Pub News

Downtown Dallas hotel gets a new Irish pub from a seasoned veteran

Fish & chips, a pub special.

Kennedy's Irish Pub

At one downtown Dallas hotel, it's goodbye po'boys and hello fish & chips, via Kennedy's Irish Pub, a new concept from Dallas pub king Alan Kearney, coming to the Westin Dallas Downtown at 1201 Main St.

Kennedy's will replace NOLA Brasserie, a New Orleans-themed restaurant that was previously at the hotel; it closed quietly at the end of May.

Kearney says he hopes to have Kennedy's open in the fall.

The official name is Patrick J. Kennedy's Irish Pub, which fittingly has a Dallas connection: It's named for JFK's grandfather.

"It's loosely based on the immigrant story of JFK’s grandfather Patrick Joseph 'PJ' Kennedy," Kearney says. "I thought of it one day when I was cycling by the Grassy Knoll. I was doing FaceTime with my parents, and thought, 'I've gotta do something here.'"

A native of Dublin, Kearney has had a magic touch reviving downtown spaces with his string of pubs, beginning in 2016 with his Crafty Irishman Public House, located in the Mercantile building on Main Street, and now a reliable staple for the downtown Dallas community.

He followed that in 2018 with the Playwright Irish Pub, which took a troubled location at One Arts Plaza and turned it around.

In 2019, he opened Cannon's Corner Irish Pub in North Oak Cliff's Cannon's Village, the cool Tudor-style building at 1314 W. Davis St. And in 2020, he opened a pub in Fort Worth: Trinity College Irish Pub, in the West 7th corridor.

With Kennedy's Irish Pub, he hopes to create an authentic Irish experience, but in bigger digs than the snug 1,100-square-foot space that Crafty Irishman occupies.

Kennedy's has 6,500 square feet and will include the spacious patio that comes with the former NOLA space; Crafty Irishman's outdoor footprint is limited to a few tables on the sidewalk.

""We're bringing in fireplaces and swords from Ireland, they're on a shipping container right now — it's going to be incredible," Kearney says. "It has always been my dream to provide a larger space for both weary travelers and local residents."

Kennedy's will be open for lunch, dinner, and brunch, with traditional Irish dishes including fish & chips, as well as an extensive selection of Irish whiskeys, scotch, bourbon, beers, and cocktails.

The Westin took over the iconic "One Main" downtown skyscraper in 2015. The hotel lobby is on the second floor, with reception area, lounge, library, ballroom, restaurant, and room service; hotel rooms occupy the upper floors. The exterior was not altered; the building is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Where to Eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best new restaurants for October

LPE

Local Public Eatery

October is a new month and calls for another round of Where to Eat, CultureMap Dallas' monthly column with tips on best restaurants to try. This edition includes some exciting newcomers from cities like Miami and Seattle that are making their Dallas debut. The month also brought some welcome local family-owned concepts, as well.

In alphabetical order, here's our Where to eat in Dallas for October:

Bikanervala
This vegetarian restaurant chain headquartered in Delhi, India made its Texas debut in the MacArthur Park shopping center in Las Colinas. It’s the fifth location to open in the U.S., and is wildly popular with natives of India. They do Indo-Chinese and North Indian dishes including Thai platters, momo dumplings, and rice bowls. They're also known for their trademark desserts such as like kulfi ice cream topped with exotic rose syrup and jelly.

The Charlotte
Nostalgic teddy bear-themed restaurant with a playful spirit is now open in the former Enrique Tomas space on Henderson Avenue. Leading the concept are seasoned duo Wyl Lima and Kimberly O’Neal (Sister, Temporis, Hillstone Restaurant Group). The menu offers Southern-American and internationally-inspired dishes such as biryani spiced wings, shrimp & grits, steak au poivre, and their distinctive Spaghetti & Catfish — a Southern twist on spaghetti with meat sauce and a crispy catfish filet.

Due’ Cucina
Small restaurant chain from Seattle that dubs itself “the official restaurant for Italian food snobs” just opened in September in Lakewood Shopping Center. It's a fast-casual concept from two native Italians that offers affordable Italian fare and pasta made in-house daily. Dishes include homemade ravioli, eggplant parmigiana, and short ribs ragu over a choice of pasta. Dallas is their first foray outside Seattle, where they have four locations.

Hideaway Pizza McKinney
Pizzeria founded near Oklahoma State University in 1957 just opened in McKinney — its second DFW location, behind Plano — bringing its fun irreverent style including employees dressed in tie-dyed shirts, while serving up pizza, pasta, and appetizers. The menu features 17 signature pizzas, including chicken Florentine, Pepperonipalooza, and veggie combo. Crusts include thin, a puffier hand-tossed, GF, and cauliflower.

Las Favela
Family-owned Mexican restaurant opened at 7260 Gaston Ave. in Lakewood in. It’s a concept from sisters Elvira and Josefina Favela, and Josefina’s daughter Natalie. It opened in the former Andrea’s Italian space. With 42 years of culinary experience, chef Elvira shares more than 80 traditional dishes, including enchiladas la laguna, nachos, and a sharable Don Juve platter with flautas, stuffed jalapeños, quesadillas, fried shrimp, and French fries for $32.

Local Public Eatery
Restaurant and sports bar from Canada-based Joey Restaurant Group just opened on Henderson Avenue in the former Sushi Axiom space (and a sibling to Joey Dallas, which opened at NorthPark Center in January 2024). LPE does your basic comfort bar food — burgers, fish & chips, ppizza — with a subtle twist: truffle cheeseburgers with truffle jam, steak frites, a fried chicken ramen bowl, and shrimp & pesto pizza.

Oishii
Beloved sushi restaurant concept from chef Thanh Nguyen just opened a location at Preston Forest in the former, highly desirable Pei Wei space, offering the neighborhood a much-appreciated full-service option. It's the fifth location for the chain, which first opened in 2003. There’s an expansive menu of sashimi, specialty rolls, dinner and lunch entrees, and pho. Signature items include peking duck, sushi lunch platter, and a new Preston Roll.

San Marzano
Unique Italian restaurant from New York opened in Uptown’s West Village in late September, featuring "mix-and-match" pasta at a budget price. Customers choose a pasta such as pappardelle or rigatoni; add a sauce such as Bolognese, tomato-vodka, or wild boar ragù; and toppings, such as sausage, bacon, artichoke, or grape tomatoes. They also offer three paninis, such as pesto caprese, and Italian desserts, like cannoli.

Talkin’ Tacos
Tacos from Miami made their Texas debut in Plano in September. They started as a food truck, and now have 17 locations where they serve tacos and more. The signature meat is birria, which they incorporate into birria tacos, birria pizza, and birria ramen. They also offer street corn in a cup, rice bowls in a crispy taco shell bowl, and desserts such as loaded churros.

Tikka Shack
Fresh Indian restaurant concept is a spinoff of the Masala Wok chain, which just opened its first Dallas-area location on Greenville Avenue in a former Pie Five. It's a fast-casual restaurant that focuses on the very best Indian dishes, such as biryani bowls, tikka masala, and butter masala, along with a cool Indian twist on pizza, salads, and wraps, with lots of options for vegetarians.

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