Namaste Brewing / Whip In

jamescain

Texas

4.44/5  rDev +3%
vibe: 4 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 5 | $$$

I would consider the Whip-In as my parent's neighborhood bar. I like stopping by whenever I visit. The nice thing about the Whip-In is that it is a combination, bottle shop, restaurant, and bar. I have not yet had the food yet, which is Indian food; however I have heard that it is very good. Their draft beer is slightly pricy, especially their cellar section. I'm not complaining about it, if they take the time to cellar a keg properly, then the consumer should pay for that time and effort. The nice part of the Whip-In is the fact that you can open any bottle and enjoy it on the premiss for only an extra dollar. Their bottle selection is very good and will rival any establishment in the city. They also will fill any beer in a growler, other then the cellar selection I believe. The servers are helpful. the atmosphere is a little cramped because most of the place is a bottle shop, but there is outdoor seating and occasionally there is a band playing. Its a great place and I would highly recommend a stop if you're visiting.

07-22-2011 15:40:01 | More by jamescain

zonker17

Illinois

4.4/5  rDev +2.1%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

Flew into Austin last night and was at Whip In within an hour based on BA reviews. Wow, this place is unique!

Parked in back and entered through the patio door. I'll admit that it took a moment to get my bearings, as the small interior had a cigar counter, beer for purchase to go, an area with live music, and the bar all within 10 paces or less of each other. Chalk boards above the bar display all the beer and food offerings. The menus are constantly rotating, so no printed menu or beer list are available.

After getting settled at the bar, the joy of having 72 taps became apparent. Many Belgian and craft offerings made for tough decisions when driving. The fish taco (yes, 1 big taco) was great. The staff was very friendly and helped with beer and food selection. Overall, I can't wait to go back! Good thing I'm in town all week.

UPDATE: Dropped atmosphere rating due to seeing the owner's children (and I mean young) stocking the beer coolers. Please do not do that in front of customers. Also changed to a bit pricey, as pulls on anything except pints are a bit steep. Hard to keep a reasonable spend here.

03-19-2013 00:02:22 | More by zonker17

CopeTech

California

4.38/5  rDev +1.6%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

My local goto for great Indian food and great beer.
70 taps, some quite obscure, for example lost coast grand cru.
Friendly helpful folk. My only beef is that the kitchen is slow, but maybe thats because its that good.

The experience is that this is an old roadside convenience store. You come in and the end has been turned into a huge bar with 70 taps, local texan crafts and belgiums.
Aisle 1 is Belgiums and Crafts great selection.
Aisle 2 is Wine, a great selection again.
Aisle 3 is convenience stuffs toilet paper and creamed corn
Aisle 4 & 5 have been converted to a music stage and seating.

woo hoo

11-15-2011 22:42:07 | More by CopeTech

LadyOfMuchBeer

Texas

4.88/5  rDev +13.2%
vibe: 4 | quality: 5 | service: 5 | selection: 5 | $$

One of my go-to places in Austin every time I am in town. The craft beer selection is beyond great, they have a good wine selection, and there is always something great on tap it seems. They very often receive the more rare and limited brews as well. You can sit down and drink a great craft brew and get some amazing service. Bartenders remember the little details and are beyond friendly. They also do growler fills which is always a winner!! I hear they have really good Indian Cuisine, but I have never eaten here.

They almost always have what I am looking for!

They also sell growlers, t shirts, and other items.

10-30-2011 17:18:28 | More by LadyOfMuchBeer

tjkinate

Texas

4.63/5  rDev +7.4%
vibe: 5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4 | $$

I have to say that I am a San Diego native and I had to get used to the Austin beer selection.

The best part of Whip In is their draft beers. It is comprised of a revolving list that I would have to guess has 70ish beers on tap at anytime. Bottle selection is above average for Austin, but I still shutter, since compared to my favorite spots on the west coast it doesn't quite measure up. I don't hold it against this place though, obviously its not their fault.

What is also great about this place is that they are more than a beer store. They have a solid wine selection, in addition they are an Indian restaurant (which I have yet to try.)

The primary downfall I see at Whip In is the service, I just don't get it? I have been here a dozen times, half of which I have sat down to grab a pint. Every time I need to snag the bartender. I feel like I don't exist. Once I get served, I feel the service improves, but overall it feels like less than a friendly place.

*Update* 06/18/2012

After a few great renovations and an almost entirely new staff the Whip In has skyrocketed, becoming my favorite place in Austin. Great deals on local beers every night, great live music with an incredible staff.

09-02-2011 02:44:44 | More by tjkinate

SWMeyer4141

Texas

4.19/5  rDev -2.8%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 3.5 | service: 5 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Located on the side of an interstate. Finally found it and wasn't sure what to expect from the outside. Walked in and was greeted and asked If I needed help. I proceeded to shop and the bottle selection was a little less then I hoped. However they had tons of locals on tap to get growler fills. Ranger Creek, Live Oak, Austin Beerworks, Thirsty Planet, 512, Jester King, exc. Also had some good belgians such as Triple Karmeliet and St Bernardus. Was able to sample a few beers and me and a buddy of mine each left with a growler. The employees seem to genuinely enjoy talking beer. A little pricey but the draft selection and the friendly and inviting service makes this a place I will be going back to again.

08-29-2011 01:46:50 | More by SWMeyer4141

kaidasz

Texas

4.5/5  rDev +4.4%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.5 | $$$

really like this place, beers on tap, bottles in the fridge and killer indo-chinese food. wish we had this in houston, hell-need to franchise this idea!!!

taps-plenty of TX craft w/an emphasis on Austin, which i love as 512 ipa is must purchase for me.

bottles-jester king tends to be my reg as these are harder to spot on h-town specs other than downtown.

food-had a couple of plates there, all were good to great and will keep recommending based on overall vibe and service of their employees.

only downside is layout and a tad pricey, i can live w/it. bravo-whip in!

08-17-2011 00:29:38 | More by kaidasz

obrike

Texas

4.48/5  rDev +3.9%
vibe: 4.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4.5 | selection: 4.5 | food: 4.25 | $$$

What can you say about this place that hasn't already been said?

If you live in or near Austin, enjoy craft beer, and like eclectic places, this is your spot.

I first started going here back in 99 (Heck, this is where I bought the infamous '97 Sam Adams triple bock).I lived in an apartment about a block away and would walk over, always looking for the "beer of the month" special. This was before the Whip In became the ultra cool "Indian food, live-music, awesome beer" mecca that it is now. One thing this place has always had going for it is friendly, knowlegable staff. That in itself is a great reason to go.

Now that it's expanded from a beer store to a bar/eatery, it has become an even cooler place to visit.

The prices may be just a touch over what you can expect at other places around town, but for a true Austin experience, it's not to be missed.

06-20-2011 19:38:24 | More by obrike

coldmeat23

Oklahoma

4.2/5  rDev -2.6%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 4 | selection: 4 | food: 5 | $$$

Hmmm....
Did we just walk into a bar? Or a liquor store? Or an Indian restaurant? Or a neighborhood bodega?
We just walked into all of these things at once!

Yes, it's a bottle shop/liquor store. Fairly decent selection here. You can definitely find a few rarities around. Unfortunately, you're NOT going to just stumble on them. They know that they are there and have them priced accordingly. Not that there is anything wrong with that, because I even picked up a couple things, it's just always a thrill to find that one vintage bottle at the back of the shelf, for the same price as the 'fresh' ones. It makes comparing/contrasting just a little more fun, I think, but I'm certainly willing to pay for the priveledge as well.

They also have around 60 taps, I'd guess. It's kind of hard to tell, because it looks like they just add another three or four tap lines whenever they find the money and space to add them. It's not just a tap wall, they are kind of spread around in little clustered groups.
Let it be stated, right here and now, that the taps that they have are pretty damn awesome. Lots of Texas love. A good deal of a belgian showing. Plus, various craft brews thrown in for good measure.
They even pull out some vintage kegs from time to time. While I was there, among other things, I had Live Oak Tree Hugger Vintage 2006(!!!). Damn, it was awesome!

They also have a couple of rows of items that you'd probably find at your neighborhood convenience store/bodega. Soaps, detergents, soda pops, ice creams, paper plates, trashbags, spices, incense, bread, etc.

On top of all of this, they are also an outstanding Indian Restaurant. From what we could gather, they are using as much local food stuffs as possible, which is awesome. Meats, eggs, cheeses, yogurts, produce and more are all locally sourced.

There were a couple of employees who seemed to have that 'why are you bugging me?' kind of attitude. Normally, this would be close to a 'dealbreaker' for me. I'm happy to say that the other multiple employees and Dipak himself, who runs the place, were all very nice and more than made up for it. Maybe they were just having a bad day or something.

Be prepared to spend a couple of bucks, but I strongly recommend this stop to beer geeks and food lovers alike. Plan on hanging out for a couple of hours while enjoying a few pints and delicious Indian food and generally having a good time.

06-01-2011 15:23:07 | More by coldmeat23

jl28r1

Texas

3.69/5  rDev -14.4%
vibe: 3.5 | quality: 4.5 | service: 2 | selection: 4.5 | $$$

Drove to Austin from San Antonio last sunday to pick up a growler of Live Oak HefeWeizen. I stopped at Whip-in because of the great reviews and it's location. My wife and I walked in around noon and we were suprised that we were the only customers in the place. It has a pretty cool layout with a long bar, nice dining area (though we did not eat) and lots of coolers filled with a very good craft beer selection. The problem that I had was the bartender/cashier did not at all make us feel welcome. My wife felt we were being watched as if we were shoplifters and I just got the feeling that the worker just wanted us to leave. Too bad, with better service, this place could be incredible. Don't see myself making a 2nd trip there, I would rather spend my money at a place that values customers more that Whip-in.

05-05-2011 20:11:12 | More by jl28r1