Auburn University Guide: Where to Eat, Drink & Stay in Auburn, Alabama
27 restaurants, bars, hotels, and campus landmarks near campus – built for students, parents, alumni, and game day visitors.
Whether you're an Auburn student
building your downtown rotation, an incoming freshman learning the Plains, a
parent in town for the weekend, an alum back for a game at Jordan-Hare, or a
prospective student getting a feel for campus, this guide pulls together the
restaurants, bars, hotels, and campus landmarks worth knowing near Auburn
University.
Auburn is a compact,
visitor-friendly college town, but the best weekends depend on knowing where to
stay, eat, and gather. Hotels and dinner reservations fill fast around football
Saturdays, graduation, parents weekend, and move-in, and the areas to know are
campus, downtown Auburn, Toomer’s Corner, and nearby Opelika – everything below
is organized so you can find what you need fast.
Best restaurants near Auburn University
Auburn eating is easy to learn:
most of what you want sits downtown within a few blocks of Toomer’s Corner,
with a handful of local staples, Byron’s on Opelika Rd, Bow & Arrow out on
Samford Ave, worth the short drive. Everything below is on the map; the
standouts are the tables people fight over on football and graduation weekends.
Places to check out
THE HOUND
124 Tichenor Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Southern comfort food, a serious drink list, and a lively room just off Toomer’s Corner. If you only get one downtown dinner with parents or friends, this is the easy call.
Acre
210 E Glenn Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Auburn’s polished, seasonal Southern restaurant and the go-to reservation for graduation, parents weekend, and date nights. Book ahead on big weekends – everyone has the same idea.
Amsterdam Cafe
410 S Gay St, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
A longtime Auburn favorite that works for just about any table – students, parents, alumni, mixed groups. Reliable without feeling boring, and a short walk from campus.
The Depot
124 Mitcham Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Refined, seafood-focused dining in Auburn’s old train depot, and one of the better special-occasion meals in town. The kind of place you book for graduation or a milestone rather than a random Tuesday.
Bow & Arrow
1977 E Samford Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Casual barbecue with a modern spin, in a big room built for groups. A smart game-weekend dinner for students and families when nobody wants anything fussy.
Byron's Smokehouse
436 Opelika Rd, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Old-school Auburn: biscuit breakfasts, no-frills barbecue, and a local crowd that’s been coming for decades. Go early before a campus tour or the drive home.
Best bars near Auburn University
Auburn nightlife concentrates
downtown around College Street and Magnolia Avenue, so a full night out rarely
involves a car. Students hold the big, loud rooms like Skybar; the cocktail
bars and rooftops give parents and alumni somewhere to land. On football
weekends the whole grid overflows toward Toomer’s Corner.
Places to check out
Skybar Café
136 W Magnolia Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
The Auburn student bar – a massive downtown institution that anchors the late-night scene. Loud, packed, and exactly what a big SEC game weekend calls for.
Southeastern
108 W Magnolia Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Cocktail-forward and noticeably cooler than the rooms around it. Where grad students, alumni, and visitors go for a good drink without the crush.
The Avondale Bar & Tap Room
106 N College St, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
A relaxed, local-feeling bar right on College Street with an easygoing crowd. The middle ground between Skybar chaos and a quiet hotel bar.
17-16 Bar
156 E Magnolia Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
A polished hotel bar on Magnolia named for one of the most famous final scores in the Auburn-Alabama rivalry. Right for a grown-up drink before dinner or a nightcap near campus.
Session Cocktails
157 E Magnolia Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
One of the few places in town making proper cocktails, with a strong happy hour and a livelier crowd as the night goes on. Polished without being stuffy – a solid date-night starter.
War Eagle Supper Club
2016 S College St, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
The revival of a legendary Auburn name, now living on the Graduate’s rooftop with cocktails, Southern plates, and sweeping views of campus and downtown. Alumni nostalgia and sunset drinks in one stop.
Best hotels near Auburn University
Places to check out
The Hotel at Auburn University & Dixon Conference Center
The Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center, 241 S College St, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
The classic campus stay, steps from the university and an easy walk downtown. The default for parents weekend, graduation, and anyone who wants zero logistics.
Graduate by Hilton Auburn, AL
202 W Magnolia Ave, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Collegiate style in the middle of the downtown-campus core, with the War Eagle Supper Club rooftop upstairs. The pick when you want the hotel to feel like part of the weekend.
The Collegiate Hotel at Auburn
205 S Gay St, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
A small Southern boutique with real Auburn personality – the memorable stay rather than the standard chain. Suits couples, parents, and alumni trips.
AC Hotel Auburn
146 N Gay St, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
Modern and sleek on Gay Street, with the Olivine rooftop above and downtown dining out the front door. A polished base for game or graduation weekends.
TownePlace Suites by Marriott Auburn University Area
1117 S College St, Auburn, AL 36832, USA
Kitchen-equipped suites on South College with room to spread out. The practical call for move-in week, longer visits, and families who want breathing room.
Auburn Marriott Opelika Resort & Spa at Grand National
3700 Robert Trent Jones Trail, Opelika, AL 36801, USA
The make-a-weekend-of-it option: golf, spa, and resort grounds in nearby Opelika. Best for alumni trips and families turning a campus visit into a longer stay.
Campus landmarks worth seeing at Auburn University
You don’t need a full campus
tour to hit the essentials. These four anchor any first visit to Auburn and
they’re all on the map.
Places to check out
Jordan-Hare Stadium
251 S Donahue Dr, Auburn University, AL 36849, USA
Worth walking up to even without a game for the sheer scale of it. On football Saturdays, the surrounding blocks become the full Auburn experience.
University Chapel
University Chapel, Auburn, AL 36830, USA
A quiet piece of Auburn history just off College Street. It only takes a few minutes to see, but it’s a nice counterpoint to the game-day landmarks on a campus walk.
Toomer's Corner
112 S College St, Auburn, AL 36849, USA
The intersection where campus meets downtown and the emotional center of Auburn. After big wins the whole town shows up to roll the oaks, and on any other day it’s lemonade from Toomer’s Drugs and people-watching.
Samford Hall
Samford Hall, 182 S College St, Auburn University, AL 36849, USA
The red-brick clock tower on every Auburn postcard. The lawn out front is the photo stop for tours, graduation, and anyone seeing campus for the first time.
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Frequently asked questions
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What is Toomer’s Corner?
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