Cocktail News

Where to Drink in Dallas right now: 5 best new happy hours to try

A drink, a patio, and happy hour prices: perfection.

Quarter Bar

The February edition of Where to Drink in Dallas goes to a topic that Where to Drink loves most dearly: the happy hour. With February's nice weather, it's tempting to start thinking about patios, but there's plenty of time for that in March, April, and May.

Happy hours are a beloved theme and this edition has five you don't see recycled from every other Best Patio list, like they do at some other foodie sites.

Here's five happy hours to try.

Barrel & Bones
Local craft bar & smokehouse chain offers good Happy Hour pricing on drinks: $3 domestic drafts, $5 craft drafts, and $5 select cocktails on drinks like an Old Fashioned, Ranch Water, and Tito’s with select mixers. They also do $5 House Wines that include Woodbridge Chardonnay, Woodbridge Cabernet, and Ruffino Pinot Grigio. No discounts on food but hey, $3 draft beers. They have four locations: Dallas at 12300 Inwood Rd., Carrollton at 1011 S. Main St., The Colony at 2801 Plano Pkwy., and Farmers Branch at 1980 LBJ Fwy. Monday-Friday 3-7 pm.

Meyboom Brasserie
Hipster mom-and-pop pub on Greenville Avenue is dedicated to all things Belgian - especially the beer. The happy hour deal is, order a beer and get a burger or bratwurst for $5. You're not going to get $5 drafts here, but for a place with high aspirations and good craft beer, their prices are not bad. Cocktails run from $11 to $15, and wines by the glass are $10-$12. Belgian frites are $6, and nothing on the food menu, save for one steak, exceeds $20. Monday-Friday 4-7 pm.

Quarter Bar
Uptown neighborhood bar with a taste of the French Quarter has a weeknight happy hour with $3.50 well drinks, $4 bottled beers, $6 drafts, and $6 frozen spiked strawberry lemonade. Stick around for the specials they do every night: Mondays are half-off share plates, Tuesday is $8 sliders, Wednesday is $6 flatbreads and wine by the glass. Thursday is $6 voodoo fries and Fridays are $3 tacos. Don't forget their unbeatable atmosphere, from the cozy atrium to the rooftop patio. Monday-Friday 3-7 pm.

Sfuzzi
With Fireside Pies closed, this iconic Henderson Avenue pizzeria feels more essential every day - and if you go during happy hour, their legendary pizzas are half price. Their happy hour drink specials include half off house cocktails, $3 off glasses of wine, and half off frozen drinks include their famous pioneering peach bellini. Wednesday-Friday 4-6 pm.

Sushi Marquee
Glossy sushi restaurant at the Star in Frisco from the Crafted Bar Concepts restaurant group (Shell Shack) is a good place to hit if you're in the mood for Asian food and discount drinks. They offer dollar off special cocktails, $5 well drinks, $3 Sapporo, and $1 off house wine. There are also snacks: a quintet of $9 bites including calamari, the avocado bomb, veggie tempura, shishito peppers, and jalapeño poppers. Plus $2 off sushi rolls. Monday-Friday 4-7 pm.

openings

Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

downtown