Last Call for 2025

Cocktails, concerts, and more ways to celebrate New Year's Eve in Austin

Austin is ringing in 2026 in many different styles.

Photo from austintexas.org.

New Year’s Eve in Austin offers a wide range of ways to ring in 2026, from free, family-friendly celebrations with live music, to ticketed theme parties, elaborate food-and-drink experiences, and crowded downtown countdowns.

Whether you’re looking for a low-key evening or a packed, high-energy celebration, there’s something for nearly every taste across the city.

Austin’s New Year
Auditorium Shores, 900 W. Riverside Dr.

Austin’s New Year returns to Auditorium Shores, from 7 pm to midnight, at the city's free long-running New Year’s Eve celebration with live music, food trucks, and a fireworks finale. The family-friendly event typically draws an estimated 20,000 people, making it the largest New Year’s Eve gathering in Central Texas.

Presented by the City of Austin and Visit Austin, the event will be broadcast live on CNN as part of its national New Year’s Eve coverage. This year’s lineup is headlined by The Head and the Heart, an indie folk and roots-rock band, along with Chaparelle, a country-leaning Americana act; Austin soul and R&B singer Tameca Jones; and local trio The Point., known for blending psychedelia and global influences.

The evening also includes local food trucks, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages for purchase, and a new drone show lighting up the downtown skyline just before a midnight fireworks finale.

Know before you go: Strollers, blankets, collapsible chairs, small lunch-sized coolers, wagons, and trained service animals are all okay; sparklers, vaping, and pets are not permitted. The city encourages attendees to use nearby city garages. More information is available on the city's website.

The Head and the Heart perform at a recent show. The Head and the Heart/Instagram

Saints + Sinners New Year’s Eve at Eberly
Eberly, 615 S. Lamar Blvd.
Eberly’s Saints + Sinners party starts at 9 pm and turns the space into a multi-room, late-night celebration. The ticketed event includes DJs, burlesque performances, tarot readings, complimentary themed bites and desserts, multiple bars, and a champagne toast at midnight, with attire encouraged to match the virtue-versus-vice theme. Tickets starting at $92.55.

Saints + Sinners Event Eberly’s Saints and Sinners New Year’s Eve party will have a variety of themed foods, desserts, and snacks for attendees to enjoy during the event. Photo by Chris Herbel

Foxtail
7001 Burnet Rd.
For those who don't want to venture downtown, the chic new cocktail bar Foxtail hosts a New Year’s Eve party focused on a smaller, more relaxed lounge experience, with a DJ, craft cocktails, and a low-key setting designed for mingling rather than packing a dance floor. Both walk-ins and reserved tables are welcome, and there’s no cover for New Year’s Eve.

New Years in Aspen at Foxy’s Proper Pub
201 Brazos St.
Foxy’s Proper Pub’s is hosting a New Years in Aspen celebration starts at 9 pm and brings an après-ski theme to one of downtown's Irish pubs. The night's entertainment will include a DJ, drink specials, one drink ticket, and optional bottle service throughout the night. Admission is $55 at the door, with a $30 ticket for early bird and the service industry.

Hotel ZaZa Austin
Hotel ZaZa Austin Downtown, 400 Lavaca St.
Hotel ZaZa Austin hosts a black-and-white masquerade ball, from 10 pm to 2 am. The ticketed event includes wine, beer, and cocktails, an hors d’oeuvres station, live entertainment, photo ops, and a midnight countdown with a bubbly toast. Masks encouraged and dress-up attire expected. Hotel packages available. Tickets starting at $188.58.

The Inn at Green Pastures
811 W. Live Oak St.
The Inn at Green Pastures marks its first New Year’s Eve with a low-key overnight celebration built around its newly opened property on the historic Green Pastures grounds. The Let's Spend the Night Together package is designed for guests looking to skip crowded countdowns in favor of a relaxed, stay-in experience, and includes a preferred guest room rate, a dining credit to Mattie’s, a midnight champagne toast, and a live performance by multi-instrumentalist Randall Conrad Olinger. The evening centers on a laid-back gathering at Henry’s, the inn’s all-day bar, with a fireside, house-party feel rather than a typical NYE blowout. Room rates start at $295 at the time of publication.

Posh New Year’s Eve at Omni Austin Hotel Downtown
Omni Austin Hotel Downtown, 700 San Jacinto St.
Posh New Year’s Eve begins at 8:45 pm with an all-inclusive, ticketed celebration featuring multiple DJ-driven rooms and a pre-paid bar. Music spans EDM, Top 40, and open-format hits, with several hours of premium drinks included, a large LED countdown at midnight, and optional VIP upgrades offering enhanced perks. The Omni Austin Hotel Downtown is also offering VIP hotel room packages tied to the event. Tickets discounted at time of publication, starting at $115.55.

New Year’s Eve Silent Disco Bash at the Pub at the Triangle
The Pub at the Triangle, 815 W. 47th St., Ste. 103
Ring in the New Year at The Pub at the Triangle with a high-energy Silent Disco party for up to 250 guests. Doors open at 8 pm, with dancing from 9 pm to 1 am across three music channels — hip-hop and R&B, ’80s-’90s-Y2K hits, and EDM and Top 40 — plus indoor and outdoor party spaces. The night includes party favors, glow sticks, and a complimentary champagne toast at midnight. Table reservations allow bottle or buffet purchases, with free parking available across the street. Tickets start at $28.30.

Roaring ’20s New Year’s Eve Party at the Roosevelt Room
307 W. Fifth St.
The Roosevelt Room’s Roaring ’20s New Year’s Eve party runs from 8 pm to 2 am and leans into a polished, vintage-inspired celebration built around classic cocktails, DJ music, and a lounge-style atmosphere. The ticketed event features a special menu of 1920s-era and pre-Prohibition cocktails, reserved seating and table packages, and a midnight ball drop shown inside the bar. Semi-formal to formal attire with vintage touches is encouraged, and the venue enforces a dress code consistent with the evening’s Roaring ’20s theme. Tickets start at $122.40.

The downstairs bar at The Roosevelt Room on Fifth Street. Photo courtesy of The Roosevelt Room

Speakeasy
Speakeasy, 412 Congress Ave.
Speakeasy’s long-running New Year’s Eve party begins at 8 pm and runs until about 2 am across several rooms. The ticketed downtown staple features DJs, themed spaces, VIP seating and bottle service options, party favors, balloon drops, and a midnight champagne toast. Speakeasy calls it five parties with two live music stages. The Spazmatics and Emocean Avenue will headline. Tickets starting at $45.47.

New Year’s Eve Bar Crawls
Downtown Austin and Sixth Street
Several ticketed New Year’s Eve bar crawls will run across downtown and Sixth Street, offering wristbands that include waived cover charges, drink specials, and access to multiple venues in one night. Options include the New Year’s Eve Austin Bar Crawl by Nasstive Entertainment, Crawl ’Til the Ball Falls by Barcrawlerz, and the Austin New Year’s Eve Bar Crawl from Pubcrawls.com, with most starting in the early evening and continuing past midnight.

new year's eve cocktails bars parties nightlife concerts live music holidays

News You Can Eat

Cozy events and a restaurant-openings recap wrap up Austin food news

Photo courtesy of Desert Door

Desert Door is ending the year with a tiki party.

This is likely our last weekly food news list for 2025, and there have been a surprising number of new developments in the past week. We've got a few quiet happenings listed below, and a recap on all the openings and closings that rained down over the past seven days.

Openings and closings

Nothing gets past the ATX Asian Food group on Facebook. This week an anonymous user posted a screenshot of the locations page for rotating sushi bar Kura, with an excited message that South Austin is now on the list. A quick look on the restaurant's website confirms it: a new location is "coming soon" to Sunset Valley at 5601 Brodie Ln. #1400. That places the restaurant in the same shopping center as Cava, Barnes & Noble, and Nordstrom Rack. Folks also found out in June that Kura plans a location in Pflugerville (18725 FM 685 Ste. 140), but they're still waiting for an opening date.

In other chain news, customizable staple Chipotle has opened its second Hutto location, Community Impact reports. The new location can be found at 2260 Muirfield Bend Dr., Ste. 100. The almost omnipresent chain continues to serve practical burritos, bowls, and more for a more health-conscious approach to fast food.

ICYMI: Since we've had tons of openings since last week's food news column, here's a quick rundown with links to longer stories.

Bouldin Acres has expanded to far South Austin, to the property where Lustre Pearl South used to be, making this three locations for the food-and-fun venue.
The 40-decades-old El Mercado Restaurant & Cantina South is closing in a few hours at the time of this article's publication, and the young, but popular taco spot De Nada Cantina is taking over in the new year.
The team behind The Cavalier have debuted a new concept called High Road DelicaTexan in Bouldin Creek. The restaurant serves sandwiches, cocktails, and other casual foods, while also selling some gourmet groceries.
Longtime Mexican taquería Taco N Maíz has opened at the I-35 end of Sixth Street, next to nightclub Mala Vida. The new taco joint stays open until 4 am to cater to revelers.
Local vegan cheese company Rebel Cheese is closing its Austin bistro, the brand's only physical location in town. Cheese and some favorite sandwiches will continue to be sold there when a new vegan business takes over.
A pizza master from Chicago has teamed up with local food and beverage entrepreneurs to open a chic new Italian restaurant, Moderna Bar & Pizzeria, that sticks to the classics with careful modern updates.
Cult bagel favorite Rosen’s Bagel Co. is opening a third location, this time in the Windsor Park neighborhood. Bagel fans will have to wait until spring for this one.

Other news and notes

The fancy cocktail bar and art gallery Papercut is celebrating its first anniversary — which is traditionally marked with a gift of paper — with a new installation by Japanese papercut artist Emi Tomita. Memories of Tomorrow displays work cut by hand with a precision blade into various patterns and images. These works are paired with new cocktails and happy hour specials including the Cafe Parfait with coffee, strawberry, vanilla, and coconut; and the Hiyajiru, a cocktail take on miso soup. To celebrate the anniversary, two drinks from every prior menu will be available again on this menu. This exhibit will be in place through February 2026.

Austinites aren't getting away from Christmas this weekend, but they can get to a more tropical state of mind at Driftwood sotol distillery Desert Door's "Tiki Christmas" event from December 18-21. There will be themed cocktails including a frozen painkiller and a hibiscus punch, and there will be take-home cocktail kits available for purchase, too. It could be a fun gift for a spirits lover who hasn't tried sotol, like a grassy, slightly smoky cousin of tequila. The event is free to attend.

Few foods hit the sweet spot gnocchi does, at the perfect midpoint between being easy to make and impressive to serve. Home cooks who learn better in person or just want to get out of the house December 27 can stop by this two-hour gnocchi class at Fareground, Austin's downtown food hall. The class costs $59 to attend, and guests will also learn how to make a butter thyme sauce to dress up the dish.

openings closings bars cocktails parties holidays news you can eat