Where to Drink

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 6 new happy hours and bar specials

Pete's Dueling Piano Bar cocktails in their adorable souvenir tubs.

Pete's Dueling Piano Bar

The month of May has arrived, and when a new month arrives, our thoughts turn inevitably to cocktails. More specifically to CultureMap Dallas' monthly Where to Drink column, which gathers all of the new cocktail menus, drink specials, and happy hours in the Dallas area, in one convenient roundup. The May edition includes a new pop-up, a new patio happy hour, and two new wine deals, one of which requires great sacrifice to achieve.

Here's where to drink in Dallas right now:

Black Agave Cocina y Cantina
Mex-Tex restaurant at Mercer Boardwalk has unveiled a new patio happy hour, with special deals on food and beverages Monday-Friday from 3-7 pm. Snacks include classic queso and elotes on a stick featuring corn slathered in mayo-lime sauce, tres chiles, Cotija cheese, and Chamoy. On the drink side, there are four cocktails for $5 - Paloma, pina tequila sunrise, ranch water, and a pink flamingo - plus an expansive selection of frozen drinks, such as La Frojito with rum, lime, and mint; Havana: a Boozy Berry Shake with vodka, Baileys, and strawberry ice cream; Blue Lagoon with rum, coconut crema, and Curaҫao; Piña Loca with spiced rum, white rum, pineapple, lime, and coconut; and the Arctic Cosmo with vodka, blueberry, pomegranate, and Triple Sec.

Bourbon & Banter
Underground speakeasy in The Statler Dallas has a new menu of cocktails and bar bites, including a drink called the Lizzie with rum, guava, lime, and ginger for $19; and Summer Zen with Aviation Gin, matcha-mint cucumber essence, $19. New dishes include a charcuterie flatbread with prosciutto, tasso ham, salami, kalamata olives, manchego, roasted red peppers, Parmesan-rosemary flatbread, beer mustard; firecracker fried shrimp with spicy comeback dip; and Parmesan skin-on fries, priced from $19 to $22.

The Henry Hamptons
Hip Fox Restaurants concept located at the Union building near Uptown Dallas is famous for doing themed pop-ups on their rooftop bar, and their latest is the Hamptons, a nautical-themed seaside getaway with a skyline view. The menu features coastal bites & sips: pale blue cocktails, fruity cocktails, and a group drink with a blow-up pink flamingo floating on top. Food includes pretzel bites with queso, dumplings, and watermelon wedges. It'll be in place through July 7.

Lounge Here
Favorite bar-restaurant-hangout on Garland Road in East Dallas is throwing an amusing special in May. Every Sunday dinner, they'll give you a free bottle of wine - red, white, bubbly - per table, in exchange for your cell phones. The phones will be held at the host stand, and you'll get them back on your way out. It's not mandatory. You can totally keep your phone and pay for your wine if you want. The deal is good on May 5, 12, 19, and 26, and you can make reservations at www.theloungehere.com.

Pete's Dueling Piano Bar
Entertainment destination known for lively piano shows unveiled a kitschy-fun new drink menu earlier this spring at both its Frisco and Fort Worth locations. It includes 52-ounce Schooner drinks, designed to be shared by up to three people, such as the Lucky Duck, with Truly Mango Pineapple, Blue Curacao, muddled lemons, and lemonade; and The Purp’arazzi with 360 Grape Vodka, blue curacao, grenadine, cranberry juice, and Happy Dad Death Row Grape Seltzer. New martinis come in unique flavors such as Peanut Butter Cup Martini and Caramel Apple 'Tini, while their "Tasty Tub Drinks" feature new cocktails such as Cherry Limeade with Skyy Cherry Vodka, lime juice, sweet & sour, and cherry Sprite, served in a souvenir plastic bathtub for guests to keep. Yes it's more plastic, but it's still adorable.

Thirsty Lion Gastropub
New happy hour menu includes appetizers and drinks starting at $8, including Spicy Fried Chicken Sliders, Pork Carnitas Tacos, and the Spicy Tuna Roll. Beverages include the Lion Lemonade and Three Thieves Wine, both $8 during happy hour, as well as well drinks for $9, and $2 off draft beer, wine, and cocktails. Available at all five DFW locations - The Colony at Grandscape, Preston Hollow, Toyota Music Factory-Irving, Glade Parks in Euless, and Addison in Prestonwood Village - daily from 3-6 pm, and late night from 9 pm until close Thursday-Saturday. Thirsty Lion is also bringing back Wine Wednesday, with half-price on all bottles of wine, all day, every Wednesday.

cocktails happy-hours where to drink

Deep Ellum News

Mexican 'vibe' restaurant from California to open in Deep Ellum Dallas

Mama Por Dios

A buzzy concept from California is coming to Dallas: Mama Por Dios, a Mexican restaurant chain known for its vibe, will open its first location in Texas in Deep Ellum in the Epic development at 2525 Elm St., taking over the former La Neta space, which shuttered in May.

According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will open in early to mid-January.

Mama Por Dios was founded in Southern California in 2020 by chef Misael Guerrero, who famously got his start selling Mexican sushi out of his garage.

Since those early days, he's gone on to form a restaurant empire called Emme Group, with concepts that include Los Amores de Julia, El Rincon de Los Dolidos, and Culichi Town, a lower-priced chain known for Sinaloa-style Mexican sushi & seafood, which has a local presence: It opened a location in Mesquite in 2022.

Mama Por Dios — which translates to "Mother of God" — describes itself as modern Mexican, offering a unique blend of steakhouse, sushi bar, and seafood. The menu includes favorites like tacos and enchiladas, alongside luxe dishes like lobster with spaghetti, lobster enchiladas, and a surf & turf featuring a lobster tail balanced atop a skirt steak. Prices range from $18 for birria tacos to $48 for a bacon-wrapped filet mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

But they also have a showy side that includes flamboyant presentations such as the bacon-wrapped shrimp which come strung on clothespins; or the trompito al pastor, served on a personal spit, as well as servers who walk around with shots while dancing with patrons.

There's a Gold Burger for $65 featuring Prime beef on a brioche bun garnished with 24k gold leaf, and a similarly gilded tomahawk steak for $400 that brings to mind the good old days of Salt Bae. Decor is swanky with low lighting, and there'll be a serious brunch offering on weekends.

Cocktails such as the Al Agua Pato — served in a mini bathtub with a rubber ducky — are made for Instagram. They offer margarita and mezcalita flights with flavors such as mango, tamarindo, and strawberry, and intriguing sips like Carajillo, a Spanish cocktail with Licor 43, espresso, and 43 different fruit, citrus, aromatic, and herbal ingredients.

There’s also a $20 per-person minimum spend, and the menu comes with a warning that everything is cooked to order — meaning some dishes may take 30 to 40 minutes. For many diners, waiting will surely be part of the experience.

deep-ellum tex-mex openings