Bar: Billy’s On Burnet

Address: 2105 Hancock Drive, Austin, TX 78756

Score: 9.0/10

This is one of the last few bars I had saved from my trip to Austin, TX. I’d like to think I saved one of the best for last. Billy’s on Burnet was one of my first stops in Austin. It was right around lunch time and I asked a local where to go for good bar food and Billy’s was suggested. Billy’s is in a prime location in Austin, a few miles from downtown Austin, TX. A place you can visit and escape the college feel of most of the city. 

When I saw the outside of Billy’s I knew the place was going to be great. The first thing I saw was the massive outdoor patio. Believe it or not, when I went it was a tad cold outside or else I would have camped out on the patio. A perfect setup for the hot summer days in Texas. 

Walking into the bar, my eyes lit up as I knew I found a good one. The best type of dive is one that is clean, yet still has the cherished dive feel. While this may seem like an easy task, more than often it is not. Places are filthy and unappealing to be around, this was not the case for Billy’s. Billy’s was incredibly clean and I was excited to eat some food and drink some cold ones with my meal. When you order food, you go to the main counter, you then see all the sweet decor that they have. They had keg taps hanging from the ceiling, a very neat design that we have not come across thus far. 

Another thing I appreciated about this bar was the variety of beers that they had. While I get a Miller Lite every time, it is good to see local options if you are into craft or IPAs. Also, on the day that I went they had a killer special for beer. Think I paid $2.50 for a pint of Miller. The cheapest and coldest beer we came across in Austin. Beyond the beer selection, the place had great decor throughout the walls. Vintage Budweiser, Lone Star, and Pabst signage filled the place. Moving to the back section of Billy’s you have a great selection of games to choose from. You can play pool, darts, Golden Tee, or Big Buck Hunter. A sweet selection that had even more seating in every area. Tons of seating to go around and would be a nice place to watch a game. 

After I checked the bar out, I sat down to order some wings. While I love visiting new bars, I am just as equally a wing aficionado. When I tell you these wings were some of the best I have had in my life, I am dead serious. Easily the top five wings I have eaten. The sauce was good, the skin was crisp and the blue cheese was out of this world. My only regret was not getting more during my visit or coming back for more. 

Later in my visit I found out that this was a Packers bar. While I hate the Packers, this was a damn good bar overall. The people were super friendly and the food was great. You can see why this has been a neighborhood bar since ‘04. While I do not discuss this often, they also had some cool merchandise, so cool that this is the only bar I have ever bought a shirt from. It is so easy to stay on 6th st when you visit Austin, do yourself a favor and explore outside of this area, you won’t regret it. 

Decor: Good decor, more neon lights would have been nice, but they had a ton of tin signage.

Price: Cheap and cold beer. Bar food was cheap as well. 

Service: A+ service, talked to the bartender/owner for most of my visit. 

Atmosphere: I would have loved to see this place when it was a little warmer on a Friday afternoon. I’d imagine the patio would be filled and they would have live music going. 

Cleanliness: As stated, a very clean bar. One of the cleanest I have come across.

Bonus Points: No bonus points.