Pool Burger

Growing up, we always associated hot summer afternoons by the pool with ice-cold sodas, fries, and burgers, fresh off the grill—usually, the kind that ended up shrinking down to the size of a misshapen hockey puck. Now that we’re all grown up, we just head to Pool Burger, a very fancy burger shack next to Deep Eddy Pool—Austin’s OG public swimming pool—off Lake Austin Boulevard where you can keep the tradition alive all year round. The drinks are a little more grown-up, and the burgers don’t look like tiny sports accessories, but we’re convinced that this is the best burger-and-pool combination in Austin. 

photo credit: Richard Casteel

There’s a small indoor dining area at Pool Burger, but this is mostly an outdoor operation, complete with lots of umbrella-shaded picnic tables centered around a small bar under a grass hut that also doubles as the food line. Burgers are the name of the game here, but you can also get hot dogs, salads, loco mocos, and desserts. But if this is your first visit, stick with the burgers—it’s not called Pool Salad for a reason. The meat’s local, the buns are freshly baked, and the burgers all arrive hot and topped with everything from iceberg lettuce and tomatoes to griddled pineapple, bacon, and blue cheese. These aren’t burgers you’ll spend the rest of your week thinking about, but they’ll probably still linger in your thoughts for the rest of the drive home.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

photo credit: Richard Casteel

photo credit: Richard Casteel

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Whatever you get, you’ll want to pair it with something from Pool Burger’s small menu of tiki drinks, including a very good mai tai, or a very potent frozen hurricane—optionally topped with a dark rum floater for a dollar—that might just be the tipping point to turn that burger from good to great. Pool Burger is not a place to throw on a fancy dress shirt. It’s where you show up in flip-flops after a day at the pool, or on a casual Thursday for Happy Hour when those hurricanes are half-priced. It’s a place to spend a sunny afternoon and relive those days of eating a grilled burger by the pool, just a little more grown-up.  

Food Rundown

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Pineapple Lemonade

All the tropical vibe, with none of the booze. If you’re not drinking, grab one of these. It’s refreshing, and not too sweet.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Mai Tai

Pool Burger’s mai tai is one of our favorites in town. It’s made with a blend of rums, orgeat, lime, and orange shrub. It’s just sweet enough to drown out the heavy dose of rum hiding inside of it, but not sweet enough to give you a headache the next day (depending on how many you have).

photo credit: Richard Casteel

The Loyal Forever

A pretty classic burger, with a few small twists to keep things interesting. The base is a double cheeseburger, but it’s topped with lettuce, tomatoes, jalapeños, grilled onions, and ranch dressing. Get this if you want to add a little excitement to a plain cheeseburger.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Blue Hawaiian

Our favorite burger here, most of the time. This one comes with a thick slice of pineapple, bacon, and some blue cheese. We’ve had some less-than-ripe pineapple slices from time to time, but when you get a good one, it’s an excellent combination.

photo credit: Richard Casteel

Loco Moco

This isn’t going to transport you to Hawai’i with a single bite, but it’s a pretty good loco moco in a city that doesn’t really have a lot of options. The patty is a bit thicker than what you’ll find in the burgers, the gravy has mushrooms, and it comes topped with swiss cheese, a fried egg, and sliced jalapeños (because at the end of the day, we’re still in Texas).