Sunday in Bishop Arts moves at its own speed. Dogs outnumber cars on some blocks, every patio seems to have a spritz on it, and around 2 o’clock you can hear a brass band before you can see it. Nobody is in a hurry, and that is exactly the right way to do it.
Here is how to spend an easy Sunday in the neighborhood, with a few places to eat at different price points, a couple of stops for shopping, and the best spots for a drink. Wear comfortable shoes. Everything here is walkable, which is the whole reason Oak Cliff folks guard this place like a family recipe.
A quick word on parking before anything else. Street spots on Bishop Avenue disappear fast on weekends. There are lots just west of Bishop on Melba, on both sides of the street, and another at the corner of Madison and Seventh. Park once and forget about the car until dinner.
Encina, at 614 W. Davis St., is where to start if you’re willing to spend a little. Chef Matt Balke and Corey McCombs opened it in 2020, and Sunday brunch runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Plan on roughly $30 to $50 a person once drinks get involved. The dish to order is the blue corn butterscotch pancakes with cajeta. They’re so popular that the pancake mix placed in H-E-B’s Quest for Texas Best and now sits on grocery shelves. Book ahead. Showing up at 11 on a Sunday hoping for a table is optimistic.
Pillar is the other brunch worth planning around. Chef Peja Krstic, who also runs Mot Hai Ba in Lakewood, opened it in December 2024 in the old Boulevardier dining room at 408 N. Bishop Ave., Suite 108. Brunch runs Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. The ricotta soufflé pancakes come glazed with honey butter, chocolate sauce, and anise sugar. The chile relleno is stuffed with smoked brisket and ricotta and set over labneh and peach salsa, using peppers from the chef’s own farm. If you want something lighter, the Croast is croissant toast with smoked salmon, avocado, and a soft-boiled egg. Stay a little late and you’ll catch weekend happy hour, which starts at 2:30. Reservations go through OpenTable.
If brunch reservations feel like too much planning, walk over to Trades Delicatessen at 312 W. Seventh St. It opens at 7 every morning. The team behind it also runs Oddfellows and Revelers Hall, and they bake the bagels, smoke the meat, and roast the coffee in-house. Get the pastrami sandwich, which is thick-cut and piled high. Most sandwiches run about $16. The brewpub next door, Jaquval, pours the house beers if you want one with your lunch, and nobody is going to judge you for having a beer before noon on a Sunday.
Now walk it off.
The Wild Detectives, at 314 W. Eighth St., is a bookstore and a bar in a 1940s bungalow, which may be the most Oak Cliff sentence ever written. Javier GarcÃa del Moral and Paco Vique opened it in 2014 and named it after Roberto Bolaño’s novel The Savage Detectives. The book selection is sharp, the backyard is strung with lights, and you can buy a novel and a glass of wine in the same transaction. It opens at 10 on Sundays.
Down the street, Taco y Vino lives in a 1945 bungalow at 213 W. Eighth St. Wine man Jimmy Contreras opened it in 2018 with chef Sharon Van Meter, and the idea was to make a glass of wine feel as casual as a taco. Grab a patio table and order a few tacos, like the crispy avocado, the barbacoa, or the pineapple-braised jackfruit, with a frozen kalimotxo, the Spanish mix of red wine and Coke. You can also buy a bottle to take home. Get there early. On weekends the kitchen serves brunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., chilaquiles included, and on Sundays it has long closed right after, so check the hours before you go.
Head back to Bishop Avenue for Spinster Records at 408 N. Bishop Ave., right across the street from Eno’s. It opens at noon on Sundays. David Grover and Kate Siamro stock new and used vinyl, turntables, and speakers, and they will happily talk you into a record you didn’t come in for. Spinster opened in 2014 on West Davis and moved into the heart of the district in 2019. The shop’s online store even has a section called the Super Sad Song Bin, which tells you plenty about the staff’s sense of humor. If your record player has been collecting dust since the pandemic, this is the push it needed.
Next stop is the big old house on the corner of Bishop Avenue and Eighth Street, the one that looks like it should have a candy store inside. It does. Dude, Sweet Chocolate moved into the century-old house in 2024 after almost 15 years down the block, and the official address is 336 W. Eighth St. Owner Katherine Clapner, a former executive pastry chef for Stephan Pyles, started the business in 2009. Expect fudges, truffles, soft butter toffees, and chocolate salami. The shop’s online menu is even listing chocolate-dipped candied bacon right now. The lineup changes constantly, so ask what’s in the case before you fall in love with something that isn’t there. The shop is open until 7 on Sundays, and there’s even an Airbnb upstairs if you decide you never want to leave.
By 2 o’clock you’ll hear Revelers Hall before you find it. The narrow New Orleans-style music bar at 412 N. Bishop Ave. comes from the same owners as Oddfellows and Trades, and the Revelers Hall Band takes the stage at 2 on Sunday afternoons. It’s brass-heavy and loud in the best way, and the band has been known to march right through the room collecting tips. Order a Hurricane, grab one of the seats along the wall, or give up on sitting down altogether. Check the calendar before you go, since the lineup can change.
Late afternoon is spritz time, and Paradiso at 308 N. Bishop Ave. is the prettiest place in the neighborhood to have one. Exxir Hospitality opened it in 2019 with a garden patio full of flowers and a menu inspired by the coast of southern Europe. The bar leans on botanical cocktails, spritzes, and frozen drinks. Keep the snacks simple with a wood-fired pizza or a plate of house-made pasta to share. The front patio along Bishop Avenue, called the Mermaid Bar, is the best seat for people-watching. Book ahead on weekends, since it’s a popular spot for big groups and celebrations.
When your ears need a break, Ten Bells Tavern is a short walk away at 238 W. Eighth St. The original bar was torn down for apartments in 2022, and Bishop Arts regulars spent three years wondering if it would ever come back. It did, in 2025, inside a renovated century-old house. Owner Meri Dahlke brought the bar’s famous patio cats along with her, and they’re spayed, neutered, and well cared for. It’s a regular bar with good drinks and no gimmicks, and one Sunday beer there has a way of turning into three.
For an early dinner that won’t hurt the wallet, go to Eno’s Pizza Tavern at 407 N. Bishop Ave. The Spillers family opened it in 2008, back when Bishop Arts was still a secret, and the name comes from the Italian word enoteca, not the British musician. The crust is cracker-thin, the beer list is local, and a dinner for two with a couple of pints won’t break the bank. It’s open until 9 on Sundays.
New apartments go up around Bishop Arts every year, and a few old favorites have been lost along the way. Spend one slow Sunday here, though, and you’ll see why people who live in Oak Cliff still wouldn’t trade it for anywhere else in Dallas.
