Drink Well

Recently visited Drink Well for the first time recently, and was blown away by the quality of their drinks and tasty snacks. We visited for their happy hour, and I ordered the Fish House Punch, which is basically their take on a rum punch. It was delicious, and if I closed my eyes just enough, I could *almost* believe I was on an island somewhere and not in a dark Austin bar. My friends tried the out on a limb and birds of a feather, which they also really enjoyed. Intrigued by its amaretto and pecan orgeat, we ordered a Get Rick Quick Scheme to end, although I was nervous about the whole egg. It ended up being very smooth, not eggy or heavy at all, and was my favorite drink of the night. To eat, we split an order of their housecut fries with lemon-aleppo aioli, the harissa spiced spinach dip, and an Antonelli's cheese board. Everything tasted great, but the fries are a must if you enjoy thin, crispy shoestrings like I do. Although their parking is very limited, I was able to quickly find street parking early on a weekday. We enjoyed the quick and friendly service, and the nice vibe of this spot. I'd recommend Drink Well to anyone for a meetup with friends or a fun date night.

Drink Well is one of the leading centers of mix-mastering in Austin.Austin has a lot of first rate bars with bartenders of phenomenal creativity and skill.New drinks are being invented all the time - and many of them are legendary.What is the difference between Drink Well and other fine centers of bartending?Drink Well is still here.That sets it off from the large number of Austin drinking establishments that lie dead in the restaurant graveyard.* * *Most (but not all) of the great cocktail chemist establishments are downtown or on the New East Side.Rents Downtown and rents on the New East Side are astronomical.High end restaurants with high end cost profiles open up all the time Downtown and on the New East Side.High end restaurants with high end cost profiles die all the time Downtown and on the New East Side.Chef Ms. Amazing opens up a new You-Gotta-Eat-Here place with a legendary pastry cook and a legendary bartender.There is a year and a half of pleasures beyond all human imagination.Then the place goes bust. Another year and a half later, all three superstars are on their own. They are all doing something else in three other different expensive establishments.* * *Drink Well lives while the other places die for two good reasons.a) Their location on North Loop is not exactly cheap.But it is cheaper than Down Town and the New East Side.b) They position themselves squarely as a drinking place and they keep the food menu small and not gourmet.The eating on the food menu is first rate.But the dishes are not so chi-chi that the kitchen has to charge $58 to cover their expenses.Modest costs allow them to ride out variability in foot traffic.* * *So Drink Well survives.Does Drink Well deserve to survive?YES !!!!!THE BARTENDING AT DRINK WELL IS FORKING AMAZING !!!!!The food on their limited menu is actually pretty fine as well.* * *I had a number of drinks at Drink Well, all of which were five star cocktails.However, I will talk about one and only one drink.Dinner Theater.Like nearly all of Drink Well's hand mixed libations, the recipe list for a Dinner Theater is long.And these are not ingredients that any sane person would ever think of putting together.But when Doctor Drink Well completes his evil manipulations,And brings his twisted concoction to your table,You are about to disappear into another dimension.Imagine - for the Dinner Theater - That someone decided to make you a traditional gin martini.EXCEPT that instead of mostly gin with a tiny splash of vermouth.It was mostly vermouth with a tiny splash of gin.Now do that putting ZERO vermouth into the beverage.You are instead going to combine sherry and mustard seed and fig and bitters and cynar and other stuff ... To make something that might conceivably pass as the best vermouth you have ever had ...But it is cut with gin.I was hypnotized.I was transfixed.I was ensnared by the magic that was in my glass.Sure, I had seen many wonderful beverages at my table that night.But this was my date with destiny.The house I put a bid on.* * *I have not discussed food much.I will again discuss one and only one dish.It is a dessert dish.Who the (#*@Y$)@*# goes to Drink Well for dessert?This ain't Jenn's Ice Cream, if you know what I mean.Well they only had two desserts on the menu the night I was there. One dish was called Grown Up Cocoa Puffs.Grown Up Cocoa Puffs is a spherical chocolate fritterServed in a fancy creme anglaiseand dusted with a fancy sugar.However that hot spherical ball of chocolate is the front of the stage singerand everyone else is backup or on bass.The dessert is served hot.ITTASTESEXACTLY LIKEAWARMCOMFORTINGCOCOA PUFFIF COCOA PUFFS WERE MADE BY THE BEST FRENCH PASTRY CHEF YOU KNOW.COCOA PUFFS MEET GOD.AND THEY COMMUNE SO THAT COCOA PUFFS ARE GOD AND GOD IS COCOA PUFFS.* * *Let's just say that this is a very good dessert.* * *There is just a whole lot to explore at Drink Well.And even though their current drink menu is kept modestly small ...I have no doubt that if you talked to the bartender ...He or she could whip up some of their famous blasts from the past.* * *There is amazing drinking to be done at Drink Well.And while you are waiting to sober up ...Have a Cocoa Puff.

To be clear, we did not try the food. Me and a friend popped in for a couple drinks to catch up. LOVED the divey but elegant feel, intimately laid back. I loved that the waitstaff comes up with the drink menu and it seems very experimental - the dinner theater with mustard seed and fig was VERY unique but not for the faint of heart. I don't like sweet drinks so this was perfect, but it's definitely a pungent drink and not a slammer. Our waiter was also very attentive and knowledgeable about the drink options to recommend items that would work for us.I will say, the drinks do not "look" pretty at all, which I don't personally care about but I know quite a few people do. Super happy we popped in!

This isn't a bar where you just drink; here you definitely drink well! I tried a few drinks and even strayed off my beaten bourbon path to try a drink with gin and loved everything. They were all unique, well-balanced, and inventive. The drinks were flavorful and not spirit-forward, in a good way. The bar was busy but not crowded. They have little standing areas made of wheels on poles with glass covers. Also an inventive and fun way to park patrons comfortably while they wait for a table. Ambiance was upscale without being overly trendy or uncomfortable. Jeans and T-shirts are perfectly acceptable here! The service was fantastic, which is impressive because of how busy they were. I swore I was going to remember our server's name because he was fantastic, but I'm not young anymore and neither is my memory. He made perfect recommendations and was the right amount of friendly. Definitely lived up to the cool neighborhood spot billing!

This is a small little trendy/divvy bar with just a dozen or so parking spaces available out front or use free neighborhood street parking. Inside is about a dozen tables to sit at or pick one of 12 seats at the bar. This place fills up fast and by 6 PM no matter what night of the week, you can count on all the tables being taken. They have a great list of house original cocktails, but a very limited food menu. The burger I had for $19 was really good although a little on the small side and the fries were just short and stubby potato sticks. Their coctails on the other hand are very well-made with numerous top shelf ingredients. The service was also very attentive and helpful. One thing you do need to be aware of, as other yelpers have already pointed out, is that they do charge a 20% wellness fee to your bill with the expectation that you will tip additionally on top of that. I knew that coming in, but that could be a real turn off for new customers who now feel obliged to make a 40% tip contribution. Check out the bill below to give you an idea what you can expect to spend in this establishment. Plenty of photos included to add more dimension to this review.

I love stopping by Drink Well on a Friday afternoon for happy hour! I think the drinks are definitely well balanced and delectable and I love the homey neighborhood feel. I would probably not come back to pay full price but will be back for HH!

I enjoyed a tasty burger and fries along with a Heron Maiden drink. The drink itself was incredible unique - a mix of peach and sweet potato syrup, pineapple, lime, and whiskey. I can safely say I have never tasted anything like it, a mix of both savory and sweet though maybe for those with a slightly more refined palate. The burger and fries, while slightly pricey, were yummy, well-cooked with ample shoestring fries that made for some good munching. Parking near this place can be a challenge, though there is plenty of street parking, and the restaurant itself is fairly small and intimate though they do have outdoor seating. I would recommend this place to anyone looking to get their fancy drink fix in Austin.

I met a date here for a drink and food. We sat at the bar. I had a baptism by fire drink. Not what I expected, but pretty good.I ordered the summer fruit and tofu salad, and fries. The salad was very flavorful and tasty. Highly recommend. The fries are decent, but not my favorite. My day ordered the burger and fries and looked really good.This is a very small venue with minimal parking. You can get street parking is nice you can park by the main entrance.Our service overall was pretty decent too. My only real complaint would be the prices. I think we're a little bit too high but honestly hard to judge with today's economy. I didn't pay though so I can't complain too much. Ha ha.

We consider this place to be sort of an extension of our home and the staff as members of our family. They provide the neighborhood and, more importantly, the community with delicious food, incredible cocktails and hospitality. Tonight was filled with all of those along with a drag show with some truly amazing queens. Everyone clearly enjoyed their evening, and thanks to every member of the incredible team for always taking such great care of us.

The spot is a vibe and the bartenders are knowledgeable and friendly. They have a nice HH with discounts on some fine creaft cocktails. You can tell they take pride in their work and it shows.The only meh is parking...but its the area. Will be back...