Top Bar Destinations

5 destination bars found in Dallas' very best restaurants

We recently unveiled our Top 100 list of the very best restaurants in Dallas, and it includes every kind and level of restaurant: fine-dining splurges, modest gems, taquerias, pizzerias, and sandwich shops. Some are known for having a single great dish, like ramen; some have the best atmosphere around. And some are known for their bar scene.

It should be said that many (most?) of the restaurants on our Top 100 list have good bars. These days, most restaurants open with a heightened focus on their bar scene, with complicated cocktails and a separate bar menu. And bars open with a full menu of food that surpasses typical bar snacks.

Some of our list-makers, such as Fearing's and the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, have bars so substantial, they are practically entities unto themselves. To all the great restaurant bars of Dallas, we lift a toast.

Here are the 5 restaurants from our Top 100 where the bar shares billing as the reason to go:

Chicken Scratch
This fried chicken joint opened in West Dallas before fried chicken was the epic trend it is today, and before West Dallas became ground zero for the next gentrification ground. They do chicken both fried and rotisserie, and the sides are Southern basics like collard greens and macaroni and cheese. But the driver here is The Foundry, the adjacent outdoor bar. It's an expansive courtyard with picnic tables, ping pong tournaments, and a good selection of craft beer that's both dog- and kid-friendly. The chicken's good and all, but the bar's the thing.

Goodfriend Beer Garden & Burger House
That Goodfriend would make this list should come as no surprise. It comes from guys with a strong bar background and was conceived as a beer bar first, with the food originally made in the kitchen of Good 2 Go Taco next door. Its lineup of burgers is surely worthy; Goodfriend was among the first wave of places in Dallas to do the Hopdoddy-esque burger list with all sorts of meats and toppings. But Goodfriend's primary draw remains its cache of boutique beers. Although the craft beer world has expanded since it opened in 2011, Goodfriend is still a place where you can get beers not found elsewhere.

Meddlesome Moth
This Design District pioneer has always had serious chefs in the kitchen, and some menu items, such as its signature moth balls (ricotta balls in a cream sauce), tip their hat to culinary stars like the Spotted Pig in New York. But how can you ignore that bar? It runs 24 feet long, practically the length of the restaurant, with a seemingly infinite number of taps — there are actually 40 — and one of the best beer selections around. Owner Shannon Wynne took all of the beer capital earned from his Flying Saucer chain and tacked it onto a good restaurant; as a result, many a rare keg has been tapped here first.

Remedy
Retro restaurant on Greenville Avenue from HG Sply Co. owner Elias Pope and chef Danyele McPherson does some cute twists on homey food such as a grilled-cheese sandwich and tomato soup. Its scratch-made bologna is one-of-a-kind. But so is its bar program, devised by Mate Hartai, incorporating scholarly techniques and ingredients such as wine jellies and shrubs, aka drinking vinegars. There's an entire menu of nonalcoholic drinks, as well. The ongoing trend with bar menus has been to treat them with the same seriousness as what's coming out of the kitchen, and Remedy is on that cusp.

Victor Tangos
No establishment in Dallas blurs the line between bars and restaurants more perfectly than VT. A raucous social scene gives the place a real bar vibe. It also blazed the cocktail trail, as one of the first in Dallas to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables, such as red bell pepper in its pepper smash drink, with gin, mint, lemon, and honey. But to focus entirely on the bar is to overlook the prowess of chef Kirstyn Brewer, winner of CultureMap's rising star chefs contest of 2016. Her menu is finely tuned, with a few dinner entrées and a whole lot of great shareable plates and upscale bar snacks.

Victor Tango's bartender Andrew Stofko is serious about cocktails.

Bartender Andrew Stofko of Victor Tangos in Dallas

Ultimate Cocktail Experience/Facebook

Victor Tango's bartender Andrew Stofko is serious about cocktails.

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Restaurant News Roundup

This Dallas restaurant news remains upbeat despite a few closures

Kona Grill

Pumpkin cocktail and pumpkin pie at Kona Grill

This roundup of Dallas restaurant news has competing themes: There are the seasonal holiday releases one expects at this time of the year, but there are also a sprinkling of closures that have occurred within recent days. But chin up, there's an opening or two to balance things out.

Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:

H-Mart, the Korean supermarket, opened its first location in Dallas, at 2534 Royal Ln. in Koreatown. The chain has more than 72 stores including six in Texas, with two in DFW, in Carrollton and Plano, and another opening soon in Haltom City. The Dallas store is not as large as the Carrolton store but has a nice food court. The parking situation is rumored to be a nightmare.

Outback Steakhouse closed its location in Plano at 1509 N. Central Expy. on October 26; it had been there for more than 30 years. Fans of the signature Bloomin' Onion fried appetizer can still find satisfaction at 50 locations in Texas and 16 in the DFW area including two that opened recently in Allen and Prosper, joining locations in Addison, Arlington, Burleson, Denton, DeSoto, Euless, Forney, Fort Worth, Frisco, Garland, Hurst, Irving, Lewisville, and Mesquite.

Chicago Avenue Hot Dogs in Frisco has closed. The restaurant opened in 2022 at 15922 Eldorado Pkwy. #700, with authentic Chicago-style hot dogs and Italian beef sandwiches that made it a beloved destination for the local Chicago-loving community. But the location proved to be a challenge. Owners Rick and Jamye Henry say they may consider reopening at a different address down the road.

Ferris Wheelers BBQ, the restaurant and live performance space in Dallas' Design District, has closed after eight years and will become a new concept managed by Spune Productions, the local music promotion and event company. It opened in 2017 with an emphasis on its barbecue menu, then forged a partnership with Spune to ramp up the live music side in 2023.

Lazi Cow, a bubble tea shop concept founded in California, opened a location in Denton at 21800 Bricker Rd. in early November with a menu of boba tea, coffee, frozen drinks, bowls, and Japanese taiyaki pastries. This is their third DFW location, following Frisco which opened in 2024, and Colleyville, which opened in August 2025.

The Last Point is a new sports bar from Kelcher Entertainment Group opening at 4578 Belt Line Rd., in the former Addison Point, an Addison sports bar that first opened in 1977. Carrying on the legacies of The Midway Point and Addison Point, the Last Point offers 21 large-screen TVs and 3/4-pound burgers.

Kona Grill, the Asian-American restaurant at NorthPark Center, has brought back its pumpkin menu with two cocktails — Pumpkin Spice Margarita with tequila and reàl pumpkin purée, and a Pumpkin Mocha Martini with vodka, pumpkin spice rumchata, nitro-infused espresso, and crème de cacao. There's also food: Pumpkin Bisque withshrimp; lobster & mushroom ravioli with asparagus and shiitake mushrooms; and pumpkin pie with honeycomb crumbs. Go real matchy-matchy like the influencers do and order the whole thing.

La Rue Doughnuts, the acclaimed doughnut shop at Trinity Groves, has changed its hours: They are now open on Mondays which bring them to seven days a week. Simultaneously, they've shortened their hours on weekends and will no longer remain open until 8 pm. New hours: Monday-Friday 7 am-2 pm, Saturday-Sunday 8 am-4 pm.

il Bracco, the Italian restaurant in the Park Cities, has new seasonal dishes including a burrata salad with figs, grapes, walnuts, arugula and fennel; Amalfi tuna salad with citrus, cucumber, arugula, and pistachios; Marsala trumpets with trompetti noodles, mushrooms, garlic, and Marsala; crab cappelletti, available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays; cioppino fisherman’s stew; wild mushrooms with garlic and thyme; white beans with Italian sausage and sage; and cauliflower with pistachio, mint, currants, and Reggiano.

Bobbie’s Airway Grill, the popular Preston Hollow restaurant, has new seasonal dishes including smoked salmon dip; blackened trout with jalapeño coleslaw; redfish topped with crab in a lemon butter sauce with savoy spinach; stone crab claws, an off-menu feature available through spring; and rotating soups including chicken tortilla Monday-Wednesday, potato leek on Thursday-Friday, and Texas Red Chili on weekends.

Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer has conjured up the Something Bad CrazyShake, an over-the-top chocolate peppermint milkshake with mint green frosting, crushed Oreos, chocolate cake, a whimsical pretzel broomstick, finished with a playful witch hat — available November 20-30 at Black Tap locations in New York City, Dallas, and Las Vegas at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas.

Taziki’s Mediterranean Café has a new limited-time Turkish Meatballs, inspired by founder Keith Richards’ recent trip to Turkey and the authentic chargrilling techniques he experienced, available through January 25. Rather than simmering in sauce, these lamb meatballs are chargrilled to order and can be ordered with rustic tomato sauce, in a pita gyro, or as a salad topper.

Torchy’s Tacos taco of the month for November is the Space Cowboy, featuring fried chicken, red chile sauce, cilantro lime rice, avocado slice, cotija cheese, and cilantro, in a flour tortilla. They also have a Drink of the Month: a limited-time margarita called the “Out of Office" with habanero-infused blanco tequila, Tajín rim, and two serrano pepper coins for garnish.

Maple Leaf Diner is offering whole pies during the holiday season in three varieties: pecan, chocolate pecan, and pumpkin, priced from $27 to $31.

Cinnaholic has two limited-edition flavors for the season: cinnamon roll decorated with Christmas cookie frosting, topped with cookie bites; and cinnamon cookies with chocolate chips, pretzels, marshmallows, oreos, and holiday sprinkles.

BJ's Restaurant & Brewhouse is launching two seasonal flavors of its signature Pizookie cookie, available while supplies last: The Dubai Chocolate Pizookie with Ghirardelli chocolate, pistachio sauce, and kataifi in a crackable chocolate shell; and the Monkey Bread Pizookie featuring cinnamon pull-apart bread with vanilla ice cream and caramel drizzle — returning after a two-year absence. They also have two seasonal cocktails: The Dubai Chocolate Espresso Martini with Monin pistachio and nitro-Infused espresso, drizzled with pistachio sauce and rimmed with chocolate fudge and kataifi; and the Holiday Lights Lucky Ducky with tequila, rum, vodka, peach schnapps, blue curacao, sweet & sour, pineapple juice, Starry, hard candies, and light-up cubes.

Tropical Smoothie Cafe has a new edible blue shimmer sugar topping that adds sparkle to any smoothie or bowl for free. Guests should request "Mermaid-style" on their orders.

DQ Texas restaurants have a new Peppermint Bark Blizzard Treat combining white and milk chocolatey layers, peppermint candy cane pieces, and soft serve.

Yogurtland has two seasonal items: a special Peppermint Mocha frozen yogurt with chocolatey coffee and peppermint in side-by-side dispensers which you are suggested to swirl; and the Ginger Bread Man Cookie topping featuring a spiced crunch.

Jamba, ordinarily known for its healthy juice smoothies, has a new Frozen Hot Chocolate topped with Nutella and coconut whip, available through January 12. They also have new bites including chicken empanadas, and herbed mozzarella bites with marinara sauce. The chain has 22 locations across DFW and 47 across Texas.

Wingstop has a special Fiery Lime flavored wing, born from the flavor profile of a spicy margarita with lime and chili.

Sprinkles the cupcake chain is opening its "Holiday Boutique" with limited-edition treats that include a Spiced Cranberry Vanilla cupcake: a vanilla cake filled with spiced cranberry compote, topped with cream cheese frosting, and finished with freeze-dried cranberries. Available through November 27.

The Ritz-Carlton Dallas, Las Colinas has named Jacopo Nardini as its new Director of Food & Beverage. Nardini brings more than 15 years of hospitality experience having held senior food and beverage leadership roles at prestigious Forbes Five-Star resorts across Europe, the Caribbean and the United States. Most recently, Nardini served as Director of Restaurants at The Ritz-Carlton Half Moon Bay.

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