Hellobee Boards

Bishop Arts district has great places to eat, a chill/artsy vibe, lots of patios.

Routh Street has some fun/casual bars and brunch places if you drink--close to where you are staying.

Check out Eno's, Tillman's Roadhouse, LOVE LOVE the belmont hotel.

@Mrs D: I haven't been at that time of day, but yes, supposedly Smoke in the Belmont at sunset is awesome.

What kind of thing are you looking for? Casual, dressy, laid-back, indoor/outdoor,. great tex/mex food??

The neighborhoods that have been recommended are great ideas. I would especially recommend the following restaurants:

Bishop Arts
- Lucia
- Hatties (fancy brunch or dinner)
- Oddfellows (casual brunch)
- Boulevardier
- Emporium Pies (you have to get a slice here!!)
- Dude Sweet Chocolates, stop in for samples and pick up stuff to bring back home

Trinity Groves
- Casa Rubia
- Off-Site Kitchen (for a casual, messy, burger)

Stampede 66 is "modern Texas cuisine" by Stephen Pyles. He calls the restaurant his "Love Letter to Texas". Though it sounds super kitschy, he is an excellent chef - if you want iconic "texas" food, this is the way to do it!

@Mrs D: gotcha! Sounds like my kin d of trip
You are spot on with Bishop Arts! casual with a side of funky is the perfect description of that area!! I'll think of some more places today....

There is a surprisingly large number of local breweries around here. I would recommend checking out Meddlesome Moth for a meal - good food and tons of beers!

@smocks has a good list!

White Rock Lake and Katy Trail are great if the weather isn't too hot. The Dallas Arboretum is also wonderful. They have a cafe on-site, but you are also allowed to bring your own food/drinks (including alcohol!) and have a picnic. Stop by Scardello's to pick up a picnic basket to-go, with wine, cheese and crackers or sandwiches....or grab snacks and prepared food at Central Market. I assume the one at Lovers/Greenville is the one @smocks is talking about, and it will be on your way to the Arboretum from the hotel.

If its too hot and you want to be indoors (or if you just want to shop!) go to Northpark Mall. It is a big square with a large courtyard in the middle. La Duni is awesome for lunch or coffee/dessert, and you can sit out on the courtyard patio. This sounds weird, but the mall has a great art collection - so you can walk the square and its like combining a museum and shopping in one. http://www.northparkcenter.com/pages/northpark-art-collection

Other indoor activities would be the Dallas Museum of Art and the indoor/outdoor Nasher Sculpture Center next door.
DMA has an incredible Mexcio exhibit now, and Nasher has Richard Serra prints until the end of the month.

Pecan Lodge will likely have a LONG line, and because of that I have never been, but it gets rave reviews.

Personally, I would skip Mockingbird Station (@smocks you didn't miss anything!) I would have recommended that years ago, but at this point it is mostly chain stores and restaurants (West Elm, Urban Outfitters, Ann Taylor LOFT, Starbucks...)

Javier's is mexico-city mexican food (not tex mex). It has been around since I was a kid and I love it for special occasions or date nights. Not casual though, and I'd suggest a reservation. Meso Maya is good and more casual. And for truly super-casual tex mex, our family likes Mi Cocina. It's a family-friendly neighborhood place, nothing fancy, with multiple locations around town. They're known for their Mamo Taxis (frozen sangria/margarita swirl).

@MrsLonghorn: We were actually up around Southlake a bunch (potentially moving to that area next year) so that's where we went to Central Market, but my friend who lives in North Dallas said there were a few locations. We also went to Mi Cocina - delicious!! I'll have to refer to this thread again if/when we move

@Anagram: That is so cool they catered your wedding, their food is awesome! It was the first place we went when we got off the plane. DH had the mole, yum. I just had tacos but they were awesome, and their salsa at the beginning of the meal was amazing. Legit margs too.

@MamaG: Thanks! We're in the very beginning stages of planning, but we both liked that area a lot.

@Mrs D: stay at the Belmont! eat at Smoke! and just down the street is a outdoor place called Chicken Scratch that has picnic seating, delicious food and music sometimes. Also across the street from the Belmont is a cluster of stores and restaurants--I highly recommend Taco Deli for authentic breakfast tacos in your way down to Waco. I feel like this combination fulfills your desire for a side of funky and as a 30-something myself these are the foodie hangs that I enjoy without too much drunk frat-ness. Truck yard is awesome but can be insanely packed and if you do stay at the Belmont Chicken Scratch has the exact same vibe but is .25 miles away. Have so much fun! welcome to Dallas!

Edit: sorry, I misread where you are staying! Not the Belmont! I still recommend dinner at smoke and drinks at Chicken Scratch (it is also called The Foundry--the attached bar).

@Mrs D: All the other ladies have good suggestions. The only thing I would add that I haven't seen yet is happy hour at Wolfgang Puck's 560. I used to go 1x monthly with friends and would also take all my out of town visitors there. It's the big, iconic rotating ball in the Dallas Skyline. You can Uber there or pay to park in the lot and I think I remember that the hostesses validate parking passes.

Anyway. you don't need a reservation for Happy Hour in the bar---just tell the hosts down at the elevator that you are going up to the bar and try to arrive early, like as soon as they open at 4:30 or 5. Then you have a pick of the bar/lounge area seats and you can be right by the window. Also, they have nice cocktails (not sure if they still have it, but they used to have a jalapeno prickly pear margarita that was amazing), and all of their appetizers in the bar are $5.60 during happy hour. Such a great way to get an amazing view of the city and the pork belly bao buns are so good. https://wolfgangpuck.com/dining/five-sixty-by-wolfgang-puck-dallas/

Depending on how foodie you want to get, I could recommend some other fine dining destinations for dinner.

The Rustic, as PPs mention is a great hangout for at night. I miss those types of Dallas places that don't exist where I live now in NJ--the last time I was there, I was pregnant and threw up in the bathroom, haha. All day morning sickness. The Rustic isn't far from Bar Belmont, which as PPs have mentioned is a relaxed rooftop bar at Belmont Hotel. Smoke is on the property but does not have a rooftop view that I remember. But last time I was there was in 2015, so maybe I'm not remembering.

Dallas is also known for boozy brunches, so I can recommend some options there if you want it.

@MrsLonghorn: @MRSHONEYBEAR: OMG! I had Taco Deli a couple of weeks ago (we had one of our consultant groups bring breakfast into the office). The breakfast was soooo good. I wish it wasn't so far away from me.

@Anagram: @smocks: Ah I didn't see you recommended Meso Maya too! Ha!

@travellingbee: YES! The kids garden is INCREDIBLE. Go back this summer when it is really hot, and the entry area to the kids garden turns into a big splash pad.

@Mrs D: Good to know! I'll check those places out when we move there next summer!

@Mrs D: OMG...that's terrible! We used to go there almost every Tuesday night, because they used to have half priced drinks at the bar. Sad!!