It's 5 o'clock Somewhere

5 Knox District hot spots for happening happy hours

After a long day of work, sometimes a cold cocktail is required. The thriving Knox District neighborhood caters to Dallas professionals with hard-to-beat happy hours that can help turn any regular workday into an unforgettable evening.

Here are five places to kick back after the 9-to-5 grind:

Villa-O
On Wednesday, you can wind down with a friend over a bottle of half-price wine. Weekdays from 4-7 pm, enjoy half off appetizers and happy hour specials. Also check out the girls’ and guys’ night out specials happening on Thursday from 4 pm until close. Specials for this all-inclusive bar party include reduced prices on beer, wine, highballs and specialty cocktails, along with half off apps.

Sangria
Stroll past this Cole Avenue restaurant and you are bound to spy people laughing with friends and sipping cocktails. Weekdays from 4-7 pm, indulge in $3 sangrias, wells and the martini of the day. Occasionally on Tuesday’s half-price bottle of wine night, this hot spot also has live music.

Fernando’s
If it’s Mexican you crave, salsa right over to this Travis Street establishment. The fun starts early here, with happy hour specials from 11 am to 6:45 pm. The same goes for happy hour appetizers, but you can’t indulge in these until 4. Tuesdays are all about entertainment, as Linda and Larry Petty and the Main Event perform from 7-9 pm. On Wednesday, get half-price bottles of wine.

Abacus
Although there are no happy hour specials, Abacus has a list of drinks on par with its food menu. Relax in the upscale bar with a specialty cocktail, glass of wine or spirit of your choice. If you’re feeling flirty and fun, we recommend the Rio Star. For something with a kick, try the Buffalo Trace Blackberry Smash.

Cafe Madrid
On weekdays from 5-7 pm, enjoy a selection of Spanish tapas, sangria, house wine, cava cocktails and more at special prices. With 85 varieties of Spanish wines and sherries, Cafe Madrid has the cure for whatever ails you. Try the house-made sangria and the croqueta de la casa.

Tapas at Sangria is the perfect post-work pick-me-up.

Photo courtesy of Sangria

Tapas at Sangria is the perfect post-work pick-me-up.

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Awards News

8 Dallas restaurants & chefs make James Beard Awards semifinalist list

Starship

Starship Bagel team winning award at New York BagelFest 2023.

The 2025 James Beard Awards have arrived, with a first list of semifinalists — a list that includes eight Dallas-area restaurants, bars, and chefs (or chef teams).

Among those semifinalists are two Dallas bars and one acclaimed bagel shop.

Five of the semifinalists have earned nods for national awards, competing against restaurants from across the U.S. The other three semifinalists are in the regional category of Best Chef in Texas — competing against other Texas nominees.

Note: These are just the semifinalists. The list will be culled down to nominees, announced on Wednesday, April 2. And then the final winners will be announced at the James Beard Restaurant and Chef Awards ceremony on Monday, June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

The Dallas semifinalists are as follows:

RJ Yoakum, Georgie, for Emerging Chef. Georgie also made the list of recommended restaurants in the new Texas Michelin Guide.
Mabo Dallas, for Best New Restaurant. Preston Center omakase restaurant was the only restaurant in Dallas to make Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurant list for 2024.
Starship Bagel, Lewisville, for Best New Bakery. Starship is the winning-est bagel shop in Dallas, having previously won awards for Best Bagel and Best Schmear at the New York Bagel Fest, a national competition.
Apothecary, Dallas, for Outstanding Bar. Avant-garde bar on Greenville Avenue opened in 2021 as a spin-off of its sibling restaurant Rye.
Bar Colette, Dallas, for Best New Bar. Cocktail spot opened in 2023 in Dallas' West Village with bespoke glassware and marble tabletops, although they've lately shifted direction slightly with a sushi bar twist.

There are three Dallas semifinalists for Best Chef in Texas:

Fasicka Hicks and Patrick Hicks, Smoke'N Ash BBQ, Arlington. Wonderful owners of this Tex-Ethiopian Smokehouse, which also earned a Recommended from the Michelin Guide.
Anais Paniagua and Iris Rojas, Doña Maria. Irving restaurant specializes in Dominican cuisine.
Regino Rojas, Purépecha, Dallas. Repeat nominee earns another nomination.

Elsewhere in Texas, Houston boasts 12 nominees, San Antonio has eight, and Austin received six.

The full list of nominees is on JamesBeard.org.

The awards also include media categories that will be announced on May 7. Recipients of the coveted America’s Classic award will be announced on February 26.

The 2025 Restaurant and Chef Award semifinalists are recognized across 25 categories. In recognition of the ever-evolving independent restaurant landscape, the 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards expanded with a focus on beverages, introducing three new categories: Best New Bar, Outstanding Professional in Beverage Service, and Outstanding Professional in Cocktail Service.

The Restaurant and Chef Awards—established in 1990, with the first Awards given in 1991—celebrate excellence across all types of dining experiences, from fine dining to casual establishments, and are one of several recognition programs of the Awards.

chefs awards