Austin/North Loop

North Loop is in Austin, several miles north of downtown, but not as far north as what is now called "North Austin". This article also covers the "Brentwood" and "Crestview" neighborhoods, as well as the area around ACC Highland (formerly Highland mall).

Get in

• 🌍 Crestview station, 6920 North Lamar Boulevard. Capital MetroRail commuter rail station and Capital MetroRapid premium bus station  

See

• 🌍 Wall of Welcome, 7100 Woodrow Avenue,Crestview. 120-foot-long community public art mosaic (updated Sep 2018)

Do

Buy

• 🌍 Blue Velvet, 217 W. North Loop, ☎ [phone]. Vintage clothing 
• Monkeywrench Books, 110 E. North Loop Blvd. Anarchist bookstore. 
• Room Service Vintage, 107 E. North Loop Blvd. 11AM-7PM daily. 
• 🌍 Game Over Videogames, 911 West Anderson Lane #106, ☎ [phone]. Classic & used videogames from Atari to Xbox360. 
• 🌍 BookWoman, 5501 N. Lamar, ☎ [phone]. Independent feminist bookstore also specializing in LGBTQ texts. 
• 🌍 Asahi Imports, 6105 Burnet Rd, ☎ [phone]. Japanese grocery store. 

Eat

• Dan's Hamburgers, 5602 N Lamar Blvd. (near Lamar and Koenig), ☎ [phone]. Big, greasy burgers and tasty milkshakes. There is also Fran's Hamburgers; the story is that Dan & Fran divorced and each took part of the franchise. 
• Jesus Maria Mexican Restaurant, 1304 W Koenig Ln., ☎ [phone]. Monday-Saturday 6:30AM-10PM, Sunday 6:30AM-5PM. Jalisco-style Mexican food. 
• Torchy's Tacos, 5119 Burnet Rd, ☎ [phone]. Monday-Thursday 7AM-10PM, Friday 7AM-11PM, Saturday 8AM-11PM, Sunday 8AM-10PM. 
• Amy's Ice Creams, 5624 Burnet Rd, ☎ [phone]. Sunday-Thursday 11AM-10:30PM, Friday-Saturday 11AM-11:30PM. 
• Epoch Coffee, 221 West North Loop Boulevard, Austin, TX 78751-1919, ☎ [phone]. open 24 hours. Open 24 hours a day, but this spacious coffee shop would be worth visiting regardless. Good coffee, board games, free wifi. 
• 🌍 Threadgill's, 6416 North Lamar Blvd, ☎ + 512-451-5440, e-mail: [e-mail]. The menu focuses on southern comfort food. The chicken fried steaks, salads, and peach cobbler are all especially good. A famous concert venue, starting the likes of Janis Joplin. Weekly gospel brunch on Sunday, for which you might want to call for reservations. 
• 🌍 Mandola's Italian Kitchen, 4700 W Guadalupe St #12 (The Triangle), ☎ [phone]. Referred to by some as the best Italian food in Austin. Everything on the menu is affordable and delicious. Try the bruschetta alla checca, the trenette al pesto, or any pizza. They also have fabulous coffee, dessert, and gelato selections. From 3-6PM on weekdays they have a great happy hour. 
• 🌍 Santa Rita Cantina, 1206 W 38th St., ☎ [phone]. Fantastic and reasonably priced Tex-Mex. Their enchiladas are amazing, and their Mexican martinis are the best in town. Great happy hour specials, too. 

Drink

• Barfly's, 5420 Airport Blvd., ☎ [phone]. Monday-Friday 5PM-2AM, Saturday-Sunday 7PM-2AM. A small, dark dive bar populated by an older, blue-collar crowd on weeknights (especially Thursday night pool tournaments) and a decidedly more hip, collegiate crowd Friday through Sunday. Drinks are cheap and stiff, costing anywhere from $1.50 for bottled Lonestar (the "national beer of Texas" according to the label) to $7 for a generously poured double-shot. No food is available, and there is nothing on draft, however the bar does boast two pool tables, an impressively eclectic jukebox (Willie Nelson, The Misfits, Van Halen, and Refused all make appearances), a few arcade games, and a large outdoor smoking patio (smoking in Austin bars is banned by a city-wide ordinance) with tables and benches. Barfly's does become rather crowded on weekends by 10, and seating is virtually unheard of by 10:30. Get there early or be prepared to stand. 
• Workhorse Bar, 100 N Loop Blvd. Park yourself on a stool and get ready to feel like a local who's having his third beer at 3 PM on a Tuesday. (updated Apr 2016)

There are also a number of small brewpubs serving their own house-brewed beers to the local cognoscenti.

• 🌍 Pinthouse Pizza, 4729 Burnet Rd, ☎ [phone]. Grab some award-winning beers and great pizza at this local favorite. (updated Dec 2018)
• 🌍 Draught House, 4112 Medical Parkway, ☎ +1 512 452-MALT (6258). Amazingly quick turnover of their fast-rotating seasonals. Drink it today because it won't be on tomorrow. A neighborhood pub that features 78 taps with an ever-changing selection of unique self-brews in a classic English pub environment that doesn't come off feeling cheesy. Locals bring folding chairs and dogs and tailgate in the parking lot. Check the website for great specials. Often crowded. Homebrews are $2.25 on Thursdays before 11PM. 
• 🌍 Uncle Billy's, 1530 Barton Springs Rd, ☎ [phone]. Tendency towards lighter beers, but their Haystack Hefeweizen is predictably good and some of their hoppy seasonals have been excellent. 
• 🌍 Black Star Co-op, 7020 Easy Wind Drive, Suite 100, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. The world's first member-owned brewpub. A cooperative with house brews from brewmaster Jeff Young. 

Coffee

• 🌍 Houndstooth Coffee, 4200 N Lamar, ☎ [phone]. Varies by day. 
• 🌍 Epoch Coffee, 221 W North Loop Blvd, ☎ [phone], e-mail: [e-mail]. Always open. 
• 🌍 Genuine Joe, 2001 W Anderson Ln, ☎ [phone]. M-F 7AM-11PM, Sa Su 8AM-11PM. 
• 🌍 Teo, 1206 W 38th St, ☎ [phone]. M-Th 7AM-10PM, F 7AM-midnight, Sa 8AM-midnight, Su 9AM-10PM. 
• 🌍 Anderson's Coffee Company, 1601 W 38th St, ☎ [phone]. 
• 🌍 Pacha, 4618 Burnet Rd, ☎ [phone]. M-F 7AM-7PM, Sa Su 8AM-7PM. 

Sleep

• 🌍 Country Inn & Suites Austin-North (Radisson), 7400 IH35 North, Austin North, ☎ [phone], fax: [phone]. Charming country style décor. 

Budget

• 🌍 Motel 6 Austin Central-South/University of TX, 5330 North Interregional Highway, ☎ [phone]. 

Mid-range

• 🌍 Hyatt Place North Central, 7522 North IH-35, ☎ [phone]. 

Splurge

Connect