Dallas-Fort Worth loves a spooky experience, which makes it prime turf for Haunted Castle Cafe, a cafe and bar now open in Plano, at 1900 N. Dallas Pkwy., previously home to a Mexican restaurant called Los Cucos.
Billing itself as the spookiest cafe and bar in Plano, Haunted Castle is from owners Jay Gungor and Gokhan Oktem, who previously partnered on a gas station restaurant in Long Island called Gyro and Taco House. Gyro and Taco House is just coincidentally next door to a concept called Haunted House of Hamburgers, although they do not own that restaurant. We get our inspiration in all sorts of places.
The Plano location has received an extraordinary makeover, with a castle facade and an array of spooky sights and sounds inside that is drawing comparisons to haunted house attractions. (It's also drawn some complaints from potential customers who've had trouble making contact with the restaurant or bumps in service when it first opened in mid-August, but the place seems to be finding its footing.)
They're open for lunch and dinner, with a full bar. Menu highlights include:
- Appetizers: crab cake balls, fried mac & cheese balls, beef empanadas, wings, calamari, flatbreads, kebabs, and stuffed mushrooms
- Entrees: short ribs, rib eye with creamy eggplant, sirloin with mushroom sauce, and pistachio-crusted rack of lamb
- Burgers and pasta such as fettucine alfredo with chicken, and "smashed meatballs" with lamb & ground beef and Mediterranean spices. Salads have an upscale/gourmet vibe: watermelon with feta and arugula with fig and beets
Haunted Castle Cafe's promise of a gothic dining experience made it a must for Jay Gavit, Goth man-about-town and KNON-FM personality known as DJ Crash.
"When I heard 'haunted castle' — are you kidding? — I had to check it out," Gavit says.
Ooky spooky bar at Haunted Castle CafeJay Gavit
Take it away, Jay, the mic is yours:
"The exterior was an impressive-looking castle, with two robot zombie knights and a grim reaper figure lit from within with pale blue light, propelling us through imaginary gates and serving as a warning of serious atmosphere to come.
The place felt like a haunt attraction, with statues and displays including a moaning bat-like vampire figure hanging upside-down, plus faux cobwebs, demonic cherubs, dolls, witches, Nephilim, and a coffin encased in chains, preventing whatever might be inside from escaping.
The lighting was dim and effective, creating a foreboding atmosphere. They also used black lights to add a creepy aura. The sound was well done: primarily ambient music, so you could have a conversation, but punctuated by amusing spells of demonic-sounding children's laughter. Every 15 minutes, they'd do a round of lightning and thunder.
Chained coffin at Haunted Castle CafeJay Gavit
The color scheme was dominated by crimson-red and purple, with velvet couches, deep purple padded vinyl booths, and faux stained-glass church windows illuminated from behind in lurid pinks and reds. They used stone as a recurring motif, with castle-style stone walls and slate tile floors.
Food and service were surprisingly good. Servers were not in costume, and ours was attentive. We ordered the watermelon cucumber feta salad, which was fresh and crisp, big enough to serve as an entree; a moist peach-glazed pork flat iron, served with white rice; and a mixed-berry pie with a not-too-sweet filling and buttery crust that we'd swear was made in-house. A chocolate martini came topped with generous chocolate shavings that tasted like the good stuff.
Our bill, with two entrees, a side of French fries, and dessert, came out to about $80 without tip. They don't take reservations on weekdays, but they are recommended on weekends.
The restaurant is one step short of a Halloween haunt like Dark Hour (which opens Friday). I kept peering around for ghouls to jump out. I have been here before, I thought, in many Hammer Horror films of my youth. They were all filmed here, or so it seemed.
There were plenty of tableaux for photo-ops, and lots to see, almost like a museum. The ambience was relaxed, and they stay open until 11 pm, which is good because us goths — we did not want to leave."
