Neighborly vibes abound at these two downtown locales.
By April Cumming
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The Boiler Room Bar
800 W. Cesar Chavez St., boilernine.com
Located in what was formerly the Seaholm Power Plant’s boiler room, the appropriately named Boiler Room Bar is now a clandestine, candle-lit, basement-like escape. This is the place to come for those after-work drinks with friends, especially for the crowd that wants to stay in the heart of the city and, most importantly, stay alive in the incomparable heat of a summer afternoon in Austin. The Boiler Room Bar is the lowest tier of the four-level restaurant Boiler Nine Bar + Grill, which helms the main floor. Before retreating down the elevator and into the dim, curtained-off, cavernous space below, it’s worth making your way to the top tier—the Deck Nine Observatory Bar—to soak in the sunset.
Once you’ve made your final descent to a table at the Boiler Room Bar, act like a regular and place an order or two of beer bread, two house-baked rolls served with barbecue salt, smoked beef-fat butter and beer jam. Yes, it’s as delicious and decadent as it sounds. (Pro tip: For your first libation, try the Drop City with bourbon. Mixed with wildflower peach, lemon, black-tea bitters and spearmint, the drink is a sweet and citrusy concoction that feels just light enough to order up another.)
It may sound cliché to call a bar a hideaway, but you’ll be hard pressed to find a place more deserving of the title.
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Nightcap
1401 W. Sixth St., nightcapaustin.com
Although this charming date-night locale has been open for only about a year and a half, step inside and you’ll find an emanating sense of permanence and place. Then again, that’s exactly how this spot should feel. After all, the bar and restaurant are housed in a renovated West Sixth Street home. There’s a comfortable, low-key elegance about the deep-purple- and gray-hued dining room and a convivial friendliness among the bar staff that makes hours after entering seem to pass by in minutes.
For those looking to enjoy a pleasant night out without getting too close to the rowdy scene on Sixth Street, Nightcap is your antidote. Nightcap was originally promoted as a desserts-and-drinks-focused dining spot, but the dinner menu is more than capable of holding its own in the spotlight. (Pro tip: Place an order of Adam’s Olives to start.)
Be sure to swing by the bar on Sundays from 5 to 10 p.m. for Nightcap’s Burgers & Burgundy night. Ask to top your house-made burger with homemade bacon jam, smoked avocado and a sunny-side-up egg. Just don’t be alarmed when you find yourself in a satiated, transcendental state. To digest, retreat to the grassy front lawn and spend the remainder of the evening resting languidly on a couch and sipping a Red Light Special, a cocktail consisting of mezcal, green chartreuse and pomegranate, topped with a sprig of torched rosemary.