All Visitor Reviews for Chain Drive (11 reviews)

Not much to it! A bear hang out, great friendly service and men playing pool. Old school leather bar; dark and dingy! They way leather bars were back in the day. Not for the Martini crowd!

Some guy online told me he looked like Jerry Garcia and when I met him at the bar he was well lets say not so hot. He made your bar look dumpy but the music was great from what I heard. I wish he would leave there to make your place more presentable. But otherwise great bar and yes they are my skid marks thanks to Bradley.

have gone here for about three years.coming from a small town, we don't have much of a gay scene. i have met some great friends up here and enjoy just visiting them. very relaxing,great people,no dress code,tiny cover charge compared to other places i've been in austin. i like it even though it doesn't look real fancy.just a simple "meet your friends for a drink"kind of bar.

Was here in April '08 after a long abscence and the place hadn't changed that much to me. The one patio where all the cruising used to take place was well lit, and had lots of people looking for action - but nothing happening! The other patio is open and really nice to sit down and chat with friends. The drinks were reasonable, but a cover on the weekends for this place seems a bit over the top for what you get once inside.

If this passes for a leather bar for you, that's a little sad statement about Austin. This place has been gonna close any day now for the past 10-15 years so I won't believe that till it's actually flattened. Every couple years that rumor surfaces, and every couple years people have 25 good reasons, and some super secret I blew a city council member information about why no, this time, it's really gonna happen. It's a much nicer dump than it used to be, since the owner opened the secret back patio, although it would be even nicer if all the furniture out there weren't broken. They have awesome music, due in no small measure to the talents of the DJ.

It's an unpretentious place to get your drink on. The bartenders are friendly, the music is generally good, and lots of cruising going on later in the night. if you don't want to see too many twinks like in the warehouse district, come here.

So what if it's lacking some feathers and is grungy. It's as close to a leather bar as Austin comes. New management has done more to book special events and groups, so the bears and the leather set have livened the joint up. Live music on Wednesday nights is often high quality local talent. No dress code. Two inside rooms and two patios. A cover on weekends, more than offset by incredibly low prices.

I travel quite a lot in Texas and make it to Austin every couple of months or so. The Chain Drive has changed every time and not for the better. The days of Leather Men are gone in Austin...and so is the concept of being polite. The last time I was there (August 2005), the bar could only be described as RUDE!! The bartender at the front would not even speak but just glared at me when I tried to order (probably because I took him away from talking to his friends). The people there were very cliquish and would not even speak. One guy even stepped on my boot and didn't even apologize. The only saving grace was the manager, Dave, who was working at the back bar. He smiled, talked when I ordered drinks and was just a nice guy. Shame that the bar has just gone down hill fast. Get ready for a cross-section of the population. From twinks to cowboys but if you are looking for leather, then keep looking for another bar.

It is a place togo, and have a relaxing time... Like your friendly neiborhood bar, every body is welcome, everybody is wanted...

I live in Houston and am more familiar with the Leather scene here. To call this bar a leather bar is a misgiving. A dark bar with loud music and a hint of leather doesn't make it a Leather Bar. "You don't have to wear leather, to be leather." Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed my time there, but it was definately not what I was expecting. The place is quite large on the outside, with two patios, one small and one large, but it's a waste of space that can be better utilized for something else, like expansion/modernization. They have a small dance floor, but someone must have never revealed, that real leather men don't dance. Get rid of it. The Friday night drink specials were great - $1.00 Domestic, $1.00 Well, with a $3.00 cover - which if anyone complains about that, they shouldn't go. The crowd was a nice mix of people, but hardly the leather/leather bear crowd I was expecting. I would say it's more "Leather Drag" than Leather Men. All in all, I had a good time while there, but it won't be my first stop on my next trip to Austin.

The only thing this reviewer can say is Chain Drive used to be a lot better! Gone are the days of Men wanting to socialize, pumping disco, Sunday afternoon happy hours, etc.. It's hard to imagine what could have happend. It's even harder to figure out how it stays open.