Today was the grand opening of Banger’s Sausage House & Beer Garden in the Rainey Street District of Downtown Austin. Our office at the The Shore Condos is just a stone’s throw away, so we wanted to support one of the most anticipated venues coming to the ‘hood. We went, had a beer and some grub, and really just enjoyed the perfectly chill vibe, despite the crazy, terrible, make-me-want-to-stab-my-eyes-out heat.
Some will say this is Rainey Street’s answer to Easy Tiger or maybe even Frank – and yes, there are some similarities in the beer garden-y, German fare aspect of the restaurants, but there are some major differences, too. For the record, I love both Easy Tiger and Frank in their own right.
For one, the overall character of the place is definitely in line with the other Rainey Street bungalow-style venues and NOT a 6th street place or a warehouse district place. Mickie Spencer (also responsible for East Side Showroom and Hillside Farmacy) did the design of the place (I read that on Eater), and it is lovely.
The Walk-Up:
The interior:
There’s also a nice tree canopy in the back patio which really helps with the heat (although some misters would be badass – I hope they are on the way!). Also, there’s a mini dog park where your dog can go leashless (I hope this doesn’t get replaced with more tables later on down the line).
The leashless dog park:
Secondly, the menu is different – though, of course, similar themes:
My favorite part of the menu is the offer for the free tattoo (though I also think if you have a tattoo of their logo, you should, like, get discounts on beer for life or something – but that’s not part of the offer, at least for now). Apparently, one of their beer distributors got one yesterday.
And, now, for some pictures of our food:
The guys who own the joint are pretty punny, as well (they call Banger’s a (m)eatery, for one) – and it took ALL of my willpower not to incorporate every single sausage joke I know into this post. Because, of course, as we all know, sausage jokes are just the wurst…..
With 850+ residences currently anchoring the district (The Milago, Towers of Town Lake, and The Villas) and another apartment tower that’s shovel ready, the Rainey district has exploded over the past few years. We’re really happy to see the hours are listed as Sun-Wed 11am-11pm and Thu-Sat 11am-2am.
Taken groups there twice already on our electric bikes. A classic in the making. Very exciting. Exactly the kind of place Rainey needed. Loving the diversity and quality of the street. They are gonna kill it come South By…
Here we go again with the District thing! Anyway, thanks for keeping me up to date. A tattoo offer? No thanks.
Looks great! Can’t wait to try the place when the weather cools and I return to Austin.
Yep, the one piece of constructive feedback I want to offer Banger’s is that they should install lots of fans, preferably misters, for summer months.