G & S Lounge

This place epitomizes what Old Austin used to be. And Jimmy is an icon. 🤘🏻

Don't let G&S get too popular, because it's hole-in-the-wall feel as one of South Austin's oldest bars is something that cannot ever be recreated by all the new trendy places popping up around town. A true Austin Classic.

Cool, messy little bar with fun old game machines, great pool tables, and a juke box. Good chance you'll have most of the place to yourself so great for big groups. Edit: not the best place if you’re looking for a cheep beer.

This lounge is friggin amazing! Walk in and the screens are rockin the be best star wars movies evah! Then the jukebox fires up the best jamz money can buy! Then the best part of the enchanting adventure begins at the bar. The drinks are insane! Like bangin on a drum! The pinball is on point. The crowd fun, yet not obnoxious or sticky, or stinky. If you're looking for a fun time, go a knockin. The pool tables generally have a wait. Expect delays to be hustled.

OK THANK YOU JIMMY!!!! I haven’t lived in Austin for a couple of decades and this place is exactly the same!!!! Yay! The city has completely changed but not this place. Austin hasn’t been completely overhauled by Corporate BIG money. :).

Only place in S.Austin owned by the owner. No sellout commercial crap, reminds me of Moe's bar on the Simpson's. So basically if you don't like it go to hell.

This place is fun, I never knew it existed. Tons of old school games and many pinball machines. Not a hot spot for sure but if you want to "pre game" with some games and drinks go there.

I love this place. It looks like a scary dive bar from outside, which is nice for keeping it from getting crowded. Great beer selection and plenty of games to stay entertained.

My favorite bar in the world. Jimmy became a friend and I was loyal to the exclusion of other bars. Neat surroundings, great pinball, heavily poured drinks. The best.

Ample parking, lots of seating, lots of games, and lots of beer options. I had a great time at G&S Lounge. There's no where else in Austin I would rather spend $6.50 on a single Lone Star.

Jimmy maintains one of the most impressive beer selections I have ever seen in a small bar. He also has a large range of spirits as well, including some hard to get bourbons like Blanton's. Great neighborhood spot that you wouldn't think about stopping at but a real gem.

Elizabeth Koroscik

Ample parking, lots of seating, lots of games, and lots of beer options. I had a great time at G&S Lounge. There's no where else in Austin I would rather spend $6.50 on a single Lone Star.

Christopher Urbane

Jimmy maintains one of the most impressive beer selections I have ever seen in a small bar. He also has a large range of spirits as well, including some hard to get bourbons like Blanton's. Great neighborhood spot that you wouldn't think about stopping at but a real gem.

The ambiance is one of a kind. Had the best experience in this bar, we loved the beers, the games and the jukebox. Thanks Jimmy

This place is GREAT. I’ve read the reviews and I simply don’t care. We came in here, received a warm welcome, a cold beer, and an amazing vibe. There’s 30-some-odd years of history in this building and I’m here for it. Fantastic establishment.

This place is a DIVE bar. Do not be intimidated by the exterior. As as soon as you walk in, you realize this place is special (in the absolute best way). It hasn't changed since I first came here in 2014. Cheap, great beer on tap, all kinds of refreshments in the fridge, and coin-operated pool tables, air-hockey, arcade games and jukebox. One of my favorite haunts.

Best bar in the neighborhood to grab drinks and relax. Down to earth friendly people. They have darts, pool tables,vintage pinball machines, basketball and airhockey. They also have the best selection of craft beer that you'll find here in Austin. Pretty cool little patio out back as well.

If you can’t have a good time here, you need to go look in the mirror… This is among the finest dive bars I’ve found in a nationwide search, it’s everything you want, little dirty, little grimy and a little bit of an opinionated bartender. If it gets better than this, pinch me because I’m in heaven.

I was really surprised how much I liked this place. From the outside, it looks pretty darn rough. I think that's why the folks inside are so cool - the night I was there for an open mic, it seemed most everyone knew each other. The stage and performance area is kind-of stunning with the amount of sound and light reinforcement gear they've crammed into the room. Basically, its a great place to drink and things sounded pretty good on stage the night I was there, too. This is what a bar really should be, in my mind. Think "classic Texas bar" and this place matches what you're expecting. Fun!

If you want to find out what old school Austin is about this is this place. Really cool. Has a few retro games like air hockey & pin ball. Great vibe. Jimmy the owner is a little rough on the edges, but he's an old softie. Back porch for smoking & hanging . No frills vintage Austin.

D H

This place is GREAT. I’ve read the reviews and I simply don’t care. We came in here, received a warm welcome, a cold beer, and an amazing vibe. There’s 30-some-odd years of history in this building and I’m here for it. Fantastic establishment.

D. B.

If you can’t have a good time here, you need to go look in the mirror… This is among the finest dive bars I’ve found in a nationwide search, it’s everything you want, little dirty, little grimy and a little bit of an opinionated bartender. If it gets better than this, pinch me because I’m in heaven.

Jim Leake

This place is a DIVE bar. Do not be intimidated by the exterior. As as soon as you walk in, you realize this place is special (in the absolute best way). It hasn't changed since I first came here in 2014. Cheap, great beer on tap, all kinds of refreshments in the fridge, and coin-operated pool tables, air-hockey, arcade games and jukebox. One of my favorite haunts.

James

Best bar in the neighborhood to grab drinks and relax. Down to earth friendly people. They have darts, pool tables,vintage pinball machines, basketball and airhockey. They also have the best selection of craft beer that you'll find here in Austin. Pretty cool little patio out back as well.

Chad Barwick

My favorite bar in the world. Jimmy became a friend and I was loyal to the exclusion of other bars. Neat surroundings, great pinball, heavily poured drinks. The best.

Ty Steven

If you want to find out what old school Austin is about this is this place. Really cool. Has a few retro games like air hockey & pin ball. Great vibe. Jimmy the owner is a little rough on the edges, but he's an old softie. Back porch for smoking & hanging . No frills vintage Austin.

Erik Karlsson

I was really surprised how much I liked this place. From the outside, it looks pretty darn rough. I think that's why the folks inside are so cool - the night I was there for an open mic, it seemed most everyone knew each other. The stage and performance area is kind-of stunning with the amount of sound and light reinforcement gear they've crammed into the room. Basically, its a great place to drink and things sounded pretty good on stage the night I was there, too. This is what a bar really should be, in my mind. Think "classic Texas bar" and this place matches what you're expecting. Fun!

Nice and peaceful, old-timey environment. Games, pool tables and a bartender right out of the late 80s. Beer a little expensive but worth it if you want a quiet relaxing environment. Check it out before it no longer exists.

Perfectly divey wonderful hole in the wall. Don’t let the tough exterior scare you off. The beer selection in the cooler was excellent! Analogue jukebox brought me back to the past, but the pool tables were digital and recently re-felted which I appreciated. Lots of unusual stuff to look at here, too. Drinks are served out of old jarritos seltzer bottles which I thought was a great way to recycle and also be unique. Seems like the owner gets a lot of flack, but I could tell he was a softie. 4 stars cause the photo booth didn’t work and the jukebox ate my money 80% of the time!

Aliseedas Pitner

Nice and peaceful, old-timey environment. Games, pool tables and a bartender right out of the late 80s. Beer a little expensive but worth it if you want a quiet relaxing environment. Check it out before it no longer exists.

Athena Winterich

Perfectly divey wonderful hole in the wall. Don’t let the tough exterior scare you off. The beer selection in the cooler was excellent! Analogue jukebox brought me back to the past, but the pool tables were digital and recently re-felted which I appreciated. Lots of unusual stuff to look at here, too. Drinks are served out of old jarritos seltzer bottles which I thought was a great way to recycle and also be unique. Seems like the owner gets a lot of flack, but I could tell he was a softie. 4 stars cause the photo booth didn’t work and the jukebox ate my money 80% of the time!

The g&s is your classic dive. Don't expect fancy service and keep your drinks simple and you'll have a blast. A fun surprise after my first visit the bartender, Benny (sp?), cut out beer bottles into glasses for us and gave them to us to take home free of charge. Thank you, sir! There are a plethora of retro games to play and a huge beer selection. Easy to pass up and it probably wants to stay that way....

Easton Dillehay

The g&s is your classic dive. Don't expect fancy service and keep your drinks simple and you'll have a blast. A fun surprise after my first visit the bartender, Benny (sp?), cut out beer bottles into glasses for us and gave them to us to take home free of charge. Thank you, sir! There are a plethora of retro games to play and a huge beer selection. Easy to pass up and it probably wants to stay that way....

Epic dive bar on S. 1st-- as in feet first sort of danga zone. Not too sure if I'm over-charged or simply have an addition problem, but I have fun there none-the-less. Don't waste your time with the play-skool-esque air hockey table, rather bask in the various pinball machines, photo-booth and big-screens perfect for watching your favorite sporting contest. Perfect place if you just wanna get faced and not have to BS with the bartender-- this place is no Cheers and nobody cares what your name is.

A small dive bar in old south Austin. They serve beer, wine and spirits here. Most beer is out of a bottle, of which they have a large selection. There's nothing fancy here, and there's a good amount of regulars here.

Really rude bartenders, and drinks are somewhat pricy considering what a dive it is. But, they have good beers on tap, and lots of games. Don't pet the dogs, they bite.

You either love it or hate it. This is a very unassuming bar on S 1st that while does fit the dive bar description it won't be what you expect once you go inside. There are tons of games inside and great selection of beers. Know what you want. The bartender is not there to hold your hand. For that matter don't piss off the owner/bartender. This place is the Soup Nazi of bars. You go in, order your drink and enjoy it. The owner runs his bar as he sees fit and if you don't like it GTFO. I love this place for that because it does not pander to whatever BS you bring into the bar. Their prices have gone up a lot and that's a shame because they used to be very inexpensive.

Salvador Montenegro

You either love it or hate it. This is a very unassuming bar on S 1st that while does fit the dive bar description it won't be what you expect once you go inside. There are tons of games inside and great selection of beers. Know what you want. The bartender is not there to hold your hand. For that matter don't piss off the owner/bartender. This place is the Soup Nazi of bars. You go in, order your drink and enjoy it. The owner runs his bar as he sees fit and if you don't like it GTFO. I love this place for that because it does not pander to whatever BS you bring into the bar. Their prices have gone up a lot and that's a shame because they used to be very inexpensive.

We were on the hunt for a dive bar and happened upon G&S courtesy of Google. Seeing the outside I was concerned it was not open which seemed weird for 9:30 on a Saturday but the door was open so we went in. First impressions was that it was exactly what we were looking for. But the stars in my eyes were quickly righted. Upon looking around I keep seeing stuff. Just stuff. Like so much stuff it’s a problem. Stacks of unrecognizable boxes on the bar everywhere. Broken touch screen bar game machines lined up in on the bar. A stack of crap in the back of the barroom that needs attention. Ok whatever, I thought. There’s beers and an open pool table to this is what I’m looking for anyways. I order 2 beers and a G&T. $28!? I don’t know the breakdown but $10 for a G&T seems a little steep but $9 for a coors light?! That’s wild. Oh well we’re in it now. Folks I want to warn you. I’ve been all around this country of ours and my wife and I actively seek out dive bars for an evening out in all different cities but this night in this bar I had a first. I went to use the restroom and it was NASTY. I had to breath through my sweatshirt to stop the smell cause I was going to puke. There’s cleaning products in the bathroom that have clearly never been used. I guess what I’m saying is this bar has great bones. Grumpy bartender✔️. Bar games✔️. Good beer selection. Ample space. Nice jukebox. But it seems that the bar is doomed to living out one man’s performance art spectacle. Good luck G&S. I can see the little nugget of greatness hidden deep inside you but I wonder if the powers that be have it in themselves to polish you back to beauty.

Tim Neville

We were on the hunt for a dive bar and happened upon G&S courtesy of Google. Seeing the outside I was concerned it was not open which seemed weird for 9:30 on a Saturday but the door was open so we went in. First impressions was that it was exactly what we were looking for. But the stars in my eyes were quickly righted. Upon looking around I keep seeing stuff. Just stuff. Like so much stuff it’s a problem. Stacks of unrecognizable boxes on the bar everywhere. Broken touch screen bar game machines lined up in on the bar. A stack of crap in the back of the barroom that needs attention. Ok whatever, I thought. There’s beers and an open pool table to this is what I’m looking for anyways. I order 2 beers and a G&T. $28!? I don’t know the breakdown but $10 for a G&T seems a little steep but $9 for a coors light?! That’s wild. Oh well we’re in it now. Folks I want to warn you. I’ve been all around this country of ours and my wife and I actively seek out dive bars for an evening out in all different cities but this night in this bar I had a first. I went to use the restroom and it was NASTY. I had to breath through my sweatshirt to stop the smell cause I was going to puke. There’s cleaning products in the bathroom that have clearly never been used. I guess what I’m saying is this bar has great bones. Grumpy bartender✔️. Bar games✔️. Good beer selection. Ample space. Nice jukebox. But it seems that the bar is doomed to living out one man’s performance art spectacle. Good luck G&S. I can see the little nugget of greatness hidden deep inside you but I wonder if the powers that be have it in themselves to polish you back to beauty.

Never again. What an absolute dump. Anyone teaching a business course could use this as a prime example of what never to do in small business. Ever seen the show "CHEERS"? Well, it's not at all like that. Nobody knows your name, they could care less if you came, and leaving your wallet unattended is a bad idea. Insult to Austin.

Bartender is a totall ****, won't speak up to answer your questions, then complains about how you didn't hear him "3 times". Most of the arcade machines are broken. Avoid.

Wanted to go someplace mellow for a beer. Walked in carrying my an empty reusable water bottle. The bartender didn’t greet us or ask anything, just told me that I couldn’t bring any containers into the bar with me. I thought he was confused and explained that it was an empty water bottle and I just wanted some water (tho we were getting drinks too) and he basically bullied me out of the bar. Super bizarre. The place was empty; I guess I found out why.

No idea how this place is still open. No vibe, empty, cluttered, eerily dark, and the worst attitude from the owner/bartender. He offers nothing but disdain and silent irritation. Only upside is a decent jukebox. Been there at least 8 times for various, whimsical reasons, and I’d be thrilled to never go there again.

Well I always knew Jimmy to be a bit rude. But me and jimmy were cool. Until today I was literally kicked out of the bar for helping a lady choose a good IPA. Said I was taking away from his business. Because he didn't want me to help her choose a good one . But I did any way. And I was kicked out

G&S gets way too much credit for being a dive bar. Their staff is horrible and rude. Generally, dives are cool cause although the surroundings are questionable the people are cool. Complete strikeout at G&S. You'd be better off moving down the road to more hospitable grounds.

The bartender here was awful and rude. He wanted to charge us $5 just to be in the bar (no music and the place was completely dead... and it was a weeknight), also wouldn't give us any change to play the arcade games. We got a vibe that something sketchy was going on...

$5 for a diet Coke and $7.50 for an IPA. When questioned about the prices, the owner replied, "this isn't McDonald's." Not going back.

There's a good selection of top shelf liquor several pool tables but all of the pinball machines have issues which left me leaving after one play on each machine not a gaming Lounge but there is a lot of games there ..Bar staff not knowledgeable of liquor but charge way too much for a single shoot $18. Gaming lounge poor

william baker

There's a good selection of top shelf liquor several pool tables but all of the pinball machines have issues which left me leaving after one play on each machine not a gaming Lounge but there is a lot of games there ..Bar staff not knowledgeable of liquor but charge way too much for a single shoot $18. Gaming lounge poor

Overpriced drinks, dingy atmosphere, poor service, broken gaming equipment. I’ve stopped in over the years and the best thing I can say about it is it’s consistent.

when I'm having a really good day and feel like nothing could go wrong, I sometimes stop into G and S so Jimmy can kick me out for no reason and I can come back down to earth again.

THE worse dive bars I have ever been to. Say they have a big beer selection but no beer menu and when we ordered we got two dos FOR $15….. plus it was completely dead. Half the games didn’t work. NO A/C. The place was a mess with half finished projects scattered everywhere. I was honestly shocked this place is open. It was a dump. Love a good hole in the wall but this was just a trash pile. 1/10 do not go and save your money!

Zero Stars! Walked in and had to greet the bartender myself, got a death stare in return. Tried to get change for pool, was asked "you're not going to get a beer?" Ordered a corona and a water, dude tried to charge me $12.50!!!! For a Corona and a water. He then continued to mumble something as I walked out. What a joke of a bar. Zero customers inside, bartender just miserable counting out his days.

Is this place a dive? Oh really, maybe take me to dinner first before you bend me over. $8 yuenling beers and $10 oz jameson shots. $40 straight down the drain. Whoever runs this place has no clue what they are doing.

Brett Harding

Overpriced drinks, dingy atmosphere, poor service, broken gaming equipment. I’ve stopped in over the years and the best thing I can say about it is it’s consistent.

Danielle Judy

when I'm having a really good day and feel like nothing could go wrong, I sometimes stop into G and S so Jimmy can kick me out for no reason and I can come back down to earth again.

Coy Hopper

Is this place a dive? Oh really, maybe take me to dinner first before you bend me over. $8 yuenling beers and $10 oz jameson shots. $40 straight down the drain. Whoever runs this place has no clue what they are doing.

Corey G

Zero Stars! Walked in and had to greet the bartender myself, got a death stare in return. Tried to get change for pool, was asked "you're not going to get a beer?" Ordered a corona and a water, dude tried to charge me $12.50!!!! For a Corona and a water. He then continued to mumble something as I walked out. What a joke of a bar. Zero customers inside, bartender just miserable counting out his days.

Alexander Karshis

THE worse dive bars I have ever been to. Say they have a big beer selection but no beer menu and when we ordered we got two dos FOR $15….. plus it was completely dead. Half the games didn’t work. NO A/C. The place was a mess with half finished projects scattered everywhere. I was honestly shocked this place is open. It was a dump. Love a good hole in the wall but this was just a trash pile. 1/10 do not go and save your money!