Dallas Bars & Nightlife

The city’s first dog-park/restaurant mashup is absolutely packed on beautiful days—dogs can run off-leash in the one-acre park while owners hang out in the outdoor beer garden. The laid-back restaurant is popular in its own right: The menu focuses on burgers and hotdogs, and adorably, there are options for the canines, too.

There are many reasons to visit the Grapevine: potent Tangaritas (frozen margaritas mixed with Tang), pickup games on the basketball half court, and the rooftop with amazing views of the downtown skyline. The laid-back dive bar straddles a few neighborhoods, so it’s almost always busy with an interesting crowd—perfect for people watching.

Exactly what you want in a dive bar: nice bartenders mixing strong drinks, a jukebox, and a huge dog-friendly yard. There’s live music in the vein of Mumford and Sons on the weekends. And sitting by the fire pit in the fall is absolute heaven.

Inside this double-wide trailer you’ll find one of the strongest cocktails in the city. The deceptive vanilla-vodka-and-coffee-liqueur-spiked Yoohoo Yeehaw comes straight out of an old Slurpee machine, is topped with a Maraschino cherry, and tastes like a Tootsie Roll. Drink it on the patio, which is decorated with toilets that artfully overflow with plants, or on one of the couches inside. There’s also a small stage where DJs play vinyl and there’s fantastic live music.

Drinking Mexican beer or mezcal in the back bar here is a singular experience: A statue of St. Jude, the patron saint of desperation, watches over the room. The entire bar (the name means “the broken souls” in Spanish) is a shrine to Mexican culture. And the food—homemade tacos and salsas—and drinks are absolutely authentic. Get the El Topo, a combination of the mineral water Topo Chico, lime juice, and tequila.

A gay country-dance club where everyone is welcome, this is one of the best places to dance in Dallas, whether you’re in work clothes or drag. Early in the evening, there are very serious two-steppers on the floor, but the moment it’s 10:30 p.m., contemporary music comes on and the dance floor is flooded.

Beer is an important theme at the Rustic: In addition to their impressive list of Texas beers on draft and a seriously good beer-butt chicken, the bar's centerpiece is an American flag sculpture constructed from old beer cans. In the summer, their enormous outdoor patio (dotted with picnic tables and fire pits) plays host to country music bands and singers that play late into the evening. Their huge custom marquee sign completes the scene.

This rooftop bar at the CANVAS Hotel—the latest in a crop of younger, hipper hotels—offers spectacular views of the city’s South Side. Come for sunset drinks by the pool or at the bar, take in the Dallas skyline, and make a meal of it, too, thanks to a menu of substantial snacks—hot dogs, tacos, salads, and the like.

The Joule’s subterranean mixology bar is somewhere between alternative and Texas classic, serving up some serious old-school cocktails with a twist, in a glam setting concocted by the gang behind the store Tenoversix. Green marble cocktail tables, brass bar stools and accessories, and a walnut ceiling are elegant enough for the Texas environs, while the cocktails—with names like Sister Cel-Ray and Savory Hunter—have a bit more bite.