Dining Events Of The Week

Repeal Day tops 12 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Ginger's will host a Repeal Day party this week.

Ginger's

Repeal Day — which marks the end of Prohibition in 1933 — arrives this week and bars are ready to celebrate with classic cocktails and costume parties. Also on the list of dining events this week: holiday sip-and-stroll events, free barbecue, and breakfast with St. Nick.

Thursday, December 4

Viet-Cajun Dinner at Restaurant Beatrice
Guest chef Joshua Van Hanh Zacharias of Canada will visit Restaurant Beatrice to prepare a six-course tasting menu featuring Vietnamese American and Cajun flavors. Titled “Ham Choi,” a Vietnamese phrase used by parents to scold overly playful children, the menu includes dishes like pork-stuffed shrimp, banh mi canapes, pate, and macarons with iced coffee from New Orleans. The dinner is $125 plus tax and gratuity, and is available Thursday and Friday beginning at 5 pm.

Friday, December 5

Repeal Day at Bourbon & Banter
The Statler’s underground speakeasy will celebrate Repeal Day with a lineup of Prohibition-era cocktails. Visit for a $5 menu including Mary Pickford with Flor de Cana; French 75 with Hendrick’s gin; Hanky Panky with Tanqueray gin; and Millionaire with dark rum and sloe gin. The special will run from 6–9 pm.

Repeal Day Party at Ginger’s
East Quarter underground cocktail bar will celebrate its two-year anniversary in conjunction with Repeal Day with a party called “The Night America Toasted Again.” Don vintage attire of the speakeasy era and enjoy DJ music and classic cocktails like the Sidecar, Old Fashioned, Bee’s Knees, and French 75. Toast at midnight with a complimentary champagne toast. Doors open at 6 pm.

The Feast of the Seven Fishes at Palato Italian Kitchen and Lounge
Italian restaurant at Hall Park Hotel in Frisco will host a multi-course dinner embracing the classic Feast of the Seven Fishes, an Italian-American Christmas tradition featuring a meatless meal of seven different seafood-centric dishes. The dinner is $160 plus gratuity, and begins at 7 pm.

Repeal Day Party at Whiskey Cake
Party like it’s 1933 during this celebration commemorating the end of Prohibition. Whiskey Cake’s patio will be transformed into a speakeasy featuring bootleg-inspired cocktails, hand-rolled cigars, and live music. The party will run from 7 pm-midnight at all three DFW Whiskey Cake locations, including Plano, Las Colinas, and Fort Worth. Fedoras and fringe dresses encouraged.

Saturday, December 6

Sip the Season - Winter Coffee Crawl 2025
Warm up with festive coffee beverages around Historic Downtown McKinney during this Saturday morning sip-and-stroll. The $35 ticket plus tax and fee, includes a custom holiday mug and drinks at several stops including Filtered, Emporium Pies, and Habitat Plants + Coffee. Start times begin as early as 8:30 am and the stroll runs through 2 pm, with tickets going fast.

Breakfast with Santa at SER Steak + Spirits
Sky-high steakhouse atop the Hilton Anatole will welcome Santa for a breakfast buffet as part of the hotel’s lineup of holiday activities. (New this year is an outdoor skating rink.) Breakfast comes with storybook readings, crafts, and photos with the big guy himself. Tickets are $75 for adults and $30 for children 2 to 12. Reservations run from 8:30–11:30 am and the brunch will be offered Saturdays and Sundays, along with December 23 and 24.

Brunch with Santa & Friends at The Westin Dallas Stonebriar
Frisco resort will host weekend brunch with Santa and Mrs. Claus featuring a buffet spread along with cookie decorating, gingerbread house creating, photo ops, and kids’ activities galore. Tickets are $60 for guests 13-and-up and $42 for kids 3–12, plus tax and gratuity. The brunch will run from 10 am–12 pm. (Visit December 13 and 20 for a special appearance by the Grinch, too.)

Pepsi Dallas Local Eats at Lockhart Smokehouse
As part of Pepsi’s campaign to spotlight local businesses, the soft drink brand will visit Lockhart Smokehouse in Dallas’ Bishop Arts District to host a free food giveaway. The first 100 guests will receive a free brisket sandwich meal with Pepsi Zero Sugar and Lay’s chips. (The combo will be available for $8 for late arrivals.) Guests can also sample barbecue, bacon-wrapped jalapeno poppers, and sweet bites (while supplies last) and enjoy live music by Deep Blue Something. The event will run from 3–7 pm.

Sip & Sleigh at Toyota Music Factory
Sip, stroll, and be merry throughout 10-plus stops for drinks and bites at Toyota Music Factory. Participating restaurants include Shoals Smokehouse, Sushi Sakana, Yard House, and more. Tickets are $25 plus tax and fee, and include a tasting cup and a map. The event will run from 5–9 pm.

Sunday, December 7

25th Anniversary of Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
North Carolina-based chain will celebrate its 25-year history with a birthday party at locations nationwide including Frisco and Las Colinas. Visit all day for free biscuits, prizes including free dessert, and a grand prize of free meals for a year. A throwback playlist of early 2000s hits will add to the fun. Specials all month include a $25 classic prix-menu menu, 25 percent off online orders, 25 days of giveaways, and birthday cake shots.

Monday, December 8

Jackson Family Winter Wine Dinner at Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill
West Plano seafood restaurant will host a five-course wine pairing dinner with a menu influenced by winter’s flavors. Highlights include brown butter seared skate wing (the fins of a skate fish), tuna carpaccio, and Dijon herb-crusted lamb lollipops. Tickets are $225 plus tax and gratuity, and dinner begins at 6 pm.

cocktails event-planner

Red letter opening

Dallas bar veterans open Italian speakeasy-restaurant in Denton

Photo courtesy of Red: Italian

Exposed stone walls and a backlit glowing bar anchor the subterranean space at Red: Italian.

A new speakeasy lounge serving high-end Italian food has arrived at a cool historic building in Denton. Called Red: Italian, the subterranean restaurant opened in the basement of Ruby Rodeo, a bar and live music venue located at 122 N. Locust St. on Denton Square.

The concept comes from Victor García and Mike Church. García spent years at Truth & Alibi — the popular speakeasy lounge disguised behind the faux storefront of the Deep Ellum Candy Company — before acquiring the same space for Scarlett Lounge and Kitchen in Deep Ellum in 2024. Church, a commercial pilot, trained at The Culinary School in Fort Worth and the Ritz-Carlton to refine his passion for cooking.

The business partners say they fell in love with the historic nature of the 1877 building in Denton, which housed Andy’s Bar for 30 years.

“We have always loved the building — it is the oldest building on the square. We saw the vision and loved the aesthetics for both our Ruby Rodeo and Red: Italian concepts,” Church says.

After opening Ruby Rodeo, the duo launched Red: Italian this month. Church notes that the "red" naming convention across their concepts — Scarlett, Ruby, and now Red — nods to his favorite color, a symbol of passion, and the red wines and tomato sauces central to Italian dining.

Church’s passion for Italian cuisine defined the menu, which he created alongside executive chef Denise Gabrielle, his former culinary school instructor. Gabrielle brings decades of hospitality experience from the Westin Hotels, The Wigwam Resort in Litchfield Park, Arizona, and most recently, The Taste Project in Fort Worth and Arlington.

The 58-seat underground space — which includes 10 seats at the bar — serves elevated Italian classics. Entrees range from $25 to $40, with menu highlights including:

Spicy sausage lasagna with arrabbiata sauce
Cacio e pepe bucatini
Chicken piccata
Braised lamb leg
Mediterranean Sea bass
Shrimp diablo
Espresso-crusted filet mignon with Italian seasoning

Appetizers are priced under $15 and include house-made fried mozzarella, stuffed mushrooms, grilled artichokes, bruschetta, meatballs, and flatbreads. The kitchen also serves salads, featuring a classic Caesar and a house chopped salad with nine toppings.

Shrimp diablo served over pasta with toasted slices of bread at Red: Italian.Photo courtesy of Red: Italian

Desserts feature house-made panna cotta, ricotta-amaretto Italian cheesecake topped with drunken cherry sauce, and a table-side bananas Foster served with house-made amaretto gelato.

The bar program leans into Italian flavors with options like an Italian margarita made with house limoncello, tequila, amaretto, and simple syrup, alongside a peach Bellini and a smoky Godfather. The wine list spotlights Italian bottles and a selection of Napa Valley options.

“The place has the perfect intimate, upscale, fun Italian wine and food ambience,” Church says.

While entering Red doesn't require a password, it still has an off-the-beaten-path entry that is characteristic of speakeasies. Social media posts direct patrons to "look for the red awning" adjacent to Ruby Rodeo’s black awning. A set of red stairs leads guests downstairs to a door with a small sign reading "Red:".

To preserve the speakeasy atmosphere, cell phone use is discouraged. The space also features subtle Easter eggs for guests to discover, such as conversation starters tucked beneath the napkins.

Following a sold-out opening weekend, Red: Italian is now open, with an official ribbon cutting planned for September (exact date to be announced).

Hours are Tuesday through Sunday from 5-10 pm, with last seating at 9 pm to wrap up dinner service before Ruby Rodeo’s live music starts upstairs at 10:30 pm.

speakeasy italian restaurant denton