Patio Time
Ivy Tavern greens up Lemmon Avenue with ripping patio and chef-blessed menu
Gregarious couple Lisa and Elia "Tom" Georgalis have moved their mojo to a new spot on Lemmon Avenue called Ivy Tavern. With a trademark wall of green ivy and a deluxe patio, this new bar-restaurant is slated to open by early June, with a grand opening party on June 7.
When we last heard from Lisa and Tom, they were holding court at Inwood Tavern, which they bought in 2010 and then sold four years later. It was enough to develop a loyal following, which you can tell by hitting the Ivy's Facebook page. For how else to explain a bar that has not even opened yet already earning 30 five-star reviews, typified by comments such as "Sounds awesome. Ya open yet?"
A press release brags that the Ivy "is sure to boast one of the best patio experiences in Dallas," which is a very big gauntlet to throw down.
The Ivy takes over what used to be Kitty's Bar & Grill, which billed itself as the home to the "BBW," which you surely know stands for "Big Beautiful Woman" (who have since decamped to a bar on Northwest Highway called Northwest Point).
A press release brags that the Ivy "is sure to boast one of the best patio experiences in Dallas," which is a very big gauntlet to throw down. The patio is said to be beautifully landscaped, with features such as seating for 50, a fire pit and 40-foot trees that act as a canopy. Gone but not forgotten from its BBW days is a volcano waterfall.
On the drink front, the Ivy enlisted Greenbar Craft Distillery to create a majority of the cocktails using Greenbar liquors. According to the release, Greenbar makes the world's largest collection of artisan, organic spirits.
As for the food, all menu items are Georgalis family recipes, selected and consulted on by Randall Warder, former chef de cuisine of the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek and currently at Clark Food and Wine Co., which opens this summer. Randall Warder! Okay, now we are talking.
The menu includes chili cheese fries; hummus and tzatziki; cheeseburgers and brisket grilled cheese with pickled jalapeños; and grilled chicken, pork or spiced ground beef on pita bread. All of it will be available during all operating hours.
"Lemmon Avenue is the meeting spot of a lot of great neighborhoods, and we wanted to be central to all of them," said Tom in a release. "Devonshire, Highland Park, Oak Lawn, Love Field and Uptown all overlap in this area. We wanted to create a bar where everyone can come together, share ideas, have good conversation over a drink and stay a while."
