Uptown News

New restaurant-bar rolls out pretty tableside cocktails at Union Dallas

Cocktails will be a big deal.

Photo courtesy of Royal 38

A veteran Dallas bar team is rolling out an ambitious new concept. Called Royal 38, it's a restaurant and bar from the founders of Hide, and will open at The Union Dallas, the mixed-use project at Field Street and Cedar Springs Road.

According to a release, Royal 38 will open November 18. The actual street address is 2301 N. Akard St., in the same area as The Henry, TacoLingo, North Italia, and more.

Hide is the bar that opened in Deep Ellum in 2018, and has earned accolades for its creative cocktails and upscale comfort food, including a nomination for co-owner/bartender Scott Jenkins for Best Bartender in CultureMap's annual Tastemaker Awards in 2019.

Royal 38 will feature the following trademarks from the team at Hide:

extensive menu they anticipate will be crowd-pleasing
eclectic wine list
one-of-a-kind cocktails

They'll be open lunch and dinner with a menu includes bar snacks, starters, salads, sandwiches, entrees, and desserts.

Starters include Lobster Corn Fritters with white corn meal, corn, pepper, and remoulade sauce.

There's a Vegan Grain Bowl with champagne vinaigrette, farro, sugar snap peas, radish, Brussels sprouts, roasted yams, grilled portobellos, little gems, and pepitas.

The Royal Double Smash Burger Frites comes topped with American cheese, bacon, and sweet hot pickle chips.

Chicken Schnitzel has spaetzle and a hot sauce beurre blanc.

They'll also do a weekend brunch Saturday and Sunday from 11 am-4 pm, with dishes that include:

Huevos Rancheros
Lobster Benedict with potato cake, poached eggs, lemon hollandaise, and fried capers
Stuffed French Toast with brioche, vanilla cream anglaise, bananas foster syrup, and berries
A variety of Mimosas and Royal 38 signature brunch cocktails

Jenkins, who is the beverage director, composed the wine list and cocktails, which are categorized by taste profile, from "Spirited and Brave" to "Comforting and Refreshing". One creatiion called The Fistful of Pansies is a spice gin blend that includes pear brandy and Fino sherry. The Frisky Spritz is a low-ABV cocktail made with Brut Cava.

But the real news here is that, in addition to classic cocktails, they'll offer tableside cocktail cart service upon request. This personalized experience lets guests be ringside as their cocktail is prepared.

The space has 4,000 square feet, with two levels, offering dining and a full bar on both levels, as well as an outdoor patio with ample socially distanced room.

Additional steps to ensure the health and safety of guests include social distancing, virus suppression using UV light devices in the AC system, daily wellness checks and mask requirements for staff, and contactless or one-time use menus.

cocktails uptown openings

Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its U.S. debut, right here in Texas: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's a ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.