#237: Lefty's Day & Night

The Bar

Lefty's Day & Night. 1813 C E 6th St, Austin, TX 78702

Visited 7/31/2026 @ 7:30pm.

The Drink

Green Heat. Poblano-infused blanco tequila, mezcal, pineapple, agave, salt, lime. $14.

As is so often the case these days, the official best drink did not come first, as while I was waiting for my friends I asked for the drink that SECOND-best represented the bar, and then circled back to the best drink on the second round. I did prefer this mezcal-drenched take on a margarita to the runner up on account of the well-balanced flavors; it's hard to go wrong with pineapple, especially with mezcal in the equation needing a balance. I also enjoyed the spice level, although like all spicy drinks it's best taken in moderation; I would not want to go more than a few rounds with these, particularly with heat like we've been having - despite not having so many triple digit days locally as previous years, nationally this has been the hottest July ever recorded. I should probably learn to love frozen drinks more. 

Lychee Lemonade. Ford's gin, lychee, lemon, elderflower. $14.

My verbatim reaction to this variant on a Bee's Knees was "Man, that is a potent potable", as it was very strong initially and then mellowed out, which maybe meant I should have given it a stir or two first. If you by chance have never had lychee before, it's a Southeast Asian plant that has the distinction of being domesticated multiple times, and it has an interesting sweet/tart/floral flavor that could probably go in basically any cocktail without seeming too out of place. Despite its strength, a few rounds of these would most likely go down more easily than a few rounds of the Green Heat due to the lack of spice. Refreshment with strength.

The Crew

Ishani, Elijah, Aaron.

Notes

Lefty's is another fun edge case of a "new" bar that is really an existing bar which has rebranded under mostly the same name, much like Thirsty Nickel changed to Thirsty's or Mooseknuckle became Moose Bar, etc. To get some terrible jokes out of the way, the difference here is hardly night and day, nor does it come out of left field; instead the former Brick Bar has undergone a fairly subdued transformation to Day & Night thanks to the folks from Emmer & Rye, quietly shedding its Cajun/Caribbean aspects in favor of a less-specific neighborhood event space vibe. You'd be forgiven for hardly noticing the changeup, however - pretty much everything aside from the menu is exactly the same as it was before, down to the weird wolf mural behind us in the photo above. However, the menu change is evidently a big hit, specifically their chicken caesar wrap, although we sadly did not partake. If they ever decide or are forced to change concept again, I hope they take a page from Nickel City's delightful yearly Moe's Tavern cosplay and re-emerge as the Leftorium. In the meantime, we found the vibe just as fun as advertised, providing us plenty of opportunity to sit and discuss the exciting FIFA privatization debacle (hence my shirt) over a steadily increasing number of rounds, which is a sure sign of a successful bar in my eyes.