Palazzo Lavaca

Another 5-​star rating for Palazzo Lavaca! Beautiful space for any occasion, but a wedding here is something special. A little bit Venice, a bit New Orleans, but filled with Austin hospitality. Oliver accommodated every need with a truly professional attitude and made sure everything ran smoothly. Highly recommended!

Very beautiful event space! It is quite surprising that this gem exists in this spot when you arrive on the outside of the building. I came here for a cocktail event last week that was hosted to show off the new renovations. Palazzo Lavaca is an old apartment that was built in the late 1800s and is decorated with gorgeous vintage furniture and paintings. It was entertaining just to walk around and look at the rooms and decorations. It’s such a unique space that I imagine a lot of different events could be hosted here. This would be a great place to have a dinner party, rehersal dinner, or wedding. Hope I get to come back soon!

Capital City Boots, you say? Never heard of it? Yeah, same here. That was, until I was fortunate to be invited to a Google City Experts event. If you don’t know what GCE is, I can tell you it’s well worth striving for. Google it for more details. But I digresss. This review is about Palazzo Lavaca. I’ve driven by this place a number of times and had no idea what was behind the iconic Capital City Boots sign. There’s actually no reason to suspect that it would be hiding such a gem. This private residence/​even space is a real treasure. The place is decked out in a mishmash of European and American elegance that seems to combine classic European elements with the likes of an original Warhol print and that down-​home Texas charm and, somehow, it works perfectly!
Just kinda a bummer I can’t get my boots fixed there.

This is an absolutely fantastic hidden-​gem of an event space located a block away from the University of Texas at Austin campus. The elegance of the décor, from the rustic wood flooring to the decadent chandeliers, make for a great atmosphere. Without prior knowledge, no one would ever expect such a large, ornate space to be located along Lavaca.

I really felt like I was in Marie Antoinette or something. Came here for a Google event and was blown away by this venue space. With no official sign outside besides the Capitol Saddlery and Boots sign, it feels like you’re entering a secret hideout.
Walking up the venue stairs, you’ll notice the wallpaper is kind of peeling, giving it that antique vibe. The first thing that caught my eye were the bright crystal chandeliers illuminating throughout the room. The next intriguing thing were the chairs, all different styles. I had the urge to sit in all of them, hoping they would take me back in time.
A very unique venue space that I would recommend for any event. There are so many different areas for people to experience the surrounding art (the second floor, the back room downstairs, and the outside patio).

This is one of the most amazing venues in Austin. Perfect for any type of event and photo shoot. Megan who is the coordinator at the venue is amazing to work with and super Helpful. I would recommend this venue to anyone.

I really had no idea what to expect when I heard my husband’s company rented out an old boot and saddlery for their SXSW hang out/​event venue… But I was extremely happy and loved it.
So basically his company used the place as a location to host SXSW’ers to take part in fun promos, brunch and a hackathon, as well as a place for employees to relax and get away from the craziness of SX.
The place is an odd but glorious mix of old European antiques and the wild west. Not all of the chairs and sofas are comfy, but the whole place is just plain swank. I felt like I was hanging out in some beautiful abandoned palace.
There is security staff on site to make sure you don’t swipe any of the beautiful items and help answer questions and prevent you from going places you shouldn’t, because the place actually is someone’s home, and is just rented out when need-​be.

Went here for a Johnny Walker tasting event. Fan-​f-​ing-​tastic. Wish I’d dressed up more because I felt pretty ho-​hum compared to this place. Difficult to put into words… so I’ll steal Everett T’s: «this is the type of place with atmosphere you can feel.» It’s vintage, it’s modern, there’s metal, there’s wood, there’s velvet… there’s history: this place was built in 1890 ya’ll. Damn.
The website boasts «Welcome to Austin’s most unique alternative entertainment venue» (couldn’t agree more) and continues from there to seduce you — just read the home page on the website, then look at some of the photos/​video — and it’s even better in person! This place oozes so much awesomeness you could honestly host an event displaying «Turds From Around the World,» invite the Queen, and pull it off (and probably be awarded Event of the Year).
I want to live here… and throw parties every weekend. Alas, I will cross my fingers for the opportunity to return.

Did you know there is a 7700sq ft mansion downtown? Me either! Unilocaler Erik invited me to the Johnnie Walker event held here. You don’t often hear of Austin locales with historic character, but this is the type of place with atmosphere you can feel.
The décor has an elegant vintage vibe. Awesome rustic wood floors, grand chandeliers, the type of stuff that pretty much ensures that this place is haunted. But it’s so damn cool you just don’t care!
It was well decorated for the event, with each room themed to match a type of scotch. The venue is currently being remodeled to be a hotel, though I don’t know how they’ll rectify the tiny parking lot. One of those hidden gems downtown that deserves a second look… if you can find it!

A few weeks ago I got an invitation through Thrill List to go to Palazzo Lavaca for a Johnny Walker whiskey tasting. After checking out some photos of the gorgeous Palazzo Lavaca, I was quite excited to check out the venue and drink some free whiskey.
We showed up at Palazzo Lavaca and were told to go around the back of the building to enter. It’s fairly inconspicuously placed — the building is right next to a boots store on Lavaca. So, we swung around back where they have a VERY small parking lot and entered the building.
The first room was gorgeous, great lighting and really interesting décor. After a few tastings we were ushered upstairs where there are a bunch of additional rooms and a kitchen.
The interior design of this building is really interesting — I believe the building was a fire station at one point and now it has been converted into a entertainment venue/​luxury hotel. It seemed as though they tried to preserve a substantial amount of the original building including the walls and flooring. It’s really unique and well done.
Great venue, I hope to be back soon!