Bartenders have seen it all . Not only do they in person experience the pain sensation in the ass – um , privilege of date stamp in Austin on their own time , but their line of work also offers them a front - row seat to the date scene and the opportunity to ( soberly ) observe as the sleep of us ( not so soberly ) set about to line up our soul married person – or next sexual partner – every Saturday dark . From this unequaled advantage decimal point behind the bar , they ’ve witnessed what process , what definitely does n’t mold , and , on some occasions , what might just get you punched in the face .
So , since there ’s distinctly no demographic better suited to leave dating advice , we recruited a few Austin bartenders to provide dos , don’ts , top , and thaumaturgy that aretotallyguaranteed to help you retrieve love life or luxuria or at the very least look like less of an idiot .
Get outside
“ I ’ve found the Greenbelt to be a very favorable place … to make friends or otherwise . Everyone ’s outside , in the sun , in a honest mood and feeling expert about the scene of their lives , so … " –Andrea Lewis , Icenhauer ’s
Do something besides drink… sometimes
“ Do n’t spend ALL your time getting tank with someone . It ’s gentle to last that lifestyle here . Get yourself and your date outta the barroom on occasion and into the world . This urban center has so much more to put up . ( But if you are gon na drink , come drink at Swan Dive ! ) ” –Jeremy Rogers , Swan Dive
Know your Austin audience
“ Be dog - favorable and vegan - friendly . ” –Mandy Cline , Crow Barand Lindley Weaver , Frank
Import an SO
“ Austin is great for being single , but if you ’re looking for a serious kinship , find someone from out of town and land them here like I did . ” –Tana Lea , Bat Bar
Don’t spit game at a grocery store (unless there’s booze)
“ Men will say that the grocery store is the best place to blame up ladies . From a womanhood ’s point of eyeshot , I’mnot even felicitous I ’m at the grocery store . I ’m piddle I did n’t go to Whataburger . Anyone that try out to arrive at on me at the grocery store is going to see me at my speculative . Unless there ’s alcohol at the grocery depot … like the Whole Foods wine-coloured bar . THAT ’S a good place to pick up people . ” –Sarah Eubank , Infamous Brewing society
Have some gumption, even sans alcohol
“ You have to be able to be sombre and forward , which is a hard affair for hoi polloi . Most appointment I go on get-go with me chatting with a guy in a public place and being like , ‘ I want your phone number . ’ It ’s usually me who asks after a conversation has been going well , and I think that masses are afraid to do that – I remember women are afraid to do that . You just have to kind of have a twosome of nut . I get reject all the time [ but ] if I was n’t able-bodied to do that in real life , I would never date . ” –Andrea Lewis , Icenhauer ’s
Don’t drink-and-buy-drinks
“ When you are trying to pick up girls at a bar , make indisputable you are n’t so completely gone that you offer to buy them drinks and then block to ante up , leaving them stuck with the yellow journalism . So wrong ! ” –Jessica Youssefi , Castro ’s
Patience is an overrated virtue
“ Pull the initiation ASAP . [ The ] three - daytime rule does n’t subsist in Austin . –Vitaliy Radevich , Craftsman
Don’t discriminate
“ My tip for getting laid is to get Grindr . Maybe not applicable to everyone , but it works , and a sassing is a sassing . ” –Skyler Hulme , Rain on 4th
Put away the pick-up lines
“ No matter how quirky or clever , do you really want your first notion to be a pickup railway line ? total on … Your mama lift you well . ” –Jeremy Rogers , Swan Dive
No, seriously, put them away
“ If you ’re resorting to having to use a pick - up line , then the chances are you spit game like a Sega Genesis ( not good ) . Do n’t be weird and just stare . Just take the air up to the soul , introduce yourself , maybe tell the daughter she ’s beautiful ( not live ) , provide to buy her a drink , and then demand her motion about herself . ” –Tana Lea , Bat Bar
Offer suggestions, not shots
“ I call up the best drill is to recommend a drinkable . Like , ‘ Have you had the new Deep Eddy Peach ? It ’s luscious , allow me buy you one . ’ It ’s more than just me getting alcoholic drink into your torso . ” –Andrea Lewis , Icenhauer ’s
Refrain from turning into a hot mess
" Austin is hard to date in for anyone , allow alone someone who mash with stranger for a sustenance until latterly at night . I have by all odds given my phone number to someone on a reception with plans to hang out after only for that person to go on a rager . I can not punctuate this enough . Getting wasted on a first date is trashy . ” –Skyler Hulme , Rain on 4th
Pick your poison carefully
“ Do not order Rumplemintz or Ice 101 because you might get a little too sloppy … and you might not get it up later . ” –Kevin Randolph , HandleBar
Don’t mention the ex factor
“ Some advice for a girl on a first date : do n’t talk about your ex - boyfriend . That sucks . I ’m not here to peach to you about your ex - boyfriend and what happen , what ’s lead on . I do n’t want to know his name or where he lives or what he does for a living . ” –Kevin Randolph , HandleBar
Raise the bar
“ Maybe it ’s unlike for straight people , but when gays go to the homophile bar on a first escort it is tacky . Gay bars is where festive men go to get messy and straight women go to act like they ’re in a zoological garden . So if you need to go to a bar for a first date , try somewhere knowledgeable like Garage Bar . ” –Skyler Hulme , Rain on 4th
Be aspiritualguide
“ The bountiful ‘ do n’t ’ I see happen a lot is the guy always orders his drink first and look at the woman for her drinking edict . A gentleman goes over the computer menu with the dame . ” –Brian Delgado , Whisler ’s
Focus on stuff besides dating
“ Succeeding at dating is a byproduct of succeeding at life sentence . Get really adept at everything and win everything all the fourth dimension . ALL . THE . TIME . ” –Jeremy Rogers , Swan Dive
Think quality over quantity
“ Austin is a smashing city to engagement in , but everyone craves that instant someone who is going to be the love of their lives , and that is just not practical in my eye . Love takes metre to find , and you could date stamp until you ’re blue in the expression , but that in my opinion does not increase your odds of finding ‘ the one . ’ You just date more , have more half - assed connections , and more half - assed relationship failures . ” –Jessica Youssefi , Castro ’s
“ If you notice she has half her drink and you ’re on your second , you might wanna stop drinking as fast . Drink at her pace . Let the peeress direct at the drink . [ And ] if she ’s lease shot down , Allium tricoccum up your game . ” –Kevin Randolph , HandleBar
Know what you want, online date accordingly
“ As a girl , I finger like Tinder in Austin is utile only if you ’re looking for a foul BMX boy or skater that ’s in townsfolk for the ex - Games and want to give you spare drunkenness coupons at Shakespeare ’s . If you ’re look for a man with a job who may or may not be married then record hop on Bumble or well yet , seekingarrangement.com . ” –Tana Lea , Bat Bar
Ask the right questions up top
“ expect a miss if she ’s wait for someone . If she says , ‘ Yea , I ’m waiting for my BF , ’ you ’ve just saved yourself time and [ money ] lol . ” –Vitaliy Radevich , Craftsman
Social sports will help you score
“ If you wanna get laid , join a social sport squad – it ’s inevitable . Just roll in the hay that they ’re screwing someone else on the team as well . peculiarly if they ’re the salutary at the sportswoman . incur someone who sucks at kickball . They wo n’t be banging someone else … unless they ’re really good at flip cup . –Sarah Eubank , Infamous Brewing Company
Don’t limit yourself to just one scene
“ Do n’t be so closed apt . It ’s not about West Sixth , Sixth Street , Rainey Street . Having an open philia and capable creative thinker , you never know . Go with the catamenia . When you have forged vibration , you ’re gon na get bad vibes . Sometimes you scram ta go fist - heart with the bros to get the hoe . ” –Kevin Randolph , HandleBar
Be real, get down
“ Be confident . Be genuine . Seek common interests . You are already in the same place . You both are there for a grounds . originate there . Then show them your sweet saltation moves . ” –Jeremy Rogers , Swan Dive
For first dates, prioritize parking
“ PWPs – places with parking [ like ] The Domain so multitude do n’t see your furious parking devil to come out . Everyone ’s get one . The softheaded comes out too tight when you do n’t have parking . ” –Sarah Eubank , Infamous Brewing troupe
Take turns paying… but guys, go first
“ There are a lot of gaudy men out there . [ Guys , ] cover the first round . More than likely , you will have another drink . That ’s the time for the lady to extend to pay . ” –Brian Delgado , Whisler ’s
Be friends first
“ Austin ’s an easy lieu to make champion , and I palpate like that leads to dating , so I feel like the ripe room is to just be shiver about it . " –Andrea Lewis , Icenhauer ’s
Don’t be the creepy old guy
“ These military man will part asking like dads and preying on these girls ’ pappa issues . Stay in your geezerhood group – or at least the 10 - year buffer on each side – and do n’t attempt to play the pappa card . Parenting is not a pick - up line . ” –Sarah Eubank , Infamous Brewing Company
Make the bartender your BFF
“ I ’m your bartender , but I ’m your friend still . When you have a friend like me on your side , we ’ll make you wait good . Befriend the barkeep . ensure you take care of him . He ’ll get you set . " –Kevin Randolph , HandleBar
Accept rejection gracefully
“ Do not attempt to buy a girlfriend a drinking and then call her seedy figure at the saloon after she deny your sorry ass . Lame . ” –Jessica Youssefi , Castro ’s
Keep it simple
“ You wanna have interpersonal chemistry . Those piddling signs – smile , make heart contact , listening . really listen to what they ’re saying and respond . coarse sense is n’t so rough-cut these sidereal day . " –Kevin Randolph , HandleBar
Ladies, you can’t [always] get what you want
" One thing I see [ as a bartender ] that the general population might not mark are woman just being really pushy with guys . I think it ’s great that cleaning woman are confident but charwoman with a footling too much fluid bravery sometimes do n’t understand that a man might not be concerned in them . I conceive the takeout from that is peradventure … just because you ’re a woman , you ca n’t have every guy wire you want . It ’s not bad to take the air out the door with that kind of confidence , but aggregate that trust with liquor and you might be putting some hoi polloi in some uncomfortable situations . Just be aware and maybe keep friends around who will be very honest with you . ” –Andrea Lewis , Icenhauer ’s
When in doubt, buy drinks named after yourself
“ My personal favorite first date fleck in Austin would be dinner party at Truluck ’s or – on a cheaper ordered series with a more chill vibe – Shoal Creek followed by a Tana Titty Shot at HandleBar . ” –Tana Lea , Bat Bar
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Flickr/Sean Loyless (edited)
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Dan Gentile/Thrillist
Courtesy of Kevin Randolph
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Courtesy of Sarah Eubanks
COURTESY OF GINNY’S LITTLE LONGHORN SALOON
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