The Quarter Bar never did reopen after it closed its doors on McKinney Avenue earlier this year. Its space is getting a second life with a Tulum accent.
Jākö Cocina y Agave, the modern Mexican restaurant that opened on the lower level of Grandscape in The Colony since late 2024, is moving into the old Quarter Bar at 3301 McKinney Ave., Suite 200. Co-founder AJ Acosta is aiming for a mid-November opening.
If you haven’t made the drive up the Sam Rayburn Tollway, here is what you’ve missed. Jākö bills itself as upscale Mexican, and the kitchen leans hard toward the coast and the Caribbean. Executive chef José Caballero is from Venezuela, the home of the arepa, and the South American influence shows up all over the menu.
Ceviche is a big part of the story. The ceviche mixto brings whitefish and shrimp together in a bright leche de tigre, the citrus marinade Peru gave the world right along with lomo saltado. Tacos come filled with barbacoa, fried snapper and pollo al carbón, and the starters run from beef empanadas to croquettes with Iberian ham.
The plate people talk about most is the picanha a la parrilla, Allen Brothers Prime beef with truffle cilantro potatoes. Save room for the Chocoholic, the house chocolate dessert.
If the coastal side of Mexican cooking is your thing, it puts Jākö in conversation with places like Maroma in the Design District. The bar is built around tequila and mezcal, with a long run of margaritas and cocktails that arrive looking dressed for a night out.
Uptown won’t be a carbon copy. The McKinney Avenue room is smaller, about 3,200 square feet, so the split between restaurant and lounge that defines The Colony goes away. This one will be a restaurant first. It also comes with something the original doesn’t have, a courtyard patio, and Acosta has said the team is thrilled to have outdoor space like that in the middle of Uptown.
The other big difference is lunch. The Colony serves dinner and weekend brunch, while the Uptown location plans to open midday as well, which should make it an easy pick for the McKinney Avenue lunch crowd.
Acosta spent about 25 years in hospitality before Jākö, much of it in hotels, and he helped found 3ntourage Hospitality, the group behind a long list of Dallas concepts over the years. He has described Jākö as a project started by two friends who simply hoped other people would love it as much as they did.
Jākö Cocina y Agave Uptown will be at 3301 McKinney Ave., Suite 200. The original is at 5754 Grandscape Blvd., Suite 110, in The Colony. CraveDFW will share hours and the opening date as soon as they’re set.
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