Where to Drink

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 new happy hours for February

Even Coast does a rotating frozen drink.

Even Coast

The February edition of Where to Drink, CultureMap's monthly column on restaurants and bars you can get a drink at, travels far and wide to find the best and most exotic happy hours around: From sushi deals in downtown Dallas to $5 margaritas in Collin County to Indian bar bites in Irving.

(If you're in a more date-night frame of mind, be sure to consult our list of places where you can share a sweet Valentine's Day meal.)

Here are five happy hours to try in February:

Cafe Gecko
Laid-back perennial favorite in Richardson has just unveiled a brand new happy hour menu featuring their delectable versions of classic bar food treats including pizza fries, pretzel bites, chicharrones, onion rings, and fried pickles, priced from $5-$7, plus $1 off everything in the bar. It's served Monday all day, and Tuesday-Friday from 3-7 pm.

Dozo Omakase
Omakase sushi restaurant which opened a year ago at Trinity Groves with a compact menu that includes the trendy multi-course omakase style of dining, available in small or large versions. They do a cool approach to happy hour by introducing a new menu nearly every month. For February, it includes items from the sushi bar and the kitchen including half-price nigiri, sushi hand rolls for $8, gyoza for $6, crispy rice tuna for $10, and miso soup for a bargain $2.50. Cocktails include sake for $9 and a Kyoto highball cocktail for $11.

Even Coast
Neighborhood restaurant from chef Omar Flores opened on the Addison-Dallas line in 2024 with seafood, pastas, and steaks — and now happy hour. It's a good one, served from 2-6 pm every day with its own menu of $3 oysters, $10 cheeseburgers, and salmon dip. House cocktails are $9, including a rotating flavor frozen drink; a pint of beer is $6, and wine by the glass is $9. The only restriction is where: On Friday-Saturday, it's available only at the bar; Sunday-Thursday, it's also available in the dining room and on the patio.

Neon Cactus
Congenial Mexican restaurant in Fairview has a happy hour with deals that surely seem worth driving for: They run Monday-Friday from 3-6 pm and include margaritas for $5, domestic beers for $4, wine by the glass for $5, and well drinks for $4. They also have daily food specials that run all day, such as queso blanco and chicken tinga flautas, $10 each on Thursdays, and taco plates with rice and beans, $10 to $12 on Tuesdays.

Nirvana
Sultry Indian lounge at Toyota Music Factory with DJ, dance floor, and rooftop patio has what may be the worst website in the world — but buried beneath the PTSD flash graphics and music is a worthy happy hour, served from 4-7 pm featuring $2 off all cocktails, including the Hunan Heatwave with tequila and tandoori pineapple, and the Beijing Berry mocktail with mixed berries and ginger ale. Plus Indian-themed bar snacks such as "drums of heaven" AKA chicken lollipops; street-style chow mein, and crispy chili corn.

cocktails where to drink

Boots & Booze

New Deep Ellum venue vows to win hearts with food, fun, and wedding chapel

Photo by Kathy Tran

The Window at Boots & Booze will serve Deep Ellum early morning through late night.

A new all-day hangout will soon bring comfort food and cocktails, a dog-friendly courtyard, live music stage, and even a whimsical wedding chapel to Dallas' Deep Ellum. Boots & Booze, a new concept from Dallas-based Wush Hospitality Group, will debut its first phase on Friday, October 23 at 3014 Main St., across the street from Terry Black's Barbecue.

The first phase includes The Window, a walk-up kitchen; The Courtyard, an outdoor bar and gathering space; and its signature Shotgun Wedding Chapel.

“This is meant to be a place where you can grab breakfast or coffee before work, bring your dog for the afternoon, meet friends for a drink, catch live entertainment or celebrate something completely unexpected,” Sherry Hazrati, co-founder of Wush Hospitality Group, says in a release. “You don’t need a special occasion to come here. We want people to feel welcome the minute they walk in.”

The Window will serve coffee and breakfast starting at 6:30 am on weekdays, with brunch beginning at 11 am on weekends. The menu, developed by Hazrati and the group's culinary team, changes throughout the day.

Breakfast options include the Crispy Potato and Egg Sandwich and Quick Shift Meals. Lunch brings the Golden Honey Chicken Breast Sandwich, Double Onion Chopped Beef Sandwich, Main Street Philly, and Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese. Dinner offerings include Hearty Chicken, Crispy Potatoes, and After Hours Potatoes.

Weekend brunch features Hot Honey Chicken French Toast and shareable brunch boards, along with lighter and gluten-free options.

The beverage menu includes coffee drinks, sodas, cocktails, wine, and beer, including a gluten-free option. One signature drink is the Cold Fashioned, a frozen take on the Old Fashioned made with Still Austin Whiskey.

Guests can grab to-go meals or settle into The Courtyard, which has a bar, stage, and flexible seating for everything from game-day gatherings to live entertainment and community events.

The Shotgun Wedding Chapel is a "playful” element, says the press release, which is not to say it isn’t a functional wedding venue for couples eager to tie the knot. The team expects ceremonies and other pageantry year-round inside Shotgun.

Sherry Hazrati Boots & Booze Sherry Hazrati and her Wush Hospitality Group are behind Deep Ellum's new Boots & Booze venue.Photo by Kathy Tran

Hazrati says the goal is to make guests feel welcome and give them a reason to return.

“We want people to leave remembering how we made them feel and come back because they feel like they belong," she says.

Hazrati, who has more than 20 years of experience developing and consulting on entertainment spaces, is joined by Wush Hospitality Group COO Noor Jehangir, whose experience includes overseeing the openings of Hyde and The Pinky Ring at Las Vegas' Bellagio. Co-founder David Alex Owusu has a background in video production and technology and owns a production company.

The group plans to expand the concept with Boots & Booze Scratch Kitchen, a full-service restaurant led by executive chef José Luis Rodriguez Perez, former owner of Dallas restaurant Mixtitos Kitchen. Details and an opening date have not been announced.

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