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

Hummus News

Revered family-owned Mediterranean restaurant debuts in North Dallas

Samantha Marie Photography

Zon Zon food spread

An upscale Mediterranean restaurant is coming to North Dallas from a trusted name: Called Zon Zon, it'll open at 5455 Belt Line Rd. #130, in the Work/Shop center, and it's hospitality group Yela Concepts led by Yaser Khalaf (Darna, Baboush), together with his son Mak Khalef in their first collaboration.

According to a release, it'll open on December 22.

Named for Mak's sister Zaina (“Zon Zon”), the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner with a refined take on Mediterranean dining, rooted in tradition but with modern influences.

"We tried to merge what embodies Mediterranean cuisine with dishes that people in Dallas love," Mak says. "A lot of the dishes we have on menu are Mediterranean but have American and Texan influences."

Mezze favorites include hummus topped with green shatta and extra-virgin olive oil; baba ghanoush with charred eggplant, tahini, dukka, and pomegranate; crispy cauliflower with saffron labneh; tuna neya with tahini, mixed pickles, and Aleppo pepper; and kibbeh with ground lamb, onions, pine nuts, and dill labneh.

Salads include seared tuna salad with freekeh and golden beets; Tahini Caesar with tahini–Caesar dressing and za’atar croutons; and roasted beets with burrata, oranges, and pistachios.

Entrées include roasted chicken with garlic-batata and pomegranate jus; chicken shish kebab over saffron rice with almonds and raisins; hanger steak shawarma frites — a clever twist on steak frites with hand-cut fries; ZZ’s Wagyu cheeseburger with smoked provolone and house pickles; Prime ribeye with za’atar chimichurri and heirloom carrots; and apricot lamb couscous.

The beverage program complements the menu with a Mediterranean-focused wine list and creative cocktails such as the coffee-kissed Midnight Istanbul and ZZ’s Margarita, with burnt pineapple and ras el hanout.

Designed in collaboration with Dallas-based Coeval Studios, the restaurant features a 2,130-square-foot interior with an expansive 735-square-foot patio that seats 76, for a total occupancy near 100.

The restaurant boasts an open kitchen, while decorative finishes include modern woodwork, rich textures, and Middle Eastern-inspired details — stylish yet inviting, with a setting that feels like home.

“The inspiration behind Zon Zon came from wanting to create the kind of place we’ve always wished existed — a neighborhood Mediterranean spot that feels both familiar and exciting - we wanted to create a comfortable space where guests can meet up with friends or neighbors on a regular basis,” says Yaser in a statement.

Mak went to college to sudy biomedical engineering, but says he couldn't resist the lure of the restaurant world in which he grew up.

"Zon Zon is a reflection of everything we love about food," Mak says. "What makes this especially meaningful is building it with my dad — bringing our family’s story and passion to the table."

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