Drinks? Cocktails? An excuse to try new places? Yes, please.

Yelp Austin held a drink week (lasting Sun-Thurs) where about 20 or so places around town, but mostly downtown had three of their beverages half price. Which can be pretty significant when you’re having a $10 or $12 cocktail. When I first heard about it, I saw it as an perfect reason to try some of these places that maybe we would have never set foot in before and give them a bit of a trial run.

Josh and I went out for 4 of the 5 available nights and wound up trying 7 new places. AND we went back to two of the places we really liked. Of course I took photos at many of the places. So below… here’s the best, worst and middle-of-the road from drink week:

The Absolute Best, Most Amazing Places:

La Condesa
Number one for me is definitely La Condesa. We tried all three drinks they had on special there, but the two best were the Enlightened Austin Martini (a delicious watermelon drink) and the El Cubico (tobacco-infused mixer, amazing volcanic saffron salt rim). They also make their own mixers, so for the El Cubico they soak dried tobacco leaves in whatever liquid for 4 hours. Makes the drinks very unique and complex. We didn’t try their food there, but will definitely be back to eat.

Also.. the atmosphere here is AMAZING! The building is LEED Certified, and the interior is so stylish. I just want to take a pillow, a blanket and just live in the restaurant. Also, they have an outer balcony in their bar area with about four tables outside. However, the balcony is raised up from the street so it makes it really nice feeling. Once the condo building is finished across the street, it’s going to be even better to be out on that balcony and outside enjoying the lovely Austin weather.

We went to La Condesa two nights because we liked it so much, and both nights our waitresses were fantastic. The first night was much slower when we were there and our waitress answered all the questions we had about the drinks, the building, the food. She was super-friendly and so nice. The second night it was busier and our waitress was perfectly attentive but she definitely had more tables to take care of.

Imperia
The second most amazing place was Imperia. I had never heard of this place before, so I was curious to try it out. Josh and I went one night with our friend Simi and we tried all three drinks. The Jade Martini, the Imperia Pearl and the Kung Fu Cosmopolitan. The Jade Martini was probably the best of the bunch. Really good, clean taste. The Kung Fu Cosmo was what I had and it was great. Really great flavor and a nice orange twist. The Imperia Pearl I would only suggest if you like unfiltered sake and vodka. Was nice for a sip, but I don’t think I could drink a whole one.

This was a place we went back to another night, with our friend Kathy. We all got the Jade Martini that night and it was delicious. We also wound up ordering spicy edamame that was the best edamame I’ve ever had. It was roasted and then had a lovely chili spice added. If I were to imagine barbecue edamame, this would be it.

The Bad

Cedar Door
We decided to go to Cedar Door because they were downtown and seemed to have okay drinks. So we went. And tried. And were disappointed. I don’t think this place is so bad really. I would totally go here if it were a nice night, I wanted to be downtown and sit on their large deck with some friends, drinking beer and maybe having a burger. But I wouldn’t get one of their cosmo/margarita-like drinks again. I’d definitely go to a La Condesa/East Side Showroom for better drinks and atmosphere. No photos from Cedar Door, because honestly? I didn’t care enough.

On the minus side, not great drinks for what they had on special for drink week, really bad, harsh lighting indoors.

On the plus side, great outdoor deck area to relax and look up at the lights of downtown, really nice bartender.

The Middle-of-The-Road

Roaring Fork
Roaring Fork was actually the first place we visited for drink week. All the drinks we tried here were delicious, but my favorite was the Blackberry Madras. It was super-tasty and the blackberry on the side was a lovely garnish. The Huckleberry Rita was also great and the Category 6 Lemonade was nice. The atmosphere was nice by the bar, pretty dark but comfortable.

Paggi House
I heard good things about Paggi House, so I was excited to try their drinks. I had the Elderflower Royale, which was nice but super-champagne tasting. The Raspberry Lemonade was good (and tasted like cotton candy). But the real winner for me was the Blood Orange Margarita. That was my favorite. The atmosphere at Paggi House was great. We sat on the deck outside, and it was really pretty and surrounded by trees. It was a little cold though, but I can imagine how lovely it would be on a little warmer of a night (or with a warmer sweater on!) Sadly, I didn’t wind up taking any photos at Paggi House because it was just too dark. I’m definitely going to have to go back for happy hour though, when all their cocktails are half-price. (And to try the food!)

Belmont
The Belmont was nice, it’s got a great atmosphere. I love the decor in there for something that makes you feel fancy. I want to dress up and go hang out there. Our waiter was really nice there, great service. However, the drinks were only so-so. Josh had a mojito which was just your average or less-than-average. I’ve had much better ones (pear mojito at the Brown Bar, anyone?) I had the French 77 which was a lemony-champagne-y drink. It wasn’t bad, but wasn’t as good as some of the other drinks I had that week. We wound up not even trying the Belmontini. I’d definitely go back there, but more so to have drinks with friends and hang out and walk around, not just with Josh. With Josh I’d go somewhere like La Condesa or Imperia.

Chupacabra
We went to Chupacabra which is on 6th street. For a 6th street place, this was really nice. I mean, it’s definitely mostly bar and they mostly serve margaritas and beer, but they were good. Josh had a Sweet Tea Margarita (or 2 or 3) and I had their regular margarita. For a decent place to sit down on 6th and have drinks and some chips and salsa, not too shabby.