It’s a beautiful, clear evening in Austin, Texas – warm enough to enjoy the outdoors (gotta love Texas winters). The perfect environment for, you guessed it – happy hour! I felt the calling of a margarita in my near future, so I gathered up a group of friends and we headed over to Hugos Restaurant Y Tequila Bar, located on Lamar Blvd, just south of the river.
Hugos has several things going for it. First is the easy parking available in the parking garage next door – and it’s free. Second is the large outdoor deck – just what we needed to take advantage of this awesome weather. And third, but definitely the most important item on this list – great margaritas. Happy hour runs 4 to 7 pm Monday – Friday and includes $4 select appetizers, $2 Dos XX, $3.50 well drinks and $4 margaritas. Not only were the ritas great, they were cheap too!
puts the "happy" in happy hour (photo by Melissa Skorpil)
I also had my fill of a couple of appetizers. First up was the Tres Queso-dillas – your standard quesadilla that was quite tasty, but nothing unusual. The second appetizer I tried was the mini empanada slider – and these were delicious. Crispy pastries filled with pork, topped with a little pico and a wonderfully sweet yet tangy mango mustard sauce. The house margaritas, I prefer mine on the rocks, were a little tangy, not too sweet and perfectly refreshing. If you are a tequila connoisseur, then this place is right up your alley because Hugos has a very extensive list of the agave concoction to choose from.
empanada sliders (photo by Melissa Skorpil)
I think what can really make or break a place is the wait staff and I found the wait staff at Hugos to be excellent. Our poor waiter had the packed outdoor patio all to himself at first and he really had to hustle to keep all of us happy – which he did. Soon others came to help out and they were all on top of things – our glasses were never empty for long! Want to know another thing, other than ritas, that makes me smile? Cute puppies! And Hugos has those as well, since they allow dogs on the patio. So bring your pups, your appetite and your thirst for a good time, because Hugos delivers on all of the above.
Get Happy Austin 