Dallas has always had good bars. What it has right now is something more specific — a cocktail scene that’s earning national attention, with a handful of rooms that are genuinely doing something interesting. Whether you’re looking for a statement night out, a well-made drink at a reasonable price, or a cold pint in a room with character, here’s where to go this weekend.
FOR A PROPER NIGHT OUT
The elevator at the Thompson Hotel opens on the 9th floor and you step into Catbird. The first thing you see is a massive photo of Jordan Belfort. The room itself is Art Deco maximalism — geometric prints, lush fabrics, glossy finishes, a bedazzled Russian nesting doll near the entrance, semi-private lounge areas tucked into corners, and a wraparound rooftop terrace with a crystal pool and downtown Dallas spread out below. It is a lot, and it works.
The cocktails are the reason to come: the nitro espresso martini is the room’s signature drink and it delivers, the Kyoto Water — vodka, clarified tomato water, Togarashi tomato — is the one that surprises people, and the signature Catbird built with tequila reposado, Campari, lime, and grapefruit foam hits clean and cold on a warm evening. BBQ bao buns and lamb chops are the food to order. Live music runs Tuesdays and Wednesdays; DJ on Fridays and Saturdays. Dress code is in effect. 1401 Elm Street. Monday through Thursday 5–11pm, Friday and Saturday 5pm–12:30am, Sunday 5–11pm.
Bar Colette in West Village is the most interesting new cocktail room in Dallas right now and one of the least covered. Bar director Rubén Rolón holds a Michelin recognition and the cocktail list reflects it — duck confit-washed bourbon drinks, intricate flavor combinations, a French-inspired menu that rewards people who let the bartender steer. The room is gorgeous: earth-tone terrazzo floors, wood-adorned walls, custom butterscotch velvet booths, gilded tables, blush pink high-tops, warm backlit lighting. It runs as both a cocktail bar and a restaurant, and the food — from the team behind Namo — is worth ordering alongside. 3699 McKinney Avenue, Suite 306, West Village.
Apothecary on Lower Greenville is a James Beard semifinalist and Michelin Exceptional Cocktails honoree, which tells you everything about what to expect. The menu rotates through themed concepts — the current lineup includes a savory French onion soup cocktail that shouldn’t work and absolutely does, and the Pistachio Ramos Fizz — pistachio gin, lemon, cream, orange blossom, egg white, club soda — remains the drink that people come back specifically to order. The bar operates in two rooms: Archive for classic craft and Alchemy for the avant-garde, where centrifuges and liquid nitrogen are part of the process. Tuesday through Sunday from 5pm. 1922 Greenville Avenue.
WELL-MADE DRINKS, EASIER ON THE WALLET
Bowen House has been making serious craft cocktails in a Victorian house on Boll Street since before anyone called them craft cocktails. The menu is tight and confident — the Laurel Canyon Spritz with white peach aperitif, Champagne, and Topo Chico is the summer drink, the Power Hour riff with mezcal, passion fruit, lemon, and cinnamon is the one for people who know what they want, and the classic B.H. gin and soda with bitter lemon has been on the menu long enough to have its own following. Non-alcoholic cocktails are also well-executed here, which is rarer than it should be. Happy hour Monday through Thursday 4 to 6:30pm, Friday 11am to 6:30pm with $6 craft beers and cocktails from $9 to $11. 2614 Boll Street.
Ritual opened in January 2026 in Bryan Place, taking over the former Alice space at 1623 N. Hall Street, and has been quietly building a following. The cocktail list was developed by Paul Ramon — named a Top 50 World Class U.S. Bartender in 2022 — and the menu runs from a clear cosmopolitan to a Carajillo with Biscoff cookie-infused coffee liqueur, a vodka drink topped with matcha cold foam, and four well-thought-out alcohol-free options. The room kept the exposed brick from the Alice days and opened it up for natural light. Small bites include cheese eclairs with three-cheese melt and parmesan crisp, beef tartare, and a maple carbonara with bucatini and maple-infused guanciale. Tuesday through Sunday, 5pm to 2am.
Written by the Seasons at 380 Melba Street and 2681 Howell Street does what its name says — the entire cocktail program rotates with the season, built around whatever fruit, produce, and preserves are at peak right now. In summer the patio is the move, and the drinks made with fresh seasonal ingredients are maximally refreshing in a way that a static menu can’t replicate. Come without a plan, tell the bartender what you like, and let the season decide.
THE BREWERY
Jaquval Brewing at 312 W. Seventh Street in Bishop Arts is the kind of neighborhood brewery that Bishop Arts was built for. The space was designed to feel like a European pub — mismatched art on the walls, some of it made by the owners, posters from the owners’ travels, stainless steel brew tanks visible from the bar. Brewer Justin Hatley, formerly of Lakewood Brewing Company, makes everything in-house. If English pub-style beers are your thing, the Loyal Wingman — a traditional bitter with American hops added for brightness — is on tap here and worth seeking out. Next door, Trades handles sandwiches, bagels, and deli meats if you need something to eat alongside. The whole setup is the right end to a Saturday that started on the Bishop Arts patio circuit.
