Pinthouse Pizza Craft Brewpub

Straightforward place that has exceptional beers and pizza. The seating is long, beer garden style benches. Ordering is by walking up to the counter. An electric jellyfish and the pizza with fig and goat cheese are a must.

RB transfer

A brutally cold day in February—the kind of cold that makes Texans question their entire existence. Somewhere in the vast, unrelenting strip mall wasteland of Austin, nestled between a liquor store and a nail salon promising "luxury spa treatments," sits Pinthouse Pizza. From the outside, it looks like just another place to get a passable slice and a lukewarm domestic beer.

Step inside, and the world shifts. Tanks. Taps. Noise. The air hums with the chaotic energy of a nineties Round Table Pizza—but upgraded. No longer a wasteland of sticky booths and a single Budweiser tap dripping into plastic pitchers. Here, the taps run wild: IPAs, lagers, browns, stouts—the full spread, some of them even still available by the pitcher, a throwback to a time when people drank beer by the liter without irony or apology.

Picnic tables stretch across the room, occupied by families, beer geeks, lost souls. A few old-school arcade games flicker in the background, flashing their neon come-ons to sugar-fueled children and overgrown drunks with quarters to spare. It is a place for both the weary and the wide-eyed, a pit stop in the long journey of Texas beer culture.

The din is oppressive—a full-frontal assault on the senses. Parents shouting over the clatter of plates. Bartenders barking out orders. The distant wail of a child losing a battle with a skee-ball machine. It should drive a man mad, but the beer takes the edge off. It distracts the brain and soothes the nerves, turning the chaos into background music.

The staff? A reputation for gruffness, sure. But this traveler encountered no such thing. Maybe they were in a good mood. Maybe they sensed I was too far gone to be bothered with attitude. Either way, the pints kept coming. That’s all that really matters.

Then, like all good things, it ends. Step back outside and the spell is broken. The noise fades, the smell of pizza and malted barley disappears into the cold, and you’re back in the sprawl. Strip malls stretching into infinity. The next gas station. The next Whataburger. The next moment of sanity, waiting somewhere down the road.

 

Visited autumn 2024. A bit of a trek from downtown but so worth it. I visited while UT football was playing, so the energy was high yet service remained very quick. About 20 beers on tap (including at least one nitro tap), several styles, and everything I tried was very good. Pizza was also very strong. Top tier in Austin.

 

This place is top notch. I'd already had their beer on tap elsewhere so I knew it was good, but the pizza is some of the best I've ever had. Very, very good. The atmosphere here is great. Clean, modern architecture with a lot of wood accents. The inside is cool and spacious and they also have outdoor seating which we really appreciated. It's right on a busy street so you will get a lot of car noise, but it's nice to sit outside anyway. It's very easy to order at the bar or from your table. We've been multiple times and haven't had any issue with the service. They have a very good selection of beer, especially of the hoppy and mostly hazy variety. Everything I've tried there has been good to great so far. If you enjoy pizza and beer, this should be towards the top of your list.

 

 

 

 

Could be Texas's best brewer of hop-centric beers. With national and global awards, PHP sets the bar very high. They are constantly coming up with new ideas to titalate my Zymurgic fantasies.

 

 

 

Two locations with different in house and guest taps; same food menu

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don't mind the kids - Go get your IPA on! Always playing with funky and fresh ipa recipes - beer for beer - better than the South Austin location.

 

 

 

 

I love the pizza here. It's legit. Can't go wrong with beer and pizza.

And these guys make some serious brews. I've been downright impressed every visit. From goses to barrel-aged beers to IPAs, they do their thing. The prices are all reasonable and if you come at just the right time, you might just find parking.

Seriously though, the parking situation is a nightmare. Horrible.

Good local place for both pizza and beer. They make a lot of IPAs, and have some other house offerings to go with a pretty extensive list of very high quality drafts. Not sure why we waited so long to heck it out, but we'll be back!

 

Pinthouse Pizza has two locations, one on Burnet and one on South Lamar. I've only been to the one on Burnet Road which isn't too far from the Black Star Co-Op. In my opinion two stores doesn't make it a "chain", but they've certainly got the look.

It's "classy-but-casual" with a real wood floor, a poured concrete bar top, and 20 blonde wood topped picnic tables in the center seating about 200. Some might say that gives it a German beer hall feel, and I guess to some extent it does. It looks very corporate in a way, and yet not, possibly because it's not overdecorated. There's a nautical theme to it, and I don't really get the connection, but it works within the whole look of the place. The other thing I should point out is that it works as a pub, but it's also a pizza restaurant so it's family friendly.

Both the beer and pizza are walk up and order (except for a small bar with around 10 seats), and then take back to your table - which I much prefer over table service but kind of dislike if I'm just hanging out and having a few beers... on the other hand, you never have to worry about getting passed over trying to order at a full bar when you can't get close enough, you just get in line and wait. Back to the other hand, it can get really busy so be smart and send a friend to get beers before you get too low!

On to the important part, the pizza and beer. I have refined tastes. I look for and appreciate the best. You can call me a pizza snob if you want, but I'm not. And I've certainly been called a beer snob, but I'm drinking a Genesee Beer as I write this so I certainly don't think that applies. The good news is that both the pizza and the beer are top-notch in my opinion! And the fact that you can get a large plain for $13 is awesome! But don't stop there, they've got all kinds of interesting pies or you can make your own. And the beer follows suit. They've got house beers as well as guest beers and ciders, so if you want a simple lager, pale ale or IPA you're covered, and if you want something more exotic like a smoked pumpkin cider or gosebier they've go that too.