If you have had a good cocktail in Dallas any time in the last 15 years, there is a decent chance Alex Fletcher had a hand in it. He started as a barback at The Quarter Bar, then ran the bar programs at The Quarter, Bread Winners, Victor Tangos and the original Henry’s Majestic. Until late 2023 he was national beverage director for Hospitality Alliance, the group behind Toyota Music Factory and Victory Park, and his own company, Shaken + Stirred Hospitality, has partnered with places like Henry’s Majestic and Punch Bowl Social. A neighborhood dive on Garland Road might look like an odd next move for Dallas’ go-to cocktail guy.
Fletcher has said dive bars are his first love, though, and Rising Tides is the proof. He took over the old Royal Pour at 9909 Garland Road in East Dallas in August 2025 and never closed the doors, changing the place a little at a time so the regulars never lost their spot. He painted the walls on day one. Karaoke stayed. The cheap beer stayed. What changed is the cocktail list, and a kitchen that turns out food you would not expect to find steps from a pool table.
The name comes from Fletcher’s favorite saying, that rising tides lift all ships, and he has said the bar is built around keeping things positive for staff and customers alike. Fletcher calls it a cocktail dive, which means you can order a shot and a cheap beer or a carefully built cocktail and nobody will look at you funny either way. Early standouts on the drink list included an IPA Old Fashioned and a Spicy Pickle Margarita.
The kitchen belongs to chef Wadell Hodges, another Hospitality Alliance alum, who has cooked at Một Hai Ba and Hibiscus. Hodges calls his style global soul food, and the menu reads like what happens when two people who have worked in some of the best restaurants and bars around decide to have fun with bar snacks. It changes with the seasons, and we worked our way through most of it on our last visit.
Start with the shareables. The Fried Olives are green olives stuffed with pimento cheese, rolled in panko, fried and served with house ranch, which is about as Texas as an olive can get. The Umami Pretzel is a soft-baked pretzel brushed with ponzu butter and a savory seasoning, served with beer cheese, apple butter and house mustard. The Smoked Pastrami Rangoons take the crab rangoon idea and fill it with slow-smoked, cured brisket and cream cheese. And the Smoked Cream Cheese, served with Ritz crackers, onion jam and sesame seeds, is the dish to order for the table and pretend you are not going to finish.
The mains keep the surprises coming. Katsu Y Fries, which the menu calls Japanese poutine, piles panko-fried chicken, shoestring fries, katsu curry and cheese into one glorious bar-food mess. The Sesame Garlic Noods come with crispy shallots and peanuts, and you can add panko-fried chicken. The Crispy Chimichurri Mushroom Tacos get a hit of salsa macha, and the Cuban Sando stacks shaved ham, pulled pork, Swiss, onions, peppers, giardiniera and spicy mustard. If you want something classic, there is a Smashed Burger with a double patty, bacon, American cheese and griddled onions, and a Chopped Cheese on a hoagie roll with jalapeños and house giardiniera.
Wings come six to an order in Nashville hot, lemon pepper, gochujang or Buffalo, and cauliflower bites stand in for anyone skipping meat.
The kitchen opens at noon every day and serves the full menu late into the night, which may be the best thing about it. There is karaoke on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 9 p.m. and Saturdays at 8 p.m., live music on Fridays at 9 p.m. and an open mic on Sundays from 7 to 11 p.m.
Rising Tides is at 9909 Garland Road in East Dallas. Check the current menu before you go, or order for pickup through Toast, and follow @risingtidesbar for specials.
