Two-step across the floor to all manner of country tunes, play a game or two of pool, or belt your heart out in the karaoke lounge. This vibrant cowboy-themed gay bar on the Cedar Springs strip is home to some of the best dancing in the city. Add a dozen rotators and a knowledgeable staff, and you’ve got the bar that the rest still measure themselves against. This place set the Dallas standard, in 1998, for the concept of an Irish pub that knows its beer and serves elevated bar food (at what have to be the best prices in town: warm goat cheese salad, $9 Belgian-style steamed mussels, $9.50 smoked salmon sandwich, $10.50). The Round-Up Saloon & Dance Hall, and The Old Monk The long bar is still packed during happy hour, as families shuffle in for some of the best pizza in town. When the charismatic Louie Canelakes-a Dallas bartending legend-died unexpectedly in 2013 at age 58, there was some fear that his beloved pizza-and-booze joint was in jeopardy. Open for more than half a century, this is the kind of neighborhood institution where you have a fond, drunken memory from the 1990s and stopped in last week to have some beers on the patio with old friends. Just because their D Magazine awards are posted next to a photo of an ample bosom advertising Jell-O shots for $2 each or 3 for $5 doesn’t mean we’re biased. It draws a busy crowd of young drinkers on the weekends, but the rest of the time you’ll find a wide-ranging clientele with at least one thing in common: the appreciation of a well-poured pint at a comfy pub.
The Fillmore Pub is a relaxed place with draft specials scrawled on chalkboards and a dartboard in the corner. Located in red-bricked historic downtown Plano is the British-style bar that helped jump-start the city’s nightlife scene. The food, notably the cheese board, more than gets the job done. The result is a welcoming atmosphere, both inside by the fireplace and outside on the patio. Owned and operated by a native of the Emerald Isle, the pub shuns trendiness in the name of authenticity. And the bar food here, specifically the made-to-order pizzas, is surprisingly satisfying.ĭoes the Guinness really taste better at The Dubliner, or is it all in your head? You’ll enjoy yourself-and the company-at this Irish pub too much to care. So, too, the selection of specialty martinis, craft cocktails, and old-school Prohibition-era drinks. Playful vintage decor, retro VHS tapes playing on the overhead televisions, and one of the best jukeboxes in the city make this offbeat neighborhood hang a must. The dark and spacious bar has seating for everyone-booths and bar stools, tables and fluffy couches-all with a view of the TV. Wash it down with one of two dozen different beers on tap, including a handful of rotating choices. People here have actual sets and plenty of opportunities except for Tuesdays, karaoke happens every night after 10 pm.Īt Bryan Street Tavern, trying a stone-fired, thin-crust pie topped with Jimmy’s Italian sausage or Provel cheese should be a part of every visit.
The bar got a lighter, brighter update a few years ago, but it still has the same collection of knockabout regulars and the same draw: an extremely active and lively karaoke scene. The Point has been tucked into a Belt Line strip center since the late 1970s, and, until recently, it looked like it. Bottoms up: This is the ultimate curated compendium of Dallas’ 143 best bars. They are the places where business ideas are born, relationships are begun, and all of life’s miseries are held at bay by another glass and a few more minutes with the best friend who makes you laugh.