Brittany Rai Gonzales

fun people watching if you’re introverted. karaoke 🎤 , cheap beer, yummy monthly drinks, friendly staff. lots of regulars that will make friends with you. overall an amazing experience!

Amber Lee

A local bar in every sense, Canary Roost sits right on Metric Boulevard and offers a quick, cheap, yet fun experience for those who enter. Parking is very convenient as it’s in a shopping area with ample spots. Once you enter you get a pretty strong dive bar vibe, but the karaoke hitting your ears soothes that. There’s a lot of seating available and the place is frequented by locals who come in groups just to sing their favorite tunes. Karaoke here is very popular so you have to queue up to get a chance, but once you do you can often hear people clapping along and singing with you. The servers are very friendly and the drinks are pretty good. We usually order the Dammit Janet and it’s always been a nice sweet drink for us to enjoy. Besides karaoke there’s also plenty of TVs to show any games as well as pool tables in the back. Pool does cost about a $1.50 per game and they have a cash to quarters machine to help that process. It’s very easy to go in there for a quick drink or two then look at the clock and realize you’ve been there for 5 hours. We would definitely recommend this place to any locals in the area looking for a fun, very laid back place to hang with friends.

Emiliana Isabel Marcano Issa

I love a good hole-in-the-wall bar, and Canary Roost really hits the mark. It’s unpretentious, welcoming, and just has that “local hangout” charm. The drinks were a little watered down, but honestly, I didn’t come here for craft cocktails — I came for the karaoke, and it was so worth it. The karaoke setup is fantastic, with tons of fun props to really get into character, and the crowd’s energy made it even better. Everyone was supportive and just there to have a good time, which made it feel comfortable to jump in and sing no matter your skill level. If you’re looking for a laid-back, budget-friendly place to laugh, sing, and enjoy a night out without taking yourself too seriously, Canary Roost is perfect. I’ll definitely be back for another round of songs and silliness!

Joseph Andrews

I pretty much love the Wednesday night karaoke here. The bartender Flor is amazingly sweet and the KJ Brigette is a born entertainer. The happy hour drink special is $5 any whiskey drink until 11 👀 I will say the vibes are very much hit or miss. Sometimes, the crowd is into the karaoke and people are mingling and dancing in front of the singer. And those nights are the ones you forget because you drank a bit too much. But the ones when people are disinterested, standoff-ish and boring make you want to leave unless you're a karaoke fanatic. It feels a bit depressing in there on those nights. It feels like a dive with its eclectic decor and a bit dingy because of the lighting but it's got some real character to it. They do let you bring in food so that's a big plus. The regulars are a friendly bunch.

Brent L

Are you looking for the epitome of a dive bar in north Austin? Look no further friends, you have found it at the Canary Roost. I enjoy a good dive bar from time to time, because you get to meet a lot of eclectic characters, and that is certainly the case here. The bartender if very friendly and welcoming to the non-regulars, and they have a very decent selection of craft and local brews on tap, cans, or bottles. I wasn’t there in the evening, so I didn’t get to experience the karaoke crowd, but was told it was quite the scene for karaoke. They also have a couple of pool tables, and a couple of TVs. I think what really sold me on this place, were the regulars that were in there during my visit. Very friendly, very eclectic, and very funny. It was almost as if I was watching a TV show!

Sarah Lynn

Really fun, upbeat and friendly crowd, and great karaoke! Had a blast at 80's karaoke celebrating a friend's birthday. Staff was friendly and interactive. Only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because it was too hot!

+1

Harry Roberts

Cool neighborhood bar. Karaoke was fun... and, wow, there were a couple of amazing singers. All of the patrons were very supportive of each singer, and the Admiral managed the performances very smoothly. The Moscow Mule was made perfectly and served in the correct kind of mug which surprise us (photo included). I've had them served in a highball glass on some places on Rainey Street (yuk!). Score one for the neighborhood bar.

I went fo karaoke, and put a song in at 1030. I was sitting with and friend over an hour later and put in a song under a pseudo name.well, the second name came up and the the 2nd an hour layer. She was upset that I put two names in and even claimed she called twice on the name. Totally bs to help her. Crap rotation.

Bronte Pratt

Been going here with friends for a long time and we’ve had a few issues but tonight I personally had a horrible experience. Came to celebrate my birthday all the customers were nice and the environment was very comfortable, however the KJ destiny decided to play favorites and after one duet with my friend the same regulars got to go SEVERAL times and I went to check and she hadn’t even put me in the que yet. Regulars we were talking to said she had been known to do this, and I was told she moved me up, but only by one song making the wait almost an hour. Honestly more sad than anything because this has been a favorite but lately the issues have been too much, another one including the bar tender passing the entire line of people and serving regulars who walked up to the bar. You run a business not a high school clique, PLEASE fix this situation because my friends and I have loved going to this place in the past. Looking through the reviews I am not close to the only one so clearly this might not even get seen but seems y’all are losing a lot of business due to grown adults playing favorites in every area?

Mike Holter

First of all I want to say kudos to the KJs at this place, both of them rock. The problem for me was the rude and inattentive service of the bartenders. The vibe felt "cliqueish" and was refused service for no apparent reason towards the end of the night. Honestly, I felt a sense of discrimination that I can't fully describe.

siddharth shah

Unsafe. Exclusionary. Racially hostile. After closing my tab, Sasha (the bartender, who was professional and blameless) gave me a to-go water. The moment I stepped outside, two white men with no connection to the bar cornered me, claiming I couldn’t take it and even misusing Sasha’s name. Inside, the accuser hid while his friend shielded him, changed names when pressed, and even tried to pivot the situation into me buying him a drink. The crowd — overwhelmingly white — circled up, treating me as the problem. The racial dynamic was obvious. Two Black women saw everything. They stayed silent, understandably, but one gave me the unmistakable nod of recognition when I called out the “white power” atmosphere as I left. And the “law” excuse? False. I went to another Austin bar immediately after and was handed a to-go water with no issue. The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission confirms: there is no law against this (TABC FAQ). As an Indian professional helping fuel Austin’s tech growth, it’s telling that even people building this city are treated as outsiders here. I chose restraint instead of escalation because I have more to lose than they do — but no one should have to make that choice just to leave a bar with water. Bottom line: Sasha did her job. But the culture around her is unsafe, biased, and unworthy of Austin.