TLDR
- Kid friendly rating - 3 / 5 toys
- Brewery
- MLK-183
- $$
- Kids Menu? No, but serve a number of non-alcoholic drinks (Topo, soda) and snacks (chips)
- Play area? No, no specific play area, but a large open area in the back of the brewery (see picture above)
Where is Southern Heights Brewing?
Address: 6014 Techni Center Drive, Suite 2-101, Austin, TX 78721
Southern Heights Brewery is located in deep East Austin, just off of 183 for those folks with easy access to the highway. If you’re coming from the west, you’ll zig and zag through the neighborhood before making your way to an office park where the brewery is located. Not much else around beer-wise, especially if you’re considering a walk. But you’re only about ~15 minutes away from both Hi Sign and Live Oak (those reviews will be on tap soon)
Southern Heights Review
Southern Heights is a bit of a hidden gem due to its location. As mentioned, it sits in deep East Austin, right off of 183, which is a bit of a trek for those folks that do not already live east. It’s, though, more than worth the trip for the beer alone. Alas, we’re not merely concerned with the beer alone, but, most importantly, the kid friendly-ness of the place. On to it!
On a scale of 1 to 5 toys, we give Southern Heights a 3 toy out of 5 toy rating. Southern Heights is not No Kids, firstly. However, we’re judging based on the proclivities of an 18 month old toddler that does not sit still. Ever.
Why 3 out of 5? Yes, the back area of the brewery is large with ample seating via tables, however, it is the actual back of the brewery so you might find yourself constantly chasing after your kid(s) to keep them away from the heavy machinery, kegs, spider webs (not a fan) and/or the open back door of the place.
As you can see in the picture above, the back door of the place was open during our visit, as is often the case during the summer. The place does not have any sort of central cooling. So, Southern Heights is generally pretty darn hot since they open most any door, window they can as well as have the fans going to keep it bearable in the summer.
However, from a kid friendly perspective, this poses a bit of a problem: if your kid is young enough they do not sit still, and want to run out the back, it’s you versus your kid in a sprint to head them off from bounding through the parking lot. Watch your hammies, dude.
Lastly, we would be remiss if we didn’t talk about the “front of the house” at Southern Heights. It’s great – plentiful seating, cozier, full impact of the fans can be felt, TVs playing sports and, for those that are inclined, dog friendly. It’s not a bad setup for kids, but the seating itself is high, so not kid friendly unless your kid is old enough to sit my him or herself. Also, the folks that have served us here each time are nice, accommodating and knowledgable as well. That said, given the need to be on constant watch with the kid and the various adventures he can partake in, we give Southern Heights a 3/5 rating – manageable, doable, but requires extra work. And, we already have enough work with the child himself outside of beer sippin’ 🙂