Where to Drink Now

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 best happy hour deals for July

Time for some sipping.

Photo by Trevor Gerland

For this episode of Where to Drink, we bring five of the newest happy hour offerings around Dallas that are rolling out for July.

Happy hours are useful beyond the obvious reason — the obvious reason being, yay discounts. A cocktail always seems to taste sweeter when it costs less. (And free drinks are irresistible.)

But happy hours also afford an opportunity to try someplace you haven't been with a lower risk. Even if not the greatest caliber, getting your sip and bite on discount steps up one's sense of adventure.

Here are 5 new happy hours to try:

Bowen House
This cozy Uptown bar hosts a happy hour from 4-7 pm every day, weekends included, which puts it in a special group (IE, the group that does not just do happy hours on weekends). Offerings include $5 cocktails including their infamous Old Fashioned and the Sazerac; house wines for $6 per glass; and $4 for Texas beers. There are also discounts on fries or onion rings, house olives, and Lump Crab Deviled Eggs.

Fleming's Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar
This steakhouse and wine bar near the Shops at Legacy calls itself the Dallas/Plano location, but it's really just Plano. Be proud, Fleming's! Their new happy hour menu — which unfortunately they force you to download as a PDF, their website is a beating — runs from 5-7 pm and has small plates like burrata with proscuitto for $9, a filet mignon sandwich for $18, and a mushroom and red pepper flatbread for $9.

Kona Grill
The happy hour offered by this dependable restaurant at NorthPark Center is not new, but it's generous and reliable. Tropical cocktails such as the Mai Tai are $6.50. Margaritas are $6, sangria is $7, and it's $2 off any glass of wine. There are great food options too, including queso, rolls, flatbreads, lettuce wraps, and sushi rolls for $7 to $9.50. It runs from 3-6 pm on weekdays, 9 pm until close Mondays-Thursdays, and all day Sunday.

Playground Uptown Bar
Drink like you're 21 again with happy hour prices all day at this kiddie-themed spot featuring treats such as spiked freeze pops and Jell-O shot syringes — buy a round for your crew, 10 for $23.09! Drinks are $5.54. One partners Smirnoff Orange Vodka with Sunny Delight; another pairs Smirnoff Strawberry Vodka with Capri Sun. The Yoo-Hoo contains Patron XO Café, vanilla vodka, and Yoo-Hoo. On Tuesdays, there are $1.50 tacos and $4 Crown and downs for service industry employees.

Standard Pour
Now under the guidance of Eddie "Lucky" Campbell, this famed Uptown Dallas bar has a new chef, new menu, and some irresistible drink deals. From 4-7 pm daily, and Monday all day long, there are more than a dozen cocktail offerings for $5 including margaritas and their world-famous Moscow mules. Food specials include grilled avocado, hummus, tostadas, and more.

where-drink cocktails

Sushi News

Fun conveyor-belt sushi restaurant debuts at McKinney mixed-use

Photo by Jakob Layman for Kura Sushi

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A Japanese-inspired restaurant that brings you sushi on a conveyor belt is now open in McKinney: Called Kura Revolving Sushi, it’s located at 8585 W. University Dr. #150 in the West Grove mixed-use development, where it debuts on April 25, with an opening party taking place all weekend from April 25-27.

"We are thrilled to open our sixth DFW location in McKinney, which is one of the fastest growing cities in the country with a population that's increasingly diverse and open to new culinary experiences," says Chief Development Officer Robert Kluger in a statement. "We believe the West Grove shopping center is the perfect place to share our authentic Japanese dining experience with this growing community."

Kura Sushi USA was established in 2008 and has grown to be the largest revolving sushi chain: Small plates of sushi and sides are placed on a conveyor belt that snakes around the restaurant, allowing customers to grab items as they pass by.

They have more than 100 menu items, including sushi, ramen, and popular Asian starters like edamame and wontons. Each item is charged separately starting at $3.45 a plate.

There are two conveyors as follows:

Revolving Sushi Bar. The primary belt that snakes through the dining area, with plates of sushi that are protected by the chain's Mr. Fresh ventilated sushi lid. They say it limits airborne exposure and has plate-tracking technology that monitors how long the item has been circulating, ensuring food remains fresh.
Express Belt. Referred to as the "sushi highway," the express belt is positioned above the primary belt and is used to deliver special orders.

Bikkura Pon Prizes
An integral part of Kura Sushi USA’s tech interactive dining experience, Bikkura Pon is a machine that dispenses prizes after customers dispose of their plates properly. A touch panel registers the number of sushi plates dispensed into the plate disposal slot. After five plates, a short animation plays; after every fifteen plates, a prize such as a keychain or phone mount pops out.

Kura has more than 550 locations in Japan, U.S., and Taiwan. There are 70 locations in 20 states and Washington D.C. McKinney is the sixth location to open in DFW; other locations include Carrollton, Euless, Plano, Frisco, and Fort Worth.

openings