Hello Happiest Hour

Check out the view from Uptown Dallas’ biggest and best new patio

Hard to beat this view from Happiest Hour.

Courtesy photo

Dallasites love a good patio, and now they have an even bigger and better one to add to their rotation. Happiest Hour, the latest concept from Harwood International, is a two-deck restaurant and bar with 12,000 square feet, including a rooftop patio on the second level showcasing the best views of the Dallas skyline from the district of HARWOOD.

“The industrial chic setting paired with unparalleled service in this premier location will give guests a unique experience in Dallas’ largest patio bar and lounge,” says Bruno Roulleux, director of operations, Harwood Hospitality Group. To see what all the fuss is about, watch the video, which takes you inside this just-opened hot spot.

But the patio isn’t Happiest Hour’s only asset. The menu features mindfully prepared dishes made with fresh, locally sourced ingredients. Signature dishes include Kuby’s sausages; the Dino Rib, a 12-hour smoked cross-cut beef rib; a crudité platter with seasonal vegetables, hummus, and ranch dressing; and the Whistle Stop Sandwich with fried green tomatoes, mozzarella, and sweet pickle marmalade on brioche bread.

To wash it all down are thoughtfully crafted artisan cocktails and an international selection of eight wines on tap and more than 50 beers on tap. Oh, and 17 screens throughout the patio bar ensure a view of the game from any seat.

Happiest Hour has opened in time for the TX-OU game, and the rivalry weekend starts off right on Friday, October 9, with specialty shots and spins from 10 pm-2 am by DJ Inzo.

Doors open at 9:30 am on Saturday, October 10, and Happiest Hour hosts eight hours of live music from three performers. Naturally you can watch the big game from all angles as you sip on one of the weekend’s featured craft cocktails, the Longhorn Libation or the Sooner Than Later. Until 6 pm, Happiest Hour will also knock $1 off cans of Miller Lite, Bud Light, Coors Light, and Michelob Ultra.

With a convenient location across from the American Airlines Center, Happiest Hour is the new go-to destination before or after a game or show. It is part of the Harwood Hospitality Group, now housing six restaurant brands within the district of HARWOOD, including Marie Gabrielle Restaurant and Gardens, Saint Ann Restaurant & Bar, Mercat Bistro, Magnolias: Sous Le Pont, and The Grove at Harwood.

Harwood Hospitality is currently working on two more restaurant concepts this fall.

promoted nightlife uptown jwvideo

EDM News

Intimate dance-music venue to debut near Deep Ellum Dallas

CTRL Room

Breakaway Music Festival

CTRL Room will host local, national, and international DJs

A new music-focused venue operating in the electronic dance music (EDM) realm is about to debut in Dallas: Called CTRL Room, it's a dual-concept nightlife experience opening at 2511 Swiss Ave., in the former Citizen bar space, which closed in January after a decade.

According to a spokesperson, CTRL Room will open on April 9 — just in time for the Breakaway Music Festival, an annual national touring festival, which will stop in Dallas on April 10-11.

CTRL Room has partnered with Breakaway to promote the festival and will serve as one of the festival's official after-party venues.

CTRL Room is from the same team that owns restaurants such as Vidorra and Serious Pizza. It's designed as an alternative to the usual oversized EDM venue, with a focus on creating a space where every set feels personal.

It'll be located in the middle of the so-called North Good Latimer District, an unexpected club zone in a neighborhood just east of downtown Dallas, straddling Good Latimer Freeway near the Deep Ellum DART station, which is home to high-volume bars such as Greenlight Social, Sporting Club, and Vice Park.

The bar is collaborating with Next Level Events, a nightlife and electronic music promotion company that organizes after-hours and rooftop events in venues across Dallas such as Coba Dallas, located in the former Whiskey Hatchet space in Deep Ellum.

The festival
Breakaway is a fast-growing music festival that was founded in 2013 in Columbus, Ohio as a single-city event. Initially focusing on Ohio, the festival expanded regionally in 2016, later becoming a national touring brand with more than 300,000 fans across a dozen cities by 2025. It claims to be the largest touring music festival in North America that is focused on electronic dance music (EDM) and hip-hop.

Breakaway also has a Texas connection. According to founder Adam Lynn, the first one in Columbus took place at the Columbus Crew Stadium, owned by Lamar Hunt Jr. and the Hunt family, who invited him to bring it to Dallas, as well.

Two bars one roof
The venue, which has been completely redesigned from its Citizen days, has a capacity of 700, but is divided into two distinct environments, described thusly:

CTRL Room: Dark, immersive main room with a capacity of 400 will deliver a tightly packed experience that rejects the typical warehouse scale in favor of something more immediate and connected, including proximity to the DJ. It's rooted in house and dance-music culture, with a rotating mix of DJs, emerging artists, and local players.
TreeHaus: This 300-capacity space hidden within the venue is an intimate, organic space layered with natural textures, greenery, and warm lighting. It’s a sensory shift designed to slow the tempo without losing the rhythm, offering a more fluid atmosphere.

After the afterparty
CTRL Room is launching as a Breakaway Music Festival afterparty destination, but it will transition into full-time venue in its own right once the festival has moved on, with programming and artist announcements to follow in the coming weeks. While the opening was planned to coincide with the festival, it will be fully operational every week thereafter, with local, national, and international DJs lined up for the coming months.

deep-ellum nightlife festivals openings

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