8 July 17 - 23, 2025 dallasobserver.com DALLAS OBSERVER Classified | MusiC | dish | Culture | unfair Park | Contents E ach year, we revisit Dallas’ top 100 bars with a jolt of re- ality: Some beloved spots fall off the list, not because they’ve lost their edge, but because they have shuttered. This past year, we said goodbye to Exposition Park’s Wrig- gly Tin, the master of pop-ups Whipper- snapper, Tina’s Continental, Swizzle and Neon Kitten. Promising newcomers like Pinkies Coffee + Cocktails, Palma’s speak- easy Ghost Donkey, Monkey Bar on 9 and Terrazza di Triozzi haven’t stood the test of time – yet. In our quest to survey Dallas’ finest, we asked bar managers, drinkers and event or- ganizers one question: What makes a good bar in Dallas? The consensus? Drinks aren’t enough. Location remains one of the biggest factors in a bar’s success. Over the past year, two neighborhoods have stood out: Bishop Arts and Knox Henderson. According to Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission records, drinking in Dallas ain’t dead. We still love our booze, and plenty of it, but we’re tiring of money grabs. “Flex culture is dying and individuality and storytelling is on the rise,” says DJ Alex- ander Chase, a 15-year nightlife veteran. “Bars like Atlas, Milo Butterfingers or even Colombian Country Club are thriving right now because they tell a story and allow space for individuality and conversations, versus who you are and what you do.” It’s not just what you’re serving. It’s who is serving it, how, to whom, for what price and whether the quality and ambiance are worth coming back for. Dallas drinkers, for the most part, want more than ring-light ready setups and buzz with the lifespan of a fly. Dallas wants to have fun, but more than that, Dallas wants connection. The see-and-be-seen, flashy bottle ser- vice culture is fading. In its place, Dallas’ most passionate and talented spirits purvey- ors are raising the bar — pun intended — on quality, craftsmanship and skill. The city’s bar scene spans specialty bars with national cred, to hole-in-the-wall haunts, swanky rooftop lounges, essential Irish pubs and those vital mainstays that fuel our sanity. We scoured the city to find the style, sub- stance and heart, places where you can get a drink that not only looks good, but tastes good, too, ideally paired with some conver- sation worth having. This year’s list honors bars fueling neighborhood rebirths and | CITY OF ATE | t Dish Alison McLean From Dapper to Divey THE DALLAS BARS THAT KEEP ON GIVING IN 2025. Eddie “Lucky” Campbell resurrected the Thomas Beverage Company a decade after the original closed. By Desiree Gutierrez, Lauren Drewes Daniels and Lauren Durie
