Downtown Austin just got another bar, but this one comes with a backstory that could fill an entire Ken Burns documentary. The Victorian, from MML Hospitality, has opened inside The Driskill Hotel, a property that has been around so long it has seen everything from cattle barons to LBJ broadcasting out of its studios. Now it is a saloon meets social club, and it leans hard into history while still pouring drinks strong enough to remind you this is Austin.
Old Souls and New Tricks
This room has lived many lives. Bank. Barbershop. Spa. Radio studio for a future president. At this point The Victorian could qualify for a Texas historical marker all on its own. Today it is a two story bar with a mahogany centerpiece wrapped in cowhide panels, velvet seats you actually want to sink into, and a mezzanine that overlooks the action like the second floor of a poker hall.
The vibe is not sterile hotel lounge. It is more like if an Old West saloon put on a velvet smoking jacket and decided to clean up its act. You can sip whiskey in peace or wander upstairs to play pool and cards, pretending you just made a fortune in cattle.
Cocktails with Tradition and a Wink
The bar program is built around heritage whiskeys, classic cocktails, and a beer list that respects both Texas loyalty and European tradition. You can get a proper pour of bourbon or a pint of something continental, but this is not where you yell “Jägerbombs for the table.” This is a room for sipping, for tasting, for realizing that whiskey aged in oak barrels tastes different from the stuff you bought on sale at a gas station outside Waco.
Pub Fare, Texas Style
The menu reads like a pub moved to Austin and started wearing boots. You have fish and chips, pretzel rolls, and house made beef jerky, all safe bets. Then it swerves into full Texas weirdness with rattlesnake bites, which are exactly what they sound like. Order them once and you will have a story for life. The Victorian Burger is likely to be the crowd favorite, big enough to soak up a night’s worth of whiskey and stylish enough to become its own Instagram trend.
This is the kind of menu Bourdain would have appreciated. Nothing overly precious, but enough character that you feel like you are eating Austin, not some imported concept meant for tourists.
The Victorian lives inside The Driskill Hotel at 604 Brazos Street. It is open from 3 PM to midnight on weekdays and noon to 2 AM on weekends.
The Driskill is already Austin’s grand dame of hotels. The Victorian gives her a proper watering hole, one that feels like it has always been there. It has history in its walls, whiskey in its glass, and rattlesnake on its menu. That is Austin in a nutshell.