Best Activities and Restaurants for an Austin Bachelorette Party

My texts and emails have slowly changed from “what is your favorite restaurant in NYC or Austin” to “where should we go for dinner and out during a bachelorette party in Austin?” Well, here are a few options for all genres of the big weekend from affordable and casual local spots and some spicy fancy pants restaurants. In addition, I have a 15 page guidebook with 3 day weekend itineraries detailing activities, eats/drinks, and boats for bachelor and bachelorette parties which you can find here. Feel free to email me to get a copy of the PDF as well chekmarkeats at gmail.com which also includes more breweries and trips outside of Austin.

BRUNCH/LUNCH:

Quick:

Chances are you want to know a good place to get breakfast tacos and queso. Since most are located in trailers and food tucks, you can get in and out quickly. Or bring them with you on a hike or day on the water. Try Vera Cruz All Natural, Granny’s Tacos, El Primo, Taco Deli, Fresa’s, or Valentina’s Tex-Mex if you want a BBQ/ brekkie combo and a little drive south. They are all most likely under $5. If you want to go sit somewhere with margaritas and more service, head to my favorite breakfast taco of all time at Taco Flats in Clarksville.

Sit-Down:

Head to the rooftop at El Alma, one of my favorite Mexican restaurants, on Barton Springs Rd. Don’t miss the mango margarita or ceviche with those thick and fried, handmade tortilla chips (go ahead and ask for extra when you originally order).

Central Standard is located at the swanky and fresh South Congress Hotel on South Congress Avenue. Start with the a fresh baked donut or cinnamon roll and share the Hot Crab dip to line your stomach before the Michelada’s and Margs come! If you plan to stay here, they have a nice tucked away pool as well.

For a Sunday farewell, now it’s time to grab some authentic Texas BBQ and endure the meat sweats. Go for LeRoy & Lewis located at Cosmic Coffee where y’all can hang at picnic tables, order separately, and even get some morning coffee and kombucha.

Launderette is an East Side option that has nice outdoor seating and is in an old laundromat space. Pastry Chef Laura Sawicki has been nominated for a James Beard Award many times! It’s low key ambiance with high end flavors. Order the Zucchini Bread for the table, Roasted Chicken Salad, Rainbow Bowl, Fried Chicken Sammie, or Plancha Burger.

OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES:

It might be a little hard to walk the trail at Lady Bird Lake with a handful of bachelorette goers, but no fear, you can still partake in some lovely festivities in the sunshine.

Umlauf Sculpture Gardens – A fun little outdoor getaway if you want to see something different that won’t take up too much time.

Walk South Congress Avenue and pick up some cheap trinkets, fancy vintage clothes at Feather’s, hats at Maufrais, local loose fitting and high-waisted clothes at Esby, boots at Allen’s, some costumes at Lucy in Disguise, designer wear at By George, a coffee at Jo’s or a nutella pretzel milkshake at Hopdoddy.

Walk Music Lane which is the newest build to the northern part of South Congress. None of these VC/ out of town stores have been present in Austin until 2020 and everything South of these stores is all locally owned. You can pick up a last minute outfit at Reformation, grab a salad at Sweetgreen, or a drink at Mediterranean spot Aba which I recommend mostly for booze! Soho House is also right above it if you are a member.

Barton Springs – Lay out on the grassy hill and enjoy the cold springs that stay the same 70 degree temperature year round. A dip in here is a great way to shock your immune system after a late night out. You’ll find all the older locals swimming early in the morning and chatting on the north side of the pool later in the day. All kinds of people hang throughout the day whether it’s the yogis, hula hoopers, hippies, or friends just catching up to get away from the heat. No food or alcohol allowed or you’ll be thrown out.

Rent a Boat on Lake Austin- You can rent pontoon boats that come with drivers. lil pad floats to all lounge on, coolers, ice, and hang out on the water in a nice/ hoppin’ party cove while earning yourself a tan. Use Float On. Grab a Texas Tea at Cain & Abels on the Lake before you head out!

Deep Eddy Pool– It’s like a country club pool, but natural! Same story here it’s always around 68- 70 degrees year round, and it’s located right off Town Lake by the Mopac bridge. Grab a burger and a tiki drink after at Pool Burger right in the same parking lot.

Swim and Hike at Sculpture Falls– If you haven’t been to Austin before I’m sure you’ve heard that you can “hike” the Greenbelt. The thing is you can actually just walk the Greenbelt as there is no elevation or mountain views like you might be hoping. However, it’s hot in Texas and there are plenty of fun water sources in the green environment and dirt paths that get your booty moving and blood pumping. Head to the Hill of Life and park on Camp Craft Road. You’ll walk down some rocky area so wear closed toed shoes. Bring a towel, a few Ranch Rider bevies which are made here in Austin, and enjoy sitting in the Sculpture Falls area with the waterfall flowing.

Stand Up Paddle Board – Get some activity in on Town Lake where you can rent your own board and have a ball on the water at your own speed. Rent for $15 per hour or $35 all day.

DINNER:

Quick/Easy

DELIVERY: Too busy getting dressed and downing bottles of rosé in a can at home? You can use Uber Eats or Favor for any kind of food or delivery. Thai Fresh gets you gluten free Thai options and Koriente is easy and healthy individual rice bowls. For large pizza’s, my favorite for delivery is East Side Pies and Home Slice Pizza which is off South Congress and now a location is in North Loop. You can also pre-order from Franklin Barbecue, la BBQ, or Terry Black’s and have your own little BBQ party at home with the best of the best. Everything I recommend to order is in my book, too!

FOOD TRUCKS @ BARS: If you don’t want to get yourself into a bill battle with 12 girls at the end of a dinner, just head to a few of the following bars that have legit menus instead of “bar food” so you won’t regret missing a good meal in Austin. On the East Side, The Liberty has East Side King Japanese street food truck and High Noon has Tex Sueño, taco truck which has the best sweet potato taco, guac with pasilla ash, and memorable queso. After High Noon, walk across the street to the Long Play for live music on an intimate stage with gold streamers in the background. On West Sixth which is not my scene but has plenty of dancing and mega outdoor bars with old school music, head to Buford’s for my favorite chicken taco from Asador’s outpost there (they also have one on Rainey!). For something more low key, drive down to Meanwhile Beer which is a brewery where you can order beer, wine, watch some live music in a spacious area and choose between trucks such as Doughboys Pizza, Distant Relatives BBQ, and Pueblo Viejo tacos.

CASUAL MEXICAN: At Polvo’s  (make sure you go to the original on South 1st instead of downtown), you can order pitchers of margaritas and plates of enchiladas and fajitas. I know you are thinking this is what you are supposed to eat in Texas. Licha’s on the East Side is a little higher up in atmosphere, and they have a great Mexican menu that is more interior than Tex-Mex. Or if you just want to drink and have some Mexican food on the side, go to Baby A’s and get the purple margaritas which contain Everclear and an order limit per person.

TRENDY YET AFFORDABLE: Elizabeth Street Cafe is colorful, cute and trendy without being too cool. People go crazy for the spring rolls, and I prefer the steamed rice rolls. They have a small indoor, larger patio, and a separate private area called the Croissant Room that has backyard access. This is a girl’s design dream come true. This would also be a good brunch option for a big group.

Il Brutto is my favorite Italian spot on the East Side and it’s right across from White Horse where you’ll two step before or after. They have a giant patio and fun private wine room where they also make their own house limoncello . You can explore their all Italian wine list, amari and digestif menus to keep your stomach feeling good, and have a delicious pizza and pasta party. I love Chef Erind’s pizza’s not only because he is a real Italian but he ferments the dough for 48 hours making it more easy to digest and feeling light! Get the burrata pizza, lasagna, beet salad, fish, and hazelnut or pistachio gelato for dessert if you have room.  They have great private dining prices as low as $45 per person in this room plus beverage packages that start at $12.

Nice/Impressive:

June’s All Day is full of delicious bubbles, ever changing wines by the glass, and has a whole Zine dedicated to making you feel comfortable ordering wines you don’t know about. A jukebox and live DJ’s fill the room on Friday and Saturday night, and the Fried Chicken Sandwich, Catch of the Day with Leeks, Citrusy Snapper Carpaccio, and hot, homemade sourdough steal your heart. This is also a great brunch place, and don’t miss the Monster Cookie with M&M’s, pretzels, peanuts, and chocolate chips. They also won a place on Food & Wine’s Best New Restaurants of the Year in 2017 list which includes only 10.

Emmer & Rye is another new popular restaurant and on Rainey Street so you can hit the bars after. Skip the dim sum cart service but go for the Farmer’s Cheese, Carnitas with Roti, and any of the greens offered that day. Also, I love their orange wine.

Kemuri Tatsuya is the first ever Texas Japanese Izakaya with a menu that I guarantee you’ve never seen before. It’s in an old BBQ restaurant space, so they kept the smoker to make Fish Collar, BBQ Eel, Brisket, and Duck Breast in. I love the back patio that’s airy, and indoors it is pretty comical with Japanese paraphernalia and Texas twang. P.S. Only beer, liquor and sake here.

If you really want to ball out on some modern Mexican food, then I’d go to Comedor which has Mexico City and LA atmosphere vibes and was designed by high-end architect Tom Kundig. They have high top tables in the main dining room area that make it cozy and fun for your group. I like the Smoked Tuna, Octopus, Shrimp Tostada; Carrots with Mole, do NOT miss the Quesadilla or bone marrow tacos (yes, even if you don’t like bone marrow they change your mind and there is plenty of kale!).

BARS/OUT:

You might want to check out Dirty 6th if you want to relive my UT college days. However, it’s gotten pretty ratty and super packed since then, but Iron Cactus still has their amazing frozen cactus juice and $2 “you call its.” Dance your face off and sweat the night away at Barbarella which is truly the only late night dancing spot.

If you want to hang out at bars that are casual and a little more classy, I say go for the East Side across I-35. Check out Whisler’s, Nickel City (great tater tots here, y’all), Easy Tiger, the wine bar Lolo, Central Machine Works which has a huge open beer garden, outdoor music stage, weekend markets, and lots of events.

Rainey Street is very popular for bachelorette and bachelor parties, so it could be fun to run into another group there. You can pick any bar there seriously. They will all be equally as the same and loud. This goes for West 6th the one bar I’d recommend there is Dirty Bills for dancing on tables with music videos in narrow back of the bar. Also, the sushi restaurant TenTen would be perfect beforehand.

For live shows or concerts, check ahead to see what is playing at Moody Theater (below) or ACL Live. You can always walk into Antone’s, Continental Club, C-Boys, or Mohawk. Hit up White Horse for some Texas country music and dancing and hang out at Donn’s Depot in Clarksville for my favorite old Austin dive bar which has 80 year-olds and 21 year old hanging around under one roof.

In addition, if you are sticking around on Sunday afternoon, check out the live music at Güero’s taco courtyard on South Congress.

SWAG:

FACE COOKIES: Girls, you gotta get rid of those lousy fake veils and get your gal some cookies with her face on it! Call up Kellie’s Baking Co. who created the first ever photo and instagrams on cookies and upload a selfie photo of your bride here. Have it delivered to the house/hotel you are staying at, and for $3 a pop, you are all set. *** I will admit, I couldn’t bring myself to eat the cookies with my face on them below.

STYLISH GEAR: If you plan on spending time outside, you need to look cute, right? Head to the Outdoor Voices (OV)headquarters on Blanco Street which is known for their recreational clothes that are colorful, loose and tight in all the right places. Workout and hangout clothes never felt so good. #DoingThings