Crown and Anchor

February 1, 2007
I spent all my time at Crown & Anchor out on the patio, which was really fun. It felt like being on a friend’s screened-in porch during some kind of wild house party. Clientele appeared to be mostly UT affiliated, and there were all sorts of different people (and different kinds of canines too!) out on the porch (very busy for a Tuesday!). Beer selection appeared decent. Service was walk-up only (for beer, they brought out food), which was a bit of a drag at first, but seemed to make more and more sense as the place got busier and busier. I had a burger, which was good, but needed more hard-to-get condiments. Fries were piping hot and super gold and crispy (they way I like them!). Ambience at Crown & Anchor is the highlight. The patio experience (replete with being in a shed-restroom attached to the patio) was different than a January night at a bar in Milwaukee.

December 23, 2006
As would be expected...nice open patio, but good selection of local stuff.

December 9, 2005
I’ve only been to the Crown & Anchor during daylight hours, so I can’t vouch for the crowds later at night, but during the day the crowd has usually been sparse but not dead, and there always seems to be at least one or two people that stopped in while walking their dogs. I don’t know why, but I like a bar that encourages people to bring in their dogs. The selection here is a nice compromise between cheap beer that the broker college students can indulge in and a fair cross section of micros and imports. As kbub mentioned, their draft selection is probably just shy of the Dog & Duck, although in terms of atmosphere the Crown & Anchor seems to have a bit less of the Olde English vibe - it mainly just seems like your average American bar done up mildly with a sports theme. Definitely a bar that I’ve enjoyed going to the times I was there, but in dusting the cobwebs off my memory I haven’t come up with any rousing reasons to regret not having been back lately. One definite negative: one of the smallest, worst men’s rooms in the Austin bar scene.

July 15, 2005
This is probably my favorite campus bar (along with Showdown). The bartenders are usually quite polite considering how crowded this place can get. The crowd can be somewhat eclectic, but I would say mid-to-upper 20’s is the norm. The selection is nice, although most of them are in bottles. They have a nice handy chalkboard that groups the selection by country so you don’t have to squint to see back into the cooler. Couple of pool tables and dartboards. TV’s in and out. The big deck and patio is one of the best places in Austin to go chill and have some beer. The prices for the pitchers are amazing. You can get a pitcher of Shiner here for a great price. Bottle prices are more typical. The outside is dog-friendly. Parking can be a pain sometimes because the lot is awkwardly shaped, but you can generally find something on the street. My only bad experience with this place has been with some of the dart-Nazis. There are some VERY good dart-throwers here, and sometimes I get the feeling they feel they own that corner of the bar. Maybe they do, but I don’t care for the attitude.

October 28, 2004
Maybe the best of the campus area bars. Around 30 beers on tap, many more by the bottle. Prices are reasonable, and there are good specials to be had on various days. There are a pair of dart boards and pool tables; lots of good players shoot darts here, and the boards are usually taken. Burgers are excellent and affordable.

March 30, 2004
Another classic that came from the "ashes" of a closed punk/new wave place. Not certain of he number of taps - they do serve macros, but have a good selection of local fare and standards like SNPA and a fairly extensive bottle selection. Burgers and fries are CHEAP (under five bucks) but ask that they hold the salt on the fries or you might choke. Pool tables and darts and general funk. Near the engineering building, so bring a calculator.