10 New Venues in Austin for Fall 2024 Meetings and Events

The former downtown Austin restaurant Estelle’s turned into new venue Tiger Lilly, now run by owner LV Collective as of October. The company turned the three-floor, 16,000-square-foot building into various private room configurations for any event style. There’s the first-floor bar with a centerpiece staircase, the second floor with tall windows, and the basement speakeasy bar.

Downtown Austin’s Hotel Van Zandt underwent a major renovation this summer, which includes the addition of a new lobby bar, Brass Poppy, which opened in September. The elegant cocktail lounge takes its cues from the namesake flower with floral motifs amid brass details, leather furnishings, and tufted carpets, with the ability to fit 250 guests. The bar serves up thoughtful cocktails, along with beers and wines, while the kitchen focuses on elevated, inventive bar snacks.

East Austin modern Italian-American restaurant Casa Bianca expanded with its new casual-counterpart rooftop, Bar Alcina, in September. The alfresco space, which fits either 60 seated guests or 75 standing, features plentiful tables and umbrella shades, as well as a dedicated bar. The latter focuses on tapped and frozen cocktails whereas the kitchen below sends up bar snacks like conservas, sandwiches, and chilled pasta.

Austin's Emmer & Rye Hospitality Group relocated its Spanish tapas bar Kalimotxo from downtown into the East Side, now found within the ARRIVE Austin hotel as of October. Now that Kalimotxo has much more space, it has expanded with its own sense of style and personality. There’s the stunning anchor bar, brick walls, darker details, and a DJ booth. For events, there’s access to the bar, the main dining room, two patios, and a semiprivate room. In all, the larger bar can fit up to 60 people inside and 60 outside within its 2,447 square feet indoors and 1,111 square feet outdoors. On deck are various configurations for dining, from seated dinners to passed appetizers, making use of its Basque menu.

Downtown taco window counter Tómalo took over the entire space belonging to its now-closed sibling, Bacalar, which means a new Mexican restaurant named Tómalo Grill is open as of September and is still run by real estate company Urbanspace Hospitality. The expanded elegant space means the kitchen can still serve its tacos alongside larger Mexican entrees, snacks, and desserts, plus cocktails. There are multiple areas available for rental, from the mezzanine private dining room with a TV and the ability to hold 18 guests from the balcony patio to the dedicated agave bar. The entire space spans 6,400 square feet indoors and 2,400 square feet outdoors and offers a full buyout capacity of 220 people.

Austin’s Christmas-forever bar Lala’s in the Brentwood neighborhood expanded into South Austin in August with Lala’s South Pole, bringing along its brightly lit festive vibes and drinks, run by FBR Management. The walls are covered in kitschy holiday knickknacks and decor, making it the perfect setting for its themed cocktails. The entire 2,280-square-foot bar is available for buyouts fitting up to 82 guests. Plus, there’s on-site restaurant Brooklyn Pie Co. for pizza needs.

South Austin brewery St. Elmo expanded into the northeast region with its second location, St. Elmo Springdale, as of September. The comparatively larger new brewery at 15,000 total square feet retains its same vibrant look with pops of color from the indoor mural by artist Emily Eisenhart to the light beige tiles lining the bar that is kid- and pet-friendly. There are various areas available, from the outdoor patio with a cool children’s play structure that is 1,500 square feet and fits 30 to 40 people, and the indoor taproom at 3,000 square feet. Naturally, there are tons of beers, as well as Texas-made wine and ciders, frozen drinks, and on-site food trucks Spicy Boys with fried chicken sandwiches and Pueblo Viejo with tacos.

Cabana Club is a unique venue that functions as a cafe, bar, and pool since it opened in May in the East Austin area. The giant 12,000-square-foot business features indoor and outdoor spaces conducive to co-working, group meetings, and more (there’s Wi-Fi); the outdoor pool with lounge chairs; and a pergola structure for alfresco seating with shade. For visual purposes, there are two outdoor screens and an indoor television. There’s a coffee program as well as a full bar; along with three food trucks: Mexican truck La Yunta, Jamaican truck Mr. Pimento, and pan-Asian-Latin sushi truck Asian Roll; and on-site restaurant Grey’s Kitchen, which serves brunch and tapas and has catering capabilities.

New York City neighborhood bar The Flower Shop expanded outside of the East Coast with its first-ever location in Austin in October. The Flower Shop Austin took over a vacant two-floor restaurant building with an on-site water tower that used to be home to a tortilla factory office. The brick walls remain from those days, but the team spruced up the 5,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space with Midwestern and retro decor, including indoor cocktail seating, a street-level beer garden, the second-floor alfresco deck with '50s and '60s hotel pool bar aesthetics, and a private outdoor bar. The menu is full of new American, Australian, and pub-style foods, while the bar focuses on easygoing cocktails, beers, and shots. The parking lot is also available for bookings.

North Austin brewery Hopsquad got into the cocktail game when it opened a new bar, Kramer’s Cocktails, in August. The cocktail menu focuses on agave spirits, such as tequilas, mezcals, and lesser-known liquors, available in solo pours or within cocktails. The 1,000-square-foot space is intimate and cute with an aesthetic straight out of Mexico, fitting 73 people and with the availability of the brewery’s space for expansion. There’s food by on-site truck Doughsquad, which offers pizzas and empanadas, and can cater small plates.