National Tequila Day in Austin: The Margaritas Locals Actually Order (Plus 3 Real Deals Today)

It's National Tequila Day, and Austin is treating it like a Friday-night holiday: a downtown rooftop pool party, a 20%-off happy hour at a Lamar Boulevard institution, and a free dive-in movie screening. According to ATX Things analysis of what's actually running today in Austin, Texas, three spots are worth building your evening around — and if you'd rather skip the day-of deals entirely, here's where locals get their margaritas the other 364 days of the year.

What's actually open for National Tequila Day in Austin today?

Three real, verified events, not chain-restaurant hype:

Azul Rooftop (310 E 5th St, 20th floor of the Westin Austin Downtown) is running "Viva Tequila!" from noon to 10 p.m. — pool access, specialty tequila flights and mixed drinks, and a live DJ from 4 to 9 p.m. Tickets are $24 and this is Austin's tallest rooftop bar, so the Lady Bird Lake and Hill Country views are doing half the work.

El Naranjo on South Lamar is taking 20% off all tequila drinks, no ticket required — just show up during dinner service. It's a lower-key, sit-down way to mark the day if a $24 pool party isn't the vibe.

Swim Club (650 E 10th St, downtown) is the wild card: free swim access from 7 p.m., then a floating screening of "Dazed and Confused" — Matthew McConaughey's Austin-shot debut — starting at 8:30 p.m., with cocktails made from Pantalones tequila available poolside.

Where do Austin locals actually get their margaritas?

Strip away the one-day promotions and Austin's real margarita hierarchy hasn't changed much. De Nada Cantina — now with a South First location alongside its original East Cesar Chavez spot — won the Austin Chronicle's 2023 Readers' Poll for Best Margarita in Austin and still gets cited as the consensus local pick, served in a greenhouse-lit patio setting. Their own tagline says it plainly: "Tacos y margs y menos" — tacos and margaritas and not much else, which is exactly the point. Its South First outpost sits in the same booming restaurant corridor covered in our Tastemaker Awards restaurant tournament roundup.

A few other spots that show up on every serious local list, verified against current menus:

• Güero's Taco Bar (1412 S Congress Ave) pours 19 margarita varieties and knocks $2 off signature margs weekdays 3–6 p.m.
• Curra's Grill (614 E Oltorf St) makes Austin's original avocado margarita — frozen, creamy, more dessert than cocktail.
• Matt's El Rancho (2613 S Lamar Blvd), open since 1952, still pours a classic frozen margarita; ask for "el fuego" if you want it spicy.
• Fresa's (1703 S 1st St) does a frozen prickly pear margarita that's as much a photo op as a drink.
• La Condesa (400 W 2nd St) leans upscale with a cactus-lemongrass salt rim on its Margarita La Clásica.

What locals should know

• Reservations matter more than the day suggests: El Naranjo's dinner room is small, and since it's a Friday, they're on their later 5–10 PM schedule with the kitchen open an hour past the weeknight cutoff.
• Azul Rooftop's $24 ticket is worth it specifically for the 20th-floor view — it's the only rooftop pool bar downtown with that vantage on Lady Bird Lake.
• If you're driving between spots, South Lamar and South Congress are a five-minute hop apart, so El Naranjo, Güero's, Matt's El Rancho and Fresa's can realistically be one loop.

Curious which South Lamar bars actually pull the most revenue, margarita specials included? Our live bar revenue data tool pulls real Texas Comptroller receipts by venue.

How to actually plan a margarita run today

1. Afternoon (before 4 p.m.): Hit El Naranjo's happy hour window or grab an early dinner reservation — 20% off tequila drinks all service, no crowd yet.
2. Late afternoon (4–7 p.m.): Head downtown for Azul Rooftop's DJ set and pool access — buy the $24 ticket ahead of time, it's a 20th-floor rooftop and space is finite.
3. Evening (7 p.m. on): End at Swim Club for the free swim and the 8:30 p.m. "Dazed and Confused" floating screening — bring cash for a Pantalones tequila cocktail poolside.

For a slower version of the same day, skip the ticketed events and stick to the South Lamar/South Congress corridor: El Naranjo for dinner, then walk or rideshare to Güero's or Fresa's for a second round. Check current health scores before you go — Austin's restaurant inspection tool tracks every kitchen's latest grade.

FAQ

Is National Tequila Day the same as National Margarita Day? No. National Margarita Day is February 22; National Tequila Day is July 24. Austin treats both as informal bar holidays, but the July date leans more toward straight tequila flights and rooftop parties than the frozen-margarita specials you'll see in February.

Do I need a ticket for any of these Austin events? Only Azul Rooftop, which requires a $24 advance ticket for its Viva Tequila pool party. El Naranjo's 20% tequila discount and Swim Club's free swim + movie screening don't require tickets, just a reservation or timely arrival.

Where is the best margarita in Austin, deals aside? De Nada Cantina holds the Austin Chronicle's 2023 Readers' Poll title for Best Margarita in Austin, and both its East Cesar Chavez and South First locations are still the most-cited local pick. Read our full first-visit guide to De Nada Cantina's South First location for the menu breakdown.

Is it too hot to do a rooftop pool party today? It's hot — 96°F today, climbing toward 100–103°F through the weekend — but Azul Rooftop and Swim Club are both built around water access specifically because of Austin summers. Go earlier in the window (before 4 p.m. arrival) to beat the worst of the afternoon heat, and hydrate between drinks.