Aussie's Grill & Beach Bar holds down 306 Barton Springs Road, a short walk from the Long Center, and it has worked the same trick since 1989: watch the game, then play one.
The venue runs 14 HDTVs and 15 draft lines indoors and pairs them with two sand volleyball courts out back, which is a combination almost no other Austin sports bar offers in the same footprint. Visit Austin lists it under the city's bars and grills, and the kitchen leans on burgers and casual plates built for a long afternoon outside. The pitch is straightforward: a screen for every game and a court for when the score stops being interesting.
The room
The indoor bar is compact and screen-heavy, and the action spills onto a covered patio that looks out over the volleyball sand. Harlow's bad-seat test reads clean inside, where 14 HDTVs cover the angles, though the patio trades a guaranteed view for the open air. It runs loud on UT Saturdays and busy NFL Sundays, and the courts add a second layer of noise. The trade-off is a smaller indoor floor that fills fast when the weather pushes everyone undercover.
What to order
Drink off the 15 taps, lean on the burgers the menu is built around, and grab a court reservation if the group wants to play between games. The price level sits at $$, fair for the food and the sand-court access. Weekday happy hour runs in the afternoon with drink specials, and that window is the value play before the league crowds arrive. Skip it on a cold, wet day, because the patio and courts are most of the appeal.
The crowd and best time to go
The door opens at 11am on weekdays and 9am on weekends, which covers early kickoffs and morning soccer windows. The floor pulls a South Austin mix of volleyball leagues, after-work crews, and fans walking over from downtown. Arrive at least an hour before a UT kickoff to claim an indoor rail seat with a clean screen line. League nights are the stretch to avoid if a quiet table is the goal, because the courts run full and loud.
What regulars say
The repeated note across reviews is the patio and the volleyball, with the common gripe being a tight indoor space on packed game days. Regulars advise booking a court ahead in season and sitting indoors when a specific game matters most. The sand courts are the differentiator every review circles back to.
Who it is for
Aussie's is for the fan who wants the game and a reason to stay outside, for volleyball leagues building a night around a match, and for downtown visitors after a patio with screens. Skip it if the plan is a serious cocktail program or a quiet indoor corner. This is a sun-and-sand sports bar, and it has known what it is since the late 1980s.
The verdict
Two things separate Aussie's from the Barton Springs pack. The first is the volleyball, where two sand courts give a long game-day afternoon a second act that no screen-only room can match. The second is the indoor coverage, where 14 HDTVs in a small space mean the bad seats still catch the play before anyone heads to the patio. The room is dated and the indoor floor is tight, so a marquee game on a rainy day is the wrong time to test it. Come on a clear afternoon, book a court, and let the games and the sand trade off, which is the whole reason this place has lasted since 1989.
For the rest of the city's options, see our guide to the best sports bars in Austin and the editorial pillar on the top Austin sports bars. A downtown alternative with more screens indoors is Lavaca Street Bar, while the wider scene is mapped in the Austin bar guide.
Sources: Aussie's Grill & Beach Bar official site (aussiesaustin.com, 2026); Visit Austin (austintexas.org); Yelp reviews (n=236).
