Casino El Camino

Address:	517 E 6th St, Austin, TX 78701, USA
Phone:	+1 512-469-9330
Site:	casinoelcamino.net
Rating:	4.1
Working:	11:30AM–2AM 11:30AM–2AM 11:30AM–2AM 11:30AM–2AM 11:30AM–2AM 11:30AM–2AM 11:30AM–2AM

Location

Photos 100

Reviews 5

Tara Bothwell

Sunday Funday is supposed to be fun but our visit at Casino El Camino Sunday was anything but fun. My wife was looking for a Bloody Mary and this place seemed to have a lot of likes. Before we ordered my wife asked, "Is it possible to have it with no meat on the garnish?" Now this is a simple question and it requires a simple answer. A good bartender would have said, "No we cant our mix comes with meat juice" and that would have sufficed. Instead some ignorant guy behind the woman who was our bartender walked over and said, "Absolutely not, California is that way pointing outside...no where West. Then he said we have many types of meat juice in our Bloody Mix. This is not California we are not all into organic and sustainable food." We were so caught off guard we just stared at him like a deer in the headlight. I was thinking, Whooaa, Ok dude. Calm down! That is just fine! Why do you think she asked? We sat just staring at him not understanding why he was being down right mean. He continued to berate us for no reason. He was not even our bartender but he kept walking over to make fun and jokes. Why? He kept talking over top of the bartenders head who was serving us. The next words out of his ignorant mouth were how the strawberry on my drink was free range and just making fun of us blah blah blah. As residents of Austin we do not need to be reminded we are not in CA. We know; we live in Texas. My wife politely ordered a beer. But he still came back over to talk about vegetarians, CA, and overall his dislike of anyone who does not agree with his line of thinking. We never said a word about meat or vegetraian or anything else. It was an honest question from a paying customer. I guess in his 30 years of bartending (that he kept reminding the entire bar of) he has never once considered customer service or just respect. Like an El Camino we hit THE ROAD!

Courtney Stollon

Truly one of the coolest, most unique, and sure, creepiest spots in Austin, Casino el Camino is like a rock-and-roll version of hell, as imagined by an ancient Aztec whod just consumed a large quantity of peyote. If that doesnt make sense, Google a few pictures of the place (or better yet, go visit) and I promise it will click. The walls are decorated with flames, demons, old horror movie posters, and vintage bondage photography, and the jukebox plays an eclectic mix of music that somehow seems to make perfect sense (and thats not just my opinion; the jukebox has been voted best in Austin nearly every year since 1995.) There are two floors, and the courtyard in back, with its ominous red lighting and Incan-style fountain, is an oasis from the downtown madness. The burgers are supposed to be among the best in Austin, although, since theres no veggie burger, I cant offer commentary there. The chile verde fries, however, are addictive in their simple perfection and make for my favorite downtown late-night snack. The real hidden treasure here, though, is the Bloody Mary. While its not advertised on the menu or anywhere at the bar, this is, hands down, the best Bloody Mary in Austin. The house-made mix is truly hot (although they can adjust the heat level to your preference) and garnished with celery, lime, a pickle, a pepperocini, three types of olives, goat cheese, bacon...its a work of art. The crowd is friendly, the people-watching is always excellent, and theres always a good sci-fi or horror movie playing. Simply put, Casino el Camino will ruin you for other bars.

John Dungan

Well, I finally got to Casino El Camino, on 6th Street (near Red River) in the ATX. Gotta tell ya, they do make a good burger, BUT! According to their web site, they are "NOW PROUDLY SERVING ALL NATURAL SUGAR SODAS, INCLUDING GENUINE MEXICAN COKE!" So, when the waitress asked us what we wanted to drink, I said Id love to have a Mexican Coke, and I think she thought I was asking for cocaine! She said, "We only have normal cokes." I pointed out what their web site says, and she tried to say that must be their other location, on Ben White. (Their web site only mentions one location. This one). So, I ended up with a small glass of what may have been Coca Cola, but it did not have that Coke taste to me. We did notice that they will, upon request, make you a smaller burger than the 3/4 pounder featured on the menu, so we all three asked for smaller burgers. We still got big damn burgers, and I have no idea what size they might have been, or what they cost. They did not present me with an itemized bill, only the credit slip for my signature. I find that, together with their false advertising, to be more than I need. Their burger does rate a 9, but their failure to provide a proper bill, and their wait staffs ignorance of their own advertising bring their total rating way down, in my little book.

A Private User

There was a time 10-12 years ago when I was in this bar 5, 6 nights a week. Drank there, ate there, knew all the staff. I just moved back to Austin, and thought Id stop by while at work for a burger to go. The place was pretty empty, it was Sunday, 29 August around 11:30 PM. Waited over a half hour for my food, and watched the bored cooks (two of them !) stand around, gossip with their friends and serve them ahead of me. Sorry, I dont have all night. I realize food takes time to prepare...after all I used to eat here all the time and work in restaurants myself...but this was just plain rude. So I left, hungry and minus over 10 dollars. When I mentioned to the door guy that I couldnt stand around all night while the cooks chatted with their pals, he looked like he couldnt care less. Fine. Guess what, Casino ? Austin has grown tremendously. You have a great deal of competition now. I drive a cab at night...it was parked down the street during my futile attempt to purchase food from your bar. I take dozens and dozens of people a week down to Sixth Street, every week. Guess which bar I will be specifically warning my customers not to patronize ? Your lazy, too cool for school employees just cost you thousands of dollars in lost business.

John Monk

Went there because it was on a list of some sort indicating that it had great burgers. They are in fact big, and a bargain for the price. It took time, but I hadnt read the reviews that indicated it would. I was a little surprised by how long it takes to cook the burgers. As for quality, they are ho-hum, I didnt leave thinking wow that was delicious but I didnt leave feeling jobbed either. Its dark in there. Not really my vibe for a weekday lunch. But that is my problem not theirs and Im not knocking it for that. Just big burgers and music. Its a bar first and restaurant second so manage your expectations that way. That said, it was clean, and the music was good. For the record, I only had the iced tea and it was fine. I did see a wide variety of drinks listed. If you havent figured it out by now, this is a bar...and theres something to be said for doing one thing really well (i.e. being a bar) and having a reliable second (the burgers are mediocre.) Not the end of world. 1 for the food because it was good not great. 2 for the Decor because if bars are where you like to hang out, this fits the bill. 2 for the service because it was very good but not excellent (yeah Im looking at you 30 minutes for a burger)