Lustre Pearl Bar

We’ve had lot of debauchery here over the years. Ping pong battles (a couple tables out back), good drunk food from the on-​site food trailer, and good drinks but not great drinks. If you’re primary thing is excellent drinks, this is not the place. If your primary thing is great bar food, this is not the place. If your primary thing is a energized vibe that is not crazy college, then this is a fun spot to hit up.

«Dude!»
“Bro!”
“DUDE!”
“BRO!!!“
This was a conversation between two men that was in the form of screaming in the middle of the bar. If there was ever a litmus test for a bar this was it. Huge step down since the last few times I was here.

Beer, hipsters, bourbon, beer, hipsters, bourbon and a boatload of live music. I thought this place was totally chilled out and fun. It has a fireplace (what?!) and is such a relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere that just about anyone can roll in and enjoy themselves. Highly recommended! The back yard is awesome and that’s where the music/​magic happens.

Lustre Pearl is one of the better bars on Rainey Street. It has a ton of outdoor seating and lots of space for the usual nightly crowds. They also have a ping-​pong table! The beverage offerings are pretty much identical to other Rainey Street bars, which are slightly more expensive than Sixth Street.
As a word of warning, the backyard is extremely dusty, so be careful with your shoe and pants selections, especially if they show dirt really easily.

Cool bar, great atmosphere… liked the multiple rooms with the old paint peeling off the wall and the aging mantle. No beer on tap here, only bottles. Otherwise a laid back place with cool bands.

I don’t get out much lately, but wow, I was not impressed with this place. There was a wide range of ages, which was cool, but most of them were white. Now, yes, I am white, but I prefer to associate myself with a diverse group of people. I saw maybe one Indian, a couple East Asians, and one black. I was there with my Hispanic friend and I think she may have been the only Hispanic in the entire bar. I have no idea if this is how a typical night at the Lustre Pearl really is, but I certainly hope not.
On top of that, I guess I’m used to going to my cheap bars because, $ 26 for 4 small drinks was a bit much.
Too trendy, too hipster, too expensive, and not diverse enough.

What a cool place! I’d heard about Lustre Pearl before, but had never been there despite all of my trips to Rainey street. I knew I was in love with the place when I saw they had a fire going in the fireplace on a chilly night (Lustre Pearl is in an old house).
Lustre Pearl has a great feel to it. It’s like you crashed a really awesome friend’s house party. The people are friendly, there’s a great outdoor area, and the bartenders know how to make a drink. Plus, there are hula hoops! Seeing the broken hearted friend I was taking out for the night get in a hula hoop contest was priceless.

Lustre Pearl is ridiculously beautiful… worth coming to just for the amazing old house that it’s in. They decorate it really beautifully for Christmas, too.

As a former Longhorn, my friends and I often take trips down to Austin to walk down memory lane. I know Rainy Street is not new, but it’s a new discovery for us and I absolutely love the environment. As frequent dirty 6 patrons, this is a nice change in pace. It is very chill with strong drinks and lots of fun activities all set in an rustic home. I will definitely visit this place again!

I’m new to Austin and this has been my favorite bar so far.
The inside is a rustic urban outfitters vibe complete with a disco ball room. There are pockets for mingling and one main bar. The outside is huge with plenty of seating and a gorgeous tree covered in mason jar lights. There are some games including hula hoops; I will def be partaking when it’s warmer. There was no live music playing, but there was a stage so fingers crossed someone will be there next time. Although, I will say I loved every song that played while I was there; it was as if they stole my iPhone. My fave drink was the Ophelia’s 76 (could be the wrong #), which was a vodka cocktail. So delish; I feel like I won’t be able to go back to Rainey Street without grabbing one! Last little bit — Bomb Tacos is outside and it’s amazing!

Lustre Pearl Bar is a decent place to get a drink, but for me it stopped at just being decent. The lack of draft beer is a pretty huge let down when I’m going to a bar, and I’d say one of my biggest issues with this place. Maybe they’ve added it since my experience there, but I hadn’t heard anything about that.
The last time I was there the bartender was pretty inattentive to everyone except for his friend, and the two of them just sort of started yelling things to each other. The kind of conversation punctuated with lots of «you know what I mean dude.» Not like any of this was a real deal-​breaker from a return customer perspective, but it was a little frustrating at the time.
I’ll definitely go back at some point, but it’s not high on my list of priorities.

This place has been taken over by the Rainey street cliente of not really caring about 1) live music, 2) eye gouging prices on beer (s), and 3) the foosball table is gone! I repeat THE FOOSBALL TABLE IS GONE.
Not the best place to go to play foosball anymore. Don’t go here.

When visiting Austin, I absolutely adored Rainey st and its bars. My only regret is that we went on our final night in Austin so I didn’t get a chance for a second visit. In particular out of all the bars, Lustre Pearl Bar is good fun. Where else could you find a food truck in the back, hula hoops to play with & a ping pong table, all in a backyard?
I went with a group of friends on a Saturday night. The bar and backyard was full, with a really friendly crowd of people. Most people seemed happy to share tables outside and mingle. There was even some impromptu hula hoop competition. So pleasant for a drink after dinner! Whilst some staff were lovely, others however were not so nice. One of the security guards in particular was quite rude but hopefully that was just a once-​off.
Overall, Lustre Pearl has a good vibe where you feel like you’re drinking with friends in someone’s backyard.

I like the urban outfitters meets frontier house vibe at this place. This being my first time in Austin it’s kind of crazy to go to these bars that were clearly houses before, with side drinking rooms and back yards.
Sadly my cocktail was too sweet. And nine dollars. Ouch.

Ici, tout est bon.
I love this bar. Lustre Pearl is perfect for those nights that you don’t want to go downtown and be greeted by a bunch of 20-​year-​olds dancing on a bar or for those nights that you don’t want to go crazy and want a chill, yet great night. I’ve had many a fun night at Lustre Pearl and I think the atmosphere of the bar definitely contributes. You walk in and you see a great patio with friendly dogs (yes! you can bring your dog!), hula hoops, table tennis, and a ton of benches to sit, chat, and relax. It’s super chill and really cozy.
The bar mainly has a variety beer and various staple cocktails, but it’s definitely not your «specialty cocktail» type of bar. The inside part of the bar is definitely my favorite. It has a great ambiance and has very limited seating, so grab a Shiner, and grab a seat! I do wish Lustre Pearl carried more seasonal beers (Shiner Ruby Red is my new fave), but regardless their drinks are a pretty good price so I can’t complain. Parking is a bit difficult so make sure you’re either a terrific parallel parker or you’re willing to pay a bit for parking that is available in a nearby lot (I believe it’s $ 5).
Lustre Pearl also hosts a ton of events that are really cool, and I’ve been to a few, namely their SXSW showcases and their Crawfish Boil. I’m also going to review those for people who plan on going in the future.
I have nothing but great things to say about their SXSW showcases. I went on two different days to see various bands I was excited about, and I actually got in! During SXSW, we all know what a pain lines can be, but Lustre Pearl did a great job managing the lines and actually letting people in (which I can’t say for many of the other bars I went to). Also, because it’s a smaller venue, you can get really close to the stage and have a great view of the entire performance. Lustre Pearl was definitely one of the best SXSW venues I went to.
Sadly, I can’t say the same thing about their Crawfish Boil. For $ 15/​plate (cash only!) you get about 3 pounds of bland, unimpressive, overboiled, underseasoned, so-​not-​worth-​it crawfish. Oh, and a measly piece of corn and a potato. Believe me, I loveeee me some of those mudbugs but these were such a disappointment. Because Lustre Pearl doesn’t prepare the crawfish themselves, I really can’t blame them, but I really wish they had a better crawfish company providing the crawfish at their events. Currently, they use Austin Crawfish Company to cater the crawfish at their crawfish boils, so until they change who makes the crawfish, I will sadly not be going back for their Crawfish Boils.

The four stars is for the décor in this bar. We do not have bars like this in Cali. Every room has a super old, but amazing feeling. The exposed brick, old lights, and fire place makes every room cozy. You forget you are in a bar, you feel like you in a haunted mansion. Super cool. The outside has all types of yard games you can play while boozing. It’s like a house party with a full bar. NICE.
Bartenders are meh, but they make a great apple pie, cider and fireball. YUM!
Stop in for at least a drink.

Go for a crawfish boil! Really great crawfish for a great price with good company. If this review was just for a crawfish boil, it’d be 5 stars.
My only problem with Lustre Pearl is that it’s always been majorly crowded when I’ve been, to the point where I am aimlessly walking around trying to find somewhere to go that isn’t in the way. I feel like there should be more seating, or less seating.
They have a good selection of cheap drinks & fun events. Can’t go wrong, I guess!

Probably my favorite Rainey St bar because of the crowd and their big backyard full of entertainment:
1) The hula hoops make for a fun and embarrassing drinking game punishment.
2) The ping pong table features a metal net so slamming the ball comes with a high likelihood that it comes flying right back into your face.
3) Foosball table inside to finish off the trifecta.

The Lustre Pearl was an awesome bar with an amazing patio. We went for happy hour and ended up staying a bit longer than expected because we were enjoying ourselves. The service was good and fast. The selection of beers was nice and it has some good specials as well.
On my second trip I decided to try the taco truck out back. Bomb Taco. Lady and I tried the barbacoa tacos and the fish tacos. Both were surprisingly good, not the best I had ever had but good for sitting on a patio bar food. They are a bit pricier than you will get at most taco trucks but the size of the taco offset most of that. Also tried the fried pickles which come in slices that are breaded. In my opinion the breading was a bit thick but decent flavor. Portion was huge but they only give you a small amount of ranch, we ran out half way through the basket of pickles. A friend ordered the tamale plate and said it was pretty good but it definitely seems like the tacos are the star of the show so I would recommend sticking with those. Also keep in mind the trailer is cash only so come prepared, as the ATM machine charges a $ 3.95 ATM fee.
Honestly this place would have gotten 4 stars from me but they went above and beyond for the charity group that I was supporting. It was supposed to be a happy hour event where they donated 10% of sales to to the charity from 5 – 8 pm which would have been a good haul, but once they arrived the bar told them they decided to do it for sales for the entire night! Also they gave a donation on their behalf as well. Their support was amazing and really helped the cause, thank you for giving back to the community. Other bars were nowhere near as generous when they were trying to find a place to host the event. For this alone Lustre Pearl you have earned my respect and my business from here on.
Stay Classy Lustre Pearl and hopefully others can learn from your example.

It has taken me nearly a month to write this review. I thought about why it has taken me nearly a month, and I think it’s because I don’t really have anything to say. It didn’t really stand out to me like the other places on Rainey St.
This is what I’ve come up with. I like the back patio area, but I think the beers were too expensive. There you go. Simple.