Darwin's Piano Bar

This was the first bar I went to on my Christmas Texas holiday, the piano bar is great with so many talented musicians. Came back a few times and felt like a “local” with the bar staff remembering my drink choice and other staff welcoming be back. Great vibe, greet people. Definitely worth a visit if you’re in Austin! I’ll be back!

Talented musicians on tap and they offered free bottled water. Unfortunately, the long haired man at the bar was rude and condescending.

First things first…CJ was THE MAN. We had such a blast with the rest of the crowd and the musicians did great! CJ really made us feel at home. We will definitely return!

Killer vibes and even better live music. This place is a must-visit! Definitely the standout moment of my vacation so far. I'll be thinking about this night for a long while.

Such a fun spot in Austin! Loved the live music with requests. CJ took the best care of us. We had a blast singing along and dancing.

We came to the piano bar to celebrate my dad’s birthday 😂 we had a blast! The bartenders were super amazing and very friendly. The artists were super funny and interactive and took a bunch of requests! We will most definitely be back again!

A great time! Attentive staff and a wonderful manager/owner who oversaw everything. Great times.... Just wish the musician had started playing the faster/old rock and roll songs before 10 pm. People were requesting and giving $25/song, but he would just say "they're not ready yet." We finally had to leave .... As we flew out the next morning. Would definitely be back, but would know to go about 11 pm or after when the music started to be more driven by the "rowdy song" requests.

Live music was great! The bartender was super nice too, which is always a plus. We sat in a booth, and had a lot of fun. It's a cool place to hang out and listen to music. I will be back next time I am on 6th street.

Beyond love this bar. They treat everyone well and the owner & all the bartenders are spectacular. The most underrated bar in Austin!!! The musicians are rotating but all of them are good and are request based performers. Everyone is so friendly and it's just all around a good time!

CJ is the best bar owner in Texas. I have literally changed my flight back to California just so me and my wife could stop in and spend the evening here. Been here 4 or 5 times and it never fails to be the best piano bar around. Same piano guy every time and always fantastic. Thanks from Casey and Lauren in California.

A fun time here. The service and attention from staff was impeccable! The music was fun and a few of our requests were accepted.

We were in town on Saturday night and after grabbing dinner we were looking for something interesting with music. As we were walking by Darwin's, the doorman got our attention and guided us in. We grabbed a couple drinks and sat at the hightop in front of the stage. The piano player and drummer had the energy and crowd was having a good time. We requested a Teddy Swim's song and he admitted he had never played the song and it was be a first, he did a great job with it. It's an entertaining spot and we would easily return and I highly recommend you give them a try. I tinker the door man on the way out for the recommendation. Stop by and enjoy!

What a great piano bar! I was attending a conference and after went to get drinks with a few fellow solo travelers. Then we stumbled upon this lively joint. When we walked in the piano play, Issac, greeted us in front of everyone. What a hoot! The drinks were fine but I'd come back for Issac! We did some dancing and a whole lot of singing along. The bouncer's beard was epic too. See you next time!

The drinks were really good and the live music was great. The music was a variety of 80s music and country music. There was singing, drums and piano. Definitely good casual vibe with great music. If you are in the area stop by this place.

Here's a concise review you can use for Yelp: Disappointed with my experience here. I came with my service dog and boyfriend, and we were denied entry even after explaining that my dog is a trained service animal protected under the ADA. This is not only disrespectful but also a violation of federal law. I hope the establishment educates its staff on accommodating individuals with disabilities to prevent this from happening to others.

We loved the dueling piano bar. Great atmosphere and awesome music. Met a Canadian couple that celebrated their 32nd Anniversary .

We love Darwin's! Great pours of Guinness and the band always keeps it fun taking recommendations from the guests. Haven't tried their food and honestly not sure if they even have any? We always come for a few pints before hitting up comedy shows in the area and the bartenders and bouncers are always so kind - love Darwin's.

Our Bar tender was on point and as I can see is running the bar efficiently! The music is meh..here nor there...I smelled weed so I'm praying to God I don't get high . Other than that the bar is a good spot to visit! You can sit and chill and enjoy the vibes!!!

My favorite bar in austin, came here two nights straight and every time I visit this place is a must ! Where else can you have piano sing alongs , a really cool dude who greets you in the front and an amazing bartender that tops off your drink with liquor ? Come here for a good time and throw some darts while you're at it ! Amazing vibes and sing along while you're here !

I've been all across the USA and.... I have to tell you.. STOP HERE! I stopped on Thursday, came back Friday and came back Saturday.... They had a piano player (John) and a drummer (neil) taking requests.. they were AWESOME! All while CJ and his team (Dolores, Brock and the Gang) took care to Make sure that you had top notch service.... I stopped at 18+ joints during my stay and Darwin outshined them all! #TTFG! Stop at Darwin's, sing, dance and enjoy! Life is too short to miss out!

This place is fun! It may get crowded on weekends and that may cause service to be slow, but it's a club environment and that's what happens. Music is good, even if it's a bit old skool sing along songs. Many over 40's here enjoying the atmosphere. Bartenders are efficient and easy to work with. The interior has an old western saloon vibe and center bar is nice. Not much seating available, so be prepared to stand or dance if you're into it!

We randomly selected this spot for post dinner brews/shenanigans. You can tell this has a small town vibe where everyone knows your name. It's got a stage for live music and performances almost every Saturday. They have a large selection of Texas beers and your domestic ones. Tables are spread out for social distancing and there's a small floor to watch the band/performers. Our headliners was a two-man group playing keyboard and drums doing covers of whatever patrons requested. Got to hear my requests of Wonderwall and Under the Bridge fulfilled. With so many bars in Austin on this street, this is probably one of their better ones.

Denied my service dog and I access and the owner customer service was horrible. they clearly don't know the law and need to treat people with disability equally.

Well. Unless you're traveling with a group of young women celebrating a Bachelorette, you won't get much attention. We came here as 3 couples. First time in Austin. Place looked/sounded cool from the outside. We grabbed a few drinks and sat at the bar, started signing along. The pianist - I forget his name and his drummer Roger(I think was his name) were on set. (I'm not sure if you guys have different musicians. Pianist is a late 20s to late 30s age... goatee, Hispanic looking. (Photo in uploads for identity) We paid over $100 to him with 5 song requests. He only sang one. And im talking about your popular common piano bar songs like sweet caroline, journey, etc. We waited and waited thinking maybe he wants to sing other people's songs to mix it up. And the pianist Gladly took our money but all he cared about is he kept asking this group of girls celebrating their bachlorettd what song they wanted to hear. And the entire time we were there, these girls did not tip at all. Not once. Clearly Someone was trying to get laid. Also, I like sarcasm and comedy but this guy was straight up racist. He kept making racist Mexican jokes to a group that walked in from Houston. They hadn't even ordered drinks and he was gaslighting them. And then an Asian guy walks in and he kept saying jokes about how he(the patron) gave covid to everyone because he's Chinese. The patron was Korean!!!!! What the eff. My group left feeling disgusted. Not our scene. Would never support this business for as long as this guy is the "talent".

Great time at Darwin's ! C J always the best host to his guests walking in ! C J always makes us feel like rockstars ! Special tribute to Joe Resnick the drummer 2023 Memorial weekend Sunday ! Thank you to all piano players especially Michael for playing our specical request songs ! Darwin's is always a good time, and we were especially happy to participate in Joe's special fundraiser. Our prayers are with you Joe and we will see you soon! Keep rockin'!

I don't know why, but seems weird to rate a bar... however, I have to give credit where credit is due. The bartender & staff hustled the entire night, they were super friendly, handled the drunk slobs & bachelorette parties like seasoned pros. I was there with a couple girlfriends, and we thought it would be just a stop along the way, but we ended up staying there the entire night. Tito's Mules were on point and the people watching was epic (great spot to judge )

Dropped in due to the clever name. The bar wasn't busy for a weekend night at 7. Ordered some local beers...yuck..too much IPA in Austin. Abandoned my beer for a long island. The bartenders were awesome. They put my abandoned beer in the fridge for my husband to have when he finished his. We ended up ordering 2 t-shirts due to the attitudes of the bartender staff. When visiting Austin...be sure to drop in Darwin's. They have tvs all around the bar for sports fans.

The TV doesn't work at all. I am going to watch the game in the bar but the TV seems lagging. The bartender is not responsive and doesn't know what I am referring to. I bought a beer but it charged me $20. They said they're going refund me after the business hour but I haven't received it 12 hours later. Not a fun place to watch TV and enjoy in there. Also, they have no food there.

Why would you charge $8 for a lone star?? Ridiculous and obviously won't be back. WTF.

Fun, good music, good service!, had a lot of fun on a Monday night. The guitar player was great

Not only best bar in Austin but one of the best bars I've been to in my life!!!! The musicians and so talented and bartenders so friendly. I had so much fun singing to all of the music and bartenders were always looking out for us as young ladies on a girls trip in Austin. Highly recommend!!

lots of music to sing-a-long with piano & drums, talented musicians, fast friendly bar staff, Thank You CJ for taking care of us on mom's bday! we always enjoy the live music and atmosphere to lounge, dance, sing. Our fave spot on Sixth Street. Will definitely return for more!

we went here while deciding what to eat. bartenders were personable and genuine. we ended up have a few drinks here, I tried some local brews and the wife had a couple long islands. we ended buying g some shirts, love when bars sell shirts...more places need to.

I'm giving 5 stars for the fast and friendly service. You wouldn't expect attentive service on such a busy night yet it was superb! My hunny ordered us a pepperoni pizza which was thin crust and absolutely delicious!!! The perfect amount of Crunch factor and chewy, gooey center. Extra cool points for cutting it in squares versus the traditional pizza/pie slices. The friendly waitress even brought us ranch which has NEVER happened to me in TX. I thought it was just a Northwesterner thing, but I'm sure glad she brought it! The patrons were even friendly, fun and took our photo for us. Sweet! If you're around and second guessing ordering a pizza in this bar, go for it!! You'll be so glad you did.

Great live music, friendly bartenders, good happy hour. The music was a blues trio and they were very engaged with the crowd. Make sure you play the Lonestar cap game at the bar!

So nice local dive (in a good way), nice music, good people friendly people. So why 3/5? Mens room has 2 stalls and a urinal with NO DOORS on the stalls. If someone opens the door (which does not lock) the whole bar can see you doing your business. Not cool.

As a veteran traveler I must express my true appreciation for the staff here. Not only are busting there butts to make up for the short covid staff. They have made is feel like a VIP. The bar tender made some great recommendations along with the owner checking on everyone. To make sure they are taken care of. The menu is small but a great value. Which the love music over shadows anyways. I recommend when in Austin you spend an even at Darwin's Pub. Now back to my unexpected exquisite evening. Time to hit the dance floor. Thank you Darwin's!!!

Great little pub! Super chill! Good drinks and better service. It was also very reasonable. I even met some stud policeman ;) They have a stage, which makes me believe that it's way more poppin' at night, but that's not the vibe I wanted at 2pm! Great staff! Great drinks! We paid $4 a drink! And I don't even think it was happy hour!!!

I've lived outside of Austin for many years, but about two weeks after moving into the city we went on an unplanned night out. Parking was right around the corner so we kind of stumbled into the place! Live music, seats at the bar, affordable drinks, and seemed like a chill place. Definitely laid back. Definitely will visit again.

Great place for music! I never give 5 stars, but the piano and drums duet were awesome. Friendly service and reasonably priced beverages. On a street oriented to twenty year olds, it was great to find a place that was good for all ages. I went in quite a few places during our visit last weekend, but this one stood out in the 6th street area. Hats off to great live music and timely friendly service!

Another one of my favorite places during my visit to Austin. There were some really talented performers and it kinda blows my mind how vast their repertoire was, given that everything they play is by request from the crowd. Every night I went out, I eventually found myself here at some point. Definitely check it out if you get the chance!

Well if it was possible I would give it less than one star. We are now in 2021 and after all that has happened, the owner chooses to be a racist (as I'm sure you'll see from the other one star reviews). My friends have never had a racist experience here in Austin since we have been here; however, Darwin's was one of the places where this was so glaringly apparent that I was appalled. The alcohol is overpriced, which by itself is fine--it is dirty sixth after all. The music is fine, just what you'd expect from a dive bar or a piano bar. Service is decent. The problem stems with the owner right at the door--not only did he make a number of disparaging and downright condescending comments to my POC friends (clearly apparent in how other members of my party were treated compared to me and a few others), he also clearly favors WASPs to be patrons of the bar (no ID anyone?). There seems to be a clear disconnect between Darwin's and the rest of Austin--the bar is not a welcoming place if you don't look a certain way. I really can't stress how appalled I am at this behavior and really hope they figure this out if not for their business but for their own growth. Do not patronize this business--there are way better places right on 6th

My husband and I have been coming to Darwin's for the past 3 years. We love the piano improv music and the staff. The staff has always made us feel like family and go out of their way to say hello and chat. We love the atmosphere , even with the CoVid restrictions. The drinks are always good. And their Buffalo wings are the best we've had since living in Texas. We originally hail from Buffalo NY area. We will continue to enjoy a Saturday night at Darwin's . Highly recommend a visit here if you find yourself on 6th street. Great energy- great staff- delicious Buffalo wings. Superb service.

What a fun place! In an area in downtown Austin (6th street) where there are a lot of young people bars. This place had great beer and a fabulous keyboard player and drummer! They took requests and knew every since word to every single song! And they sounded great! Appreciated their attention to Covid!

My husband's card was stolen and the manager said it sounds like our problem so obviously there is no morals at this place! This was the only place we used this card so a false accusation is highly unlikely. Since I'm here I wouldn't give this place more than 3 stars anyway as it was mainly amateurs. They tried but the loud music gave me a headache and definitely number one for the worst Mojito I've had in my life!

I'm pretty impressed with Darwin's. Had I not eaten, I'd probably be more impressed, but I'm happy to report all bars on 6th are not treated equal. There's some gold on that street. We sat at some bar top tables overlooking the street. The open windows made it feel like a patio and the view couldn't be beat. The interior feels very Cheers. The large wooden bar has tons of bar space to pull up a stool and chat with the Irish bartender. I'd give this bar a try if you've overlooked it so many times like me.

Happened upon this place on Tuesday night after walking around looking for good live music and was beyond impressed. Michael on the piano and Joe on the drums were incredible!!! Such a fun time!

The pianist was very talented and the drinks were great but above all was the service - seriously amazing people! Also super nice crowd! A special thank you for the lovely lovely lady attending the bar who made an effort to help me with my headache! I'm sorry I had to leave quickly and couldn't find you to say good bye!

Came to Austin to celebrate by wife's birthday. After dinner we were on our way to another piano bar and passed Darwin's and thought maybe we would come back. Got to the other bar and they were charging $10pp cover. There are a million bars on 6th street. None of them were packed on this holiday weekend but they were busy. We said to each other let's go back to the one with no cover. Glad we did. Had a great time. CJ, the owner , greeted us at the door. Found a table for us and took our drink order. They gave us bottles of water, no charge. We enjoyed it so much we came back the next night and CJ found us seats at the bar. Didn't even need to ask our order. He knew what we wanted and brought me a sample beer to try. The late piano players on both Friday and Saturday starts at 9pm and is joined by Joe the drummer. The player before 9 was the same young man both nights. He plays awesome piano solo without Joe. Very friendly staff and great prices and best of all no cover.

Stopped here for the last round before calling it a night! Piano man and drummer were awesome! Heard thunderstruck and Radiohead. Free pizza! This place rocks!

Love this place! The owner and bartenders are great and you can't beat the live music!

Drinks are overpriced ($5 for a lone star) and management is rude and sleazy. I went in for the first time last night and was surprised at how the manager talked down to my friend and I. Typically I would expect someone who wants to stay in business to treat customers respectfully and without condescension, but I guess they don't really care. On the plus side, bartenders seemed pretty nice.

Didn't try the food, but dropped in late on a Wednesday night. Beer selection was good. The waitresses and bar tenders were friendly, and the band (Bad Marmot) was excellent.

Was walking down 6th as the piano player serendipitously (so we thought) started playing "Piano Man." Naturally, my mother and I went inside, hoping to dance and sing along (as the tune's one of her all time favorites). The piano player quickly chastened us, because he's apparently disinterested in people having fun under his purview. Only visit this place if you're hoping to sit in silence -- unlike most piano bars, this one's not for the lighthearted.

Some friends and I dropped by last Wednesday after dinner . . . had a great time! The crowd provides song suggestions for the piano player who's accompanied by a drummer. We went two nights and the musicians were outstanding and did a super job engaging the crowd. The service was fast and everyone in the bar was friendly. I even got on the stage and played drums for one of my song suggestions! Darwin's is definitely on the list for my next visit to Austin.

Nice place for a drink and some piano fun. We were there only for the opener but had fun. Friendly vibe for sure and they let you bring in outside food if you like since they don't serve any. Drinks were great!

I've never had a bartender/server be this blatantly rude. We tried to order a beer that was listed on their website. The conversation went as follows: "I'll take a [insert website beer here]". "We don't have that." "Oh, it's on your website." "No it's not.", she said, voice dripping with disdain. We looked it up. And it was, in fact, on the website, which has apparently not been updated in 3 years. When we showed the bartender that the beer was indeed on the website, she could not have been ruder in her responses. No respect at all. Basically insulted us for trying to order a drink that was clearly advertised. The selection of beers was not what was upsetting, but rather the disrespectful service. The rest of staff was so friendly. What a shame that one person ruined my opinion of the establishment. Band that was playing was great. Service was less than desirable.