Visit Plano News

New Champagne bar will fizz into Plano with bubbles and morning coffee

No reason why you can't have bubbles in the morning, too.

Flour and Vine

A new restaurant is coming to Plano with coffee in the morning and bubbly in the evening. Called Fizz, it's a new all-day concept with restaurant and lounge, opening in early summer in the former Pakpao Thai space at 3310 Dallas Pkwy. #115.

Fizz is so named because it plans on having the most extensive Champagne list in Dallas-Fort Worth, with a wine list exceeding 100 bottles, with more than 50 sparkling wines, including 20 Champagnes from France. You can't succeed if you don't aim high.

It'll also have craft cocktails and snacks centered on shareable charcuterie-style boards.

It is no relation to Fish & Fizz, the fish & chips restaurant in Richardson from chef Nick Barclay. It is, however, part of a growing trend of Champagne bars around Dallas-Fort Worth that have either already opened or are poised to open that include:

Pinky's Champagne Room & Velvet Jazz Lounge, already open and spilling the bubbly in Fort Worth's Near Southside
Coupes Dallas, set to open this summer on Oak Lawn Avenue
The Coupe, set to open in Fort Worth's buzzy South Main Street in late 2022

Fizz is from Jeff Murtha, who own Studio 80, an '80s-themed club in Fort Worth. The wine list was assembled by sommelier Anthony Martinez who is also general manager.

Craft cocktails are by mixologist Ruben Michael, with an ever-changing menu featuring classic cocktails, original drinks, and twists on favorites, made with high-quality spirits, fresh juices & herbs, and house-made tinctures and syrups.

Highlights include Gin Fizz; the Naked and Famous with mezcal, yellow chartreuse, Aperol, and lime juice; and Moth 2 a Flame, an Old-Fashioned infused with cold smoke.

The menu is anchored by build-your-own boards with imported meats and cheeses, spreads, jams, crackers, breads, and olives. Fruit and vegetable boards are also available.

But there are also:

three salads, which can be topped prime filet, salmon, chicken or blackened shrimp
cheese fondue, including plain and spicy, served with bread
dessert fondues, choice of milk chocolate or caramel, served with fruit
DIY s'mores,with graham crackers, chocolate, marshmallows and personal burners

The coffee bar will be open at 7 am, with a dedicated golf cart that can make coffee deliveries throughout the neighborhood, should you live nearby.

Fizz will feature two full-service bars, one wrapping around the 3,500 square-foot interior and another on a 1,200-square-foot patio. The patio has a retractable roof to take advantage of sunny days and protect guests from the rain, and during cooler months, fire pits provide cozy gathering spots.

Food is served Sunday-Thursday from 4–10 pm, with select items available until midnight and on Fridays and Saturdays from 4–11 pm.

They're also open for weekend brunch with live entertainment on Saturday-Sunday from 11 am–3 pm. There is also live music 6–9 pm.

"We’ve been working hard to make Fizz the most fun new lounge Plano has to offer," says Murtha in a release. "It's the perfect mix of great food and drinks, exceptional service and lively atmosphere, and there will always be something new to experience, whether it’s a rare bottle of bubbly or a captivating performer."

openings wine

Greek News

Savvy chef team to open Elia Greek Tavern in Dallas' Bishop Arts

Weight Watchers

Branzino with olives and tomatoes

A new restaurant is coming to a revered Oak Cliff location: Called Elia Greek Tavern, it will open this summer in Bishop Arts at 205 N. Bishop Ave., better known as the former home of Nora Restaurant and Bar.

Elia is from highly prolific chef Habip Kargin and his partner Hayko Sherenian, who also own Selda Mediterranean, the growing Turkish restaurant concept which now has four locations in Dallas — including The Mayor's House by Selda, also in Bishop Arts — as well as a location in San Antonio.

When Nora closed in May, they saw an opportunity to offer something new to the neighborhood.

"We wanted to bring an authentic Mediterranean/Greek seafood restaurant to Bishop Arts and also bring another attraction to the area," Sherenian says.

Elia will be a fusion, combining Turkish and Greek cuisine, especially seafood such as baked Greek branzino, dorado, swordfish, and snapper, as well as Greek classics like chicken and lamb.

They'll also do classic Greek dishes like tzatziki and caviar dips, calamari, and saganaki — a pan-fried Greek cheese. Prices will be reasonable for a nice place, from $20-$40 per person.

As is their habit, they're bringing in chefs with expertise: Abdullah "Apo" Acik and Yusuf Alasulu, two chefs from Cyprus, an island south of Greece, to head the culinary team.

The restaurant will be open late nights until 2 am and feature a full bar with wine, beer, and cocktails, as well as a weekday happy hour from 3-6 pm.

The inside of the restaurant is also being renovated with a classic Greek vibe incorporating lots of the color blue.

"It will be upscale but cozy and relaxed at the same time," Sherenian says. "We want the customer to feel as if they just had a meal at a small family restaurant in Greece."

Kargin opened his first restaurant in Mersin, Turkey, before moving to the U.S. He founded Pera, a Mediterranean concept, in 2012 and later opened the original Selda on Belt Line Road in 2020. Sherenian became a partner when they expanded with a location in Frisco, which opened in May.

oak-cliff openings