Downtown Dallas on a Saturday evening: the freeways run bright with tail lights, hotel lobbies fill, and the sidewalks around the entertainment districts start to carry people between dinner and whatever comes after. Trains and buses keep moving into the night, so you can leave the car behind if you plan your route.
Dallas is a car-oriented, spread-out city, and its nightlife reflects that: distinct districts, each with its own crowd and its own dress code, rather than one continuous strip. It suits visitors who are happy to pick a district for the evening and commit to it, and who don't mind a taxi or a train ride between stops. Uptown is the most visible scene, and the city's alternative weekly, the Dallas Observer, is a useful free source for what's on.
Where to go out in Dallas
1. Uptown
Uptown is the area bound by Haskell on the north, Woodall Rogers Freeway on the south, Turtle Creek on the west and Central Expressway on the east. It is where Dallas' self-consciously fashionable crowd goes to see and be seen, and it is trendy to the point of being exclusive: the neighborhood contains very upscale clubs, and some of the best known, such as Candleroom, are private.
This suits a night built around dressing up and being seen. Practically, if you want to get into one of the private places, go with a member or have a concierge call ahead; Republic is described as a nightspot with no membership required. Expect door policies: no shorts, jeans, team jerseys, tennis shoes or flip-flops.
2. Fair Park and the State Fair
Fair Park is the setting for the State Fair of Texas, hosted annually for about three weeks around September and October. The fair is known above all for its food, much of it deep-fried, with competitions for the best and most creative versions; the mascot Big Tex and the Texas Star Ferris Wheel are fairground institutions, alongside carnival games and rides, rodeos, pig racing and livestock shows. Fair Park's Depression-era buildings are a Texan take on Art Deco.
This is an evening or full-day out rather than a bar crawl. Two practical points from the sources: avoid the second weekend, when the UT and OU football game floods the fair and makes lines and parking difficult, and park free at a DART station and ride the train to Fair Park Station instead of paying to park on site.
3. White Rock Lake area
White Rock Lake, in East Dallas, is a large park and a genuine escape from the city bustle for a stroll. Locals would tell you to avoid driving around here at night.
4. Golf courses
If your evening out is really an afternoon out, the Dallas area has many courses, including five municipal courses with reasonable greens fees. Tenison Highlands in East Dallas and Cedar Crest in South Dallas are described as the best test of golf and can be the most crowded, especially on weekends; there are also many daily-fee public courses across the metroplex.
How a night out unfolds
The sources do not set out a detailed timetable for a Dallas evening. What they do say is that liquor stores can become quite crowded after 8PM, especially on Saturday, and that you should be extra-alert after dark. Texas liquor law shapes the shape of a night: a store that sells liquor cannot open on Sunday or stay open after 9PM on other days, and stores selling beer and wine cannot sell either from midnight to noon on Sunday. If you want to fill a mini-fridge or cooler, plan ahead, since alcohol is sold only in certain parts of the city and certain suburbs, and hotel desk staff can tell you whether you are in a wet or dry area. In wet areas, beer and wine are easily available at grocery stores.
Festivals and events worth timing a trip around
- State Fair of Texas — annually for about three weeks around September and October, at Fair Park.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a membership to go out in Uptown?
Not everywhere. Some of the hottest clubs, such as Candleroom, are private, and you should go with a member or have a concierge call ahead. Republic is described as a cool nightspot with no membership required.
What should I wear?
At least one Uptown venue applies a door policy of no shorts, jeans, team jerseys, tennis shoes or flip-flops. Dress accordingly if you are heading to that district.
Can I buy alcohol on a Sunday?
It is restricted. Stores that sell liquor cannot open on Sunday, and stores that sell beer and wine cannot sell either from midnight to noon on Sunday. A smartphone app that locates liquor stores and shows their hours is useful, since many Dallas-area liquor stores sit well inside neighborhoods rather than along highways.
How do I find out what is on while I am in town?
Pick up a free copy of the Dallas Observer, the local alternative weekly, at many places around town, particularly in Downtown, or check GuideLive, an offshoot of the Dallas Morning News, online.
Decide which district fits the evening you want, check the train and the store hours before you set out, and plan the night around that.