Address: 2207 Justin Lane
Website: https://www.lalasaustintexas.com/
Do you like the holidays? I like the holidays. At Lala’s, it’s Christmas all year. Only, it’s better than Christmas because you don’t have to listen to your uncle rant about how our country’s gone to hell since the good old days.
When I first went to Lala’s, I’d heard an urban legend about it. As it was told to me: the woman who opened the bar back in 1972 had it all decorated for Christmas that year. Her son was in the military and was tragically killed right before Christmas. To keep his memory alive, she decided to keep the Christmas decor up all year. This rumor is false.
What’s true is that the vibe in this bar is FESTIVE. I don’t see how anyone could be in a bad mood after stepping inside. There’s a generous covered patio out front that protects you from most outdoor elements, which is nice. Inside, there’s a smallish bar where you’ll find friendly bartenders. It’s not a huge space inside, but it’s also not a music venue so you don’t have to worry about bands driving the crowds in. Bathrooms are unisex and you have to hunt around to find them in a couple of different spots around the place.
About the bar: They serve warm boozy drinks in cute little porcelain Christmassy cups. Try them, they’re unique and welcome on a chilly Austin night. Their other cocktails are solid. Beer selection is small and mostly domestic. They offer Jolly Hour here until 7, where you can get $2.50 domestic beers and $3 wells.
Sometimes it’s quiet here, sometimes it’s busy – like your typical neighborhood bar. They have a pool table and juke box with just about every genre of music in it (not just Christmas music). The bartender will let you select music on the juke, but they want to know how many songs you intend to DJ (ha!). I’m told they hold game nights on Mondays.
Most of what you’ll do at Lala’s is drink and peep the Christmas decorations. They’re covering the walls, hanging from the ceiling, sitting on shelves and exist just about wherever you look – even inside the bathrooms. A few elves hang over the bar, periodically bouncing up and down on strings. There’s a giant red digital clock posted up among the liquor bottles – a countdown to Christmas, of course. There’s a giant green Grinch-style throne and a large creepy Santa Claus, optimal for photo opps. And last but not least – a velvet Elvis graces the wall. I talked to one of the owners (Jeff, I think) a couple months ago about when he and his partners took over the bar in 2015; he said the previous owner pilfered the original velvet Elvis so he had to replace it. Good man.
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