Dirty Martin's Place has griddled burgers at 2808 Guadalupe Street, just north of the UT campus, since 1926, and the back of the house runs a full sports bar that fills for Longhorn games.
Most century-old burger joints coast on the legend. Dirty's leans into game day instead, hosting Longhorn watch parties and putting the football schedule front and center, per the restaurant's own listings. The patties are still ground fresh and never frozen, and the fries, onion rings, and lemonades are made in house. For a former bartender, the surprise is how seriously the bar side takes a Saturday kickoff.
The room
The space is part old-school diner counter, part bar, with screens worked into the dining room and the bar area so the game stays in view from most tables. It is small and well worn, the kind of room that has not chased a remodel in decades. It runs full and noisy on UT Saturdays. The trade-off is the size: this is a tight, vintage room, not a screen-walled megabar, so a big group on game day should arrive with a plan.
What to order
Order the Kum-Bak burger, the namesake build the kitchen has made the same way for generations, with a side of the homemade onion rings. Wash it down with a draft beer or one of the hand-squeezed limeades if the plan is to keep it dry. The price sits at $$, fair for a fresh-ground burger and a beer. Skip the place if a long cocktail list is the goal, because the draw here is the food and the game, not mixology.
The crowd and best time to go
The crowd runs UT students, longtime Austinites, and burger pilgrims, and it tilts hard toward Longhorn fans on game day. The room opens at 11am daily and stays open later Thursday through Saturday, closing at 11pm on those nights. Arrive before a UT kickoff to land a seat with a screen, because the watch parties pull a faithful crowd. Tripadvisor reviewers flag the lunch rush as the other busy window, so the early afternoon between meals is the calm stretch.
What regulars say
The repeated praise across hundreds of reviews lands on the burgers, the onion rings, and the staying power of a place that has not changed its formula in a century. The common note is the no-frills, weathered room, which regulars treat as the point rather than a flaw. Several reviewers single out the game-day atmosphere as the reason to come on a Saturday.
Who it is for
This is for the fan who wants a great burger with the Longhorn game on, for UT students and alumni, and for anyone chasing a piece of old Austin on the Guadalupe drag. Skip it if the plan is a modern sports lounge with 40 screens or a deep cocktail program. Dirty's is a burger joint that takes game day seriously, and that combination is rarer than it sounds.
The verdict
Two things make Dirty Martin's worth the game-day trip. The first is the kitchen, where a fresh-ground burger and homemade sides outclass the frozen patties most sports bars settle for. The second is the commitment to the football schedule, because a 1926 burger counter that hosts Longhorn watch parties offers something a newer megabar cannot fake. The early afternoon is the smart window to test the burger without the crowd, while a UT Saturday is the time to come for the atmosphere. The trade-off is the room itself: it is small and worn, not a screen palace, and for a fan who values a real burger over a wall of TVs, that is a fair deal.
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 nearby West Campus alternative is Cain and Abel's in Austin, while the wider scene is mapped in the Austin bar guide.
Sources: Dirty Martin's Place official site (dirtymartins.com, 2026); Tripadvisor reviews; heyaustin venue listing; Yelp reviews (n=432).
