Good cheer

All the holiday pop-up bars keeping Dallas' spirits bright in 2025

Leela's Holiday House is really three different festive destinations.

Leela's/Facebook

The holiday pop-up season has arrived, and Dallas-Fort Worth is absolutely frosted in festive takeovers. From immersive elf villages to British ski lodges 48 stories in the sky, the region is sparkling with over-the-top decor, special-edition cocktails, and more photo ops than Santa’s workshop.

Whether you love your holidays kitschy, classy, tropical, or with a Texas twist, this list has your perfect jolly pop-up.

Miracle holiday pop-up bar Raise a Christmaspolitan at Miracle.Photo by Melissa Hom

Miracle
Locations: Hide Bar (Lower Greenville, Dallas), The Puttery (The Colony), Texas Live! (Arlington), Nickel City (Fort Worth)
Dates: Now through December 31

The global holiday pop-up sensation returns with kitschy decor, collectible mugs, and a signature menu of festive cocktails like the Christmapolitan and Snowball Old-Fashioned. New drinks this year include Candy Cane Lane and Blitzen Barrel, each served in over-the-top glassware you’ll want to take home (and can). Expect the bars to be decked wall-to-wall in tinsel-clad maximalism, with the kind of joyous energy that has made Miracle a national favorite. Lines can be long, but the holiday chaos is part of the charm.

Sippin’ Santa
Locations: Hide Rooftop (Dallas), The Down ’n Out (Fort Worth)
Dates: Now through December 31

The tropical cousin to Miracle, Sippin' Santa comes courtesy of tiki legend Jeff “Beachbum” Berry. Santa may be on vacation, but this pop-up still brings plenty of festive cheer with whimsical glassware and beachy decor. The menu blends holiday flavors with island vibes — think Pineapple Upside-Down Cask or the rum-forward Jingle Bird. For anyone who prefers palm trees to pines, this is your holiday escape.

Holiday House
Locations: Leela's Wine Bar (Lower Greenville, Uptown, Trophy Club)
Dates: Now through the holiday season

Each location of this pizza and wine bar is a different winter wonderland: The original on Greenville got the Ralph Lauren Christmas memo and is decked out in deep reds, evergreen accents, and golden details. Uptown is a pink and teal confection dotted with nutcrackers, bows, and pearls. And Trophy Club is an enchanted forest retreat in lush green and silvers.

Electric Shuffle
Location: Electric Shuffle
Dates: Now through December 31

Electric Shuffle is diving headfirst into the season with twinkling lights, festive backdrops, and a menu packed with winter flavors. Guests can sip their way through handcrafted holiday cocktails like the Gingerbread Espresso Martini, Merry Mezcal Margarita, and Cranberry Mistletoe Mule, plus lighter options like the Harvest Spritz Mocktail and local winter brews. New this year is the Home for the Holidays package, offered December 22-January 4. Get unlimited shuffleboard, food specials, and unlimited beer and wine at a discounted price: $40 per person for the boozy version or $25 for non-boozy.

Boxcar Holiday Takeover
Location: Boxcar
Dates: Now through December 31

Boxcar’s already-immersive railcar aesthetic levels up with a Polar Express–inspired transformation in a palette of snowy blues, whites, and silvers. Guests “ride” through the holidays with moving-screen vistas of the Swiss Alps and classic films like The Polar Express and Elf. Expect an entirely new cocktail menu with imaginative drinks crafted by the owners, who are almost always behind the bar making custom creations on request. Bonus: Happy hour runs for the first three hours daily.

Tinsel Tavern
Location: The Exchange Hall, AT&T Discovery District
Dates: November 22-January 4

Guests can trek upstairs to the second floor daily from 3-11 pm for a lineup of holiday cocktails, from peppermint shots to Gingerbread Martinis, plus a selection of beers and spirits. Festive photo ops complete the spirited vibe.

The Henry Winter Wonderland St. Henry's Winter Wonderland has taken over The Henry.Photo by Kathy Tran

St. Henry’s Winter Wonderland
Location: The Henry
Dates: Now through January 4

The Henry’s rooftop becomes a twinkling winter hideaway with fire pits, seasonal cocktails, and a menu of cozy dishes, all supporting the North Texas Food Bank via a $7 entry donation. Drinks such as the Whiskey & Doughnuts and Junior & Mrs. Mint lean indulgent and festive, while the food menu features hits like brie and prosciutto s’mores and bacon-wrapped shrimp. With skyline views and a sophisticated but lively vibe, this is one of Dallas’ most sought-after holiday rooftop experiences.

TGI Elf Days
Location: Select DFW TGI Fridays
Dates: Now through January 5

TGI Fridays goes full holiday universe with mischievous elf characters, themed zones (hello Candy Cane Corner and Naughty Elf Bar), and wildly festive decor. Special menus include merry shareables, holiday cocktails, and interactive desserts like the Melting Snowman Sundae. Expect in-restaurant movie nights, trivia, Friday giveaways, and glitzy decor that transforms the familiar chain into a quirky winter playground. This one is joyful chaos for families, groups, and anyone craving a big-budget holiday takeover.

Tipsy Elf
Location: Bishop Lane in the Bishop Arts District
Dates: November 21-December 21

The sprawling pop-up returns with an entire “Tipsy Town” led by Larry the Elf and packed with karaoke dens, mini themed bars, DJs, outrageous decor, and photo ops around every corner. Think honky-tonk meets North Pole chaos with plenty of glitter. Expect over-the-top cocktails, immersive event nights, and surprise performances.

Tower Club's Indoor Ski Lodge
Location: Tower Club Dallas, Santander Tower
Dates: November 26 through January

The private, members-only Tower Club transforms its 48th floor into a chic alpine escape, complete with flocked trees, wreaths, and a Santa-hatted stuffed bear named Bruce. High above the city, the space hosts holiday parties (non-members can book these, too), cocktail nights, and luxe winter photo ops.

The Après Chalet at CultureMap City Rink
Location: Main Street Garden, downtown Dallas
Dates: November 26-January 5

When the chill sets in, skaters at the new, outdoor CultureMap City Rink can warm up at the Après Chalet, a cozy, heated on-site lounge serving rinkside holiday drinks (with or without spirits). Try a twist on a classic, like a Moonshine Margarita (made with Shiner Moonshine), or enjoy a season sippers such as Cinnamon Cider, Peppermint Patty hot chocolate, and more.

A Very Merry Village
Location: The Village Dallas
Dates: November 28-December 27

The Village turns into a glowing small-town Christmas square, complete with thousands of lights, immersive decor, and a 50-foot Christmas tree anchoring the whole experience. Sip themed cocktails, grab bites, wander “Main Street,” and snap pics under dazzling installations. The pop-up offers free entry (a rare holiday miracle!) and hosts events ranging from DIY gift wrapping nights to "carol-oke" and holiday movie screenings.

Mercat Bistro Polar Bear Room Sip alongside these sweet bears at Mercat Bistro.Photo courtesy of Mercat Bistro

Polar Bear Room
Location: Mercat Bistro
Dates: November 28-December 31

Mercat Bistro’s ultra-popular Polar Bear Room returns with its whimsical, animated polar bear tableau to entertain during breakfast, lunch, dinner, and weekend brunch. The charmingly wintry room features full dining service of the new menu, with special tables directly in front of the dancing bears (requiring a higher-reservation fee and booked quickly). Reservations are essential, and each table comes with a two-hour dining window.

Holiday Pub Pop-Up
Location: Harwood Arms
Dates: November 28-December 31

The Hardwood District's British pub gets a holly-jolly makeover with festive decor and holiday-themed bites and drinks. Expect a cozy, classic vibe with warm woods, twinkle lights, and the feeling of stepping into a London pub at Christmastime.

Blitzen’s Bar
Location: Omni Hotels (Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Irving)
Dates: November 28-January 9

All across Texas, Omni’s bars morph into high-energy winter wonderlands with a special cocktail lineup crafted by NYC mixologist and Drink Masters judge Julie Reiner. Expect creative drinks served in ornaments, light-up ice cubes, and festive glassware, plus a decadent Dubai hot chocolate served in a gold mug. Snacks like Reindeer Fuel and holiday cookie trays round out the experience.

The Evergreen
Location: Commons Club, Virgin Hotel Dallas
Dates: December 3-31

The Commons Club becomes drenched in deep greens, plaids, and candlelit ambience for the month of December. Elevated seasonal dishes and inventive cocktails headline the menu, including a show-stopping Upside Down Hot Cocoa with tableside theatrics and a tower of treats at weekend brunch. Reservations aren’t required, but you’ll probably want one.

Elf Bar Dallas
Location: Will Call Bar
Dates: December 4-24

The Elf Bar transforms Will Call Bar into a merry, mischievous elf village packed with games, photo ops, themed bites, and enough twinkling decor to make Buddy the Elf weep. Expect a family-friendly, all-ages experience by day and a cheerful night-out destination after dark. Guests can snack on elf-themed food and join interactive fun that leans into the whimsical spirit of the season. Every corner is built for holiday-card-ready photos, making this one of Dallas’ most joyful and camera-happy pop-ups.

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Food trends

Dallas-Fort Worth pitmasters lead Texas’ growing halal BBQ boom

Levant BBQ

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FORT WORTH, Texas (RNS) — At 9 am on a scorching Saturday in June, nearly 100 people were already lined up outside Goldee’s BBQ, a small, wooden-shack restaurant.

First in line was 30-year-old Thanh Huynh, who had been sitting in a lawn chair on the joint’s rustic porch since 6:30 am.

“I have, like, a whole list, and I’m going to spend lots of money here. It’ll be worth it,” he said, laughing while rattling off a long order of meats and sides from his phone’s Notes app as a sweet, smoky scent from nearby pits hung in the air.

Opened in 2020 by a group of his friends, the restaurant was named the No. 1 barbecue spot in the state by Texas Monthly a year later, and then won a Bib Gourmand award from the prestigious Michelin Guide, given for “great food at a great value.”

The restaurant serves classic Texas barbecue like craft pork belly, sausage, and ribs. But it also offers halal brisket, turkey, and lamb.

"Halal" means meat raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines. It refers to the method in which the animals are slaughtered, one that focuses on humane treatment, cleanliness, and acknowledging the value of life — similar in concept to kosher food in Judaism.

A growing number of halal places have opened around Fort Worth in recent years, and there are also non-halal restaurants that use halal beef, such as burger institution Kincaid's, the new Burger Vault in Keller, and the forthcoming Tick Tock Taco in Colleyville.

Growing Texas trend
At a time when Republican leaders are increasingly targeting the state’s growing Muslim communities, halal barbecue joints like Goldee’s are thriving in Texas. Across the state, Muslim pitmasters are gaining recognition for putting their own spin on one of Texas’ most iconic culinary traditions.

Goldee's Barbecue is an acclaimed BBQ joint in Fort Worth. Goldee's Barbecue/ Facebook

At least a dozen barbecue spots now serve halal meats, including Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice, run by Black Muslim couple CJ and Sabrina Henley, soon-to-be in Plano; and Levant Mediterranean BBQ, a restaurant with locations in Houston and Frisco and whose all-beef menu includes a brisket shawarma sandwich.

“Now there are so many options, and for us to have highly rated barbecue, it’s a blessing,” said Haris Ghaffar, who drove an hour from Celina and stood in 90-degree weather for nearly two hours with a friend for the halal options at Goldee’s.

Growing up in the 1990s, Ghaffar said a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich was one of the few halal meals he could eat while dining out. Back then, halal food was seen as serving a small community. Today, it’s a multibillion-dollar industry that’s part of the American culinary mainstream, said James Beard Award‑winning food writer Farhan Mustafa, who wrote about the rise of American halal barbecue for Bon Appétit magazine in 2025.

“Halal food is American food,” said Mustafa, who is based in Seattle. “It belongs on your plate. It belongs in the casual chat. It belongs in hip hop tracks. It’s the most American thing there is.”

Mustafa said Muslims are part of a growing list of communities putting their stamp on Texas barbecue. “Whether they’re first, second or third-generation Muslims or Muslim Americans or just Americans, they’re bringing what they know and what excites them,” he said.

More than salt and pepper
Texas barbecue is typically defined by salt-and-pepper brisket and pork ribs, but this new crop of halal pitmasters are adding inventive twists, often based on their own family heritages.

Zain Shafi, a pitmaster and co-owner of Goldee’s, previously ran Sabar Barbecue, a food truck that offered Pakistani-infused halal dishes, such as brisket with rub that included spices like bay leaf and coriander.

Sabar was nominated for Best BBQ in CultureMap's 2025 Tastemaker Awards, and made the list of Texas Monthly's Top 50 Barbecue Restaurants of 2025. The restaurant was also featured in a recently published BBQ book Texas BBQ: The Art of Low and Slow. He closed Sabar in December 2025 after two years.

Sabar BBQ Sabar Barbecue offered a Pakistani twist on BBQ. Sabar Barbecue

Shafi brought tandoori smoked turkey to Goldee’s menu. And sourcing halal cuts, he said, was a natural choice because they are “the highest quality” meats.

Goldee’s chef and part owner Nupohn Inthanousay also blends his Laotian heritage, serving a smoked Lao “sai oua” sausage with sticky rice and a fiery, tangy dipping sauce.

At Kafi BBQ in Irving, owner Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi brings halal Wagyu beef and Iraqi spices to classic Texas barbecue, challenging what he said is the “traditional old guard of Texas barbecue.”

“My goal at Kafi BBQ is to make the best barbecue in Texas,” Abdul-Kafi said. “I have not been shy about that at all, and making the best barbecue in Texas does not necessarily have to include pork.”

A former Silicon Valley tech worker, he moved to Texas six years ago in search of a Muslim community. On weekends in his backyard, he smoked brisket for friends. By 2024, he bought a smoker and opened Kafi BBQ.

He said he spent months testing and perfecting recipes and finding local producers. Abdul-Kafi attributes his obsession with crafting a stand-out menu to the Islamic concept of “Ihsan”— an Arabic term meaning doing something with excellence for the sake of God.

On a Sunday afternoon this summer, the restaurant’s red booths were packed with diners, drawn to menu items like the 13-spice Wagyu brisket, pomegranate-glazed beef belly burnt ends and Iraqi-inspired spicy beef sausage.

“That sausage, I’d probably put it at the top sausage I’ve ever had, and we eat barbecue a lot. This place is unique,” said Jonathan Tate, a Fort Worth resident who came to Kafi BBQ with a friend after reading about it on a Facebook foodie group.

“I don’t necessarily have to have it halal, but it’s nice to know they took good care of the food, the meat,” his friend Jon Sklar said, before going back in line to order oxtail.

Meat at Kafi BBQ in Irving. Kafi BBQ

'We love barbecue'
Although political rhetoric against Muslims in Texas has become increasingly hostile — some GOP lawmakers even discussed a ban on halal food at a conference this month — pitmasters like Abdul-Kafi see the rise of halal barbecue as an effective counterargument.

“It’s an example of exactly the opposite of what the Islamophobes talk about, right?” he said. “They say, ‘oh, Muslims don’t integrate, they stay alone, they don’t help society and all this stuff.’ And it’s like, I’m sitting here contributing to the most well-known cuisine of Texas.”

One of the diners at Kafi BBQ, Houston native Muhammad Sohail, 23, said the restaurant reflects who he is — a proud Texan and Muslim. “This place is super important because I can see halal within the culture of Texas, which is my culture at this point,” Sohail said. “We love the food. We love meat. We’re Muslims and we love barbecue.”

After finishing a big lunch with 10 relatives, Areeba Ali, a Dallas native of Indian heritage, said the restaurant’s appeal cuts across communities, which she said is evidence that halal barbecue isn’t a niche but resonates broadly with Texans. “If you look around in the restaurant, you see everybody in there — it’s not just one demographic in there,” Ali said.

For Mustafa, that success is ultimately a testament to the resilience of Muslim American communities.

“No matter how much they try to erase us, our food is here to stay,” he said. “You will see the power of just good food and the fact that most people really seem to understand that this is just as American as anything else.”

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This story was written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. It also includes information from the CultureMap archives.

halal halal barbecue muslim communities pitmasters religion texas texas barbecue trends culinary traditions goldee's barbecue

Good cheer

All the holiday pop-up bars keeping Dallas' spirits bright in 2025

Food trends

Dallas-Fort Worth pitmasters lead Texas’ growing halal BBQ boom

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