Shangri-La

I love this bar so much. I love that I can walk here from home in about 15 minutes.I love the frozen pins colada.I love the grit and comfort of the decor.I love the attentive and friendly service.

This used to be a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, tonight, it became a least favorite. On a Wednesday night of all nights, my friends and I were the absolute life of the party. We turned an empty and ominous bar into a fun easy going place. We were singing, dancing, and having a blast. The staff for some reason decided that they'd rather have no fun at all, and wanted to turn us away. Every patron in the bar was singing along with us, as we paid for songs to be played on the jukebox. We were treated EXTREMELY disrespectfully- even though everyone else in the bar was having a great time alongside our group. I would not recommend this place at all. Though we came for a bit of fun, it turned into absolute disgust by the way we were treated. I have never experienced this anywhere and I am definitely not one to leave a review unless it is called for. Also, the bathrooms are absolutely disgraceful. There is a reason this place is always empty. Please do not waste your time or money. You deserve better!

This spot was recommended by a local friend so Nate and I stopped in while in town recently. The bar is divey with a large outdoor space and food truck. They had some cocktails and drinks listed so I went with an Aperol spritz, which was good. There were people playing pool inside and it was pretty early still so it wasn't too packed. The restroom is a one stall situation inside and there was a scary dark bathroom off the patio that I didn't want to brave. Nate said it was pitch black in there.The drinks were just fine and the atmosphere was divey. It's not a place I'd necessarily need to visit again, but I'm glad we checked it out. The retro sign outside was really cool! There's also a hidden speakeasy off the patio area - look for a green light and a door with a buzzer to access it.

While patronizing the stellar Fukumoto across Sixth Street from Shangri-La, I have often wondering what this bar had to offer. After taking an out-of-town friend for a great Japanese meal, we wandered over to Shangri-La to check it out.What a great little divey bar! Loaded with plenty of kitsch decor worthy of "Austin weird," it has a little something for everyone. Want to plant yourself at the bar and down some cocktails? Play some pool? Enjoy some great food truck meals while you drink? All of that is available here and more. I felt immediately at home walking in, and I appreciated the excellent HVAC system keeping things cool while it was a bit warm outside. I was also surprised by the size of the patio-it is humongous and not what you'd expect by the very compact frontage on Sixth. Hopefully Shangri-La and other places like it in Austin survive the current explosion of gentrification and the urge to bulldoze every bit of character out of downtown to be replaced by nameless, faceless, soulless apartment blocks and chain restaurants. I'll be coming back as long as they're here though. Highly recommended.

For a street that isn't short of bars, you gotta have something different to stand out. I liked the vibe at Shanti-la with a few different things you can do depending on your mood.There's a bar with drinks and pool table, there's a cute outdoor area with flower decor and a vast patio with a food trucks.There's a small speakeasy too, at the back end.It can get crowded on the weekends but worth a visit on your next outing to East 6th.

Great austin dive bar with a cool speakeasy downstairs in the back. The drinks are delicious, especially the espresso martinis. In the main bar there's pool tables and usually a good crowd. The service is fast and friendly.

Great dive bar. Been coming here for years and with all the growth it still keeps the local feel. This review is mainly for the speakeasy located here. One of my favorites on east and has the true speakeasy feel. Great ambience, great service, and great cocktails.

Thinking of making this spot my fiance and I frequent, if we can get past the bartender who likes to play mind games. The $4 happy hour well drinks (which end at 6pm) and $10 for 3 Nashville Fried Chicken Sliders (which are the size of McDonald's burgers EACH), make this a great spot 5pm to 6pm while the happy hour deals are on! I asked the bartender for tequila and lime juice, and he looked confused when repeating "lime juice??!!!" back to me. Does a bartender really not know what lime juice is? After he got over himself enough to make the drink, he asked if I wanted a tequila cranberry as a second drink. Barely able to hear, I said "Yes, thank you. Oh no, wait. I just want the drink I asked for. No additions please." He raised his hands in the air as if beside himself. I don't care what his problem was, but I wonder why we even tipped. Etiquette, I guess...

Fun little Austin dive with a great back patio and food truck! Love that they do frozen drinks which are perfect for the hot weather!

it was quite honestly shameful, the service my friends and I endured this evening. TL;DR we were escorted for singing. Yes, Singing! woke nonsense.My good friend (who cannot be named for legal reasons) instructed the crowd to sing a rendition of "Live Forever" by Oasis. a request that was dutifully accepted. From the outset, question marks were raised by the bar staff who had very unpolitely asked us to "be quiet". Please understand that at this time, we were offering this bar 50% of its take for this evening. I must confess, I was a little disturbed when a man the size of the pint I was slipping pranced toward our party and asked to put a stop to our concert. When we politely ignored this request, Peanut's drink was snatched from him. Most discourteous I must say.This bar will average a 30% capacity on a Saturday. To ensure it stays that way, please do not go.