my @#$ problem as a patron, but it is simply rude. And we might have conceded had he asked nicely. I was stunned speechless and immediately asked him to close the tab (not before secretly lighting three more of the heaters full blast before I left- OPAAA!)
No tip for that. I am guessing he was the owner. Business must be good for him to be so vile.
Old boy had the grace and demeanor of a Viking.
The bar itself is beautiful at the Longbranch. This is an old hand-made piece of woodwork that you just don't see anymore. It's apparent that the guys who put this place together cared to preserve what was historical about the place. It looks great in there. With that said, there's definitely a "proprietary" feeling in the air. You definitely get that this is someone's house, and you are visiting. The hipsters are a marvel to look at, and they hold court here. I was a little bummed to see that they added a TV. I love when bars leave that out of the picture. I can watch the tube at home.
The saga of the pricey Austin dive bar marches strongly on here. They know they are dressed cool, and have read more James Joyce than you. They know you should pay to drink in their home. I still dig the place, and I kind of like that for some folks their watering hole is the place "where everybody knows their name, and they're not always glad you came."
If it's not too crowded, it's a good place to get lost in your own little world of conversation and alcohol at a table.
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