At 4 p.m. on a weekday, the bar and terrace at Docent Steak on North Harwood Street open for happy hour. East Coast oysters are $3 apiece until 6. In the same pocket of the Harwood District, the McKinnon Street ground floor that held Tequila Social's 200-seat courtyard is empty and slated for redevelopment, and no new tenant has been named.
Since mid-August, a lot has closed and opened in Uptown, and most of it follows one pattern. The rooms that closed did their business on weekends and game days. The rooms that opened are built to fill the middle of the week. You can see it on Harwood Street, on McKinney Avenue and on Maple Avenue.
Four rooms closed on McKinnon Street, and one opened on Harwood
The Dallas Observer reported on Aug. 24 that Harwood Hospitality had closed four places at once: Elephant East, Poco Fiasco, Tequila Social and Dolce Riviera. Some were old and some were new. Dolce Riviera opened in 2016, closed during the pandemic and reopened in May 2022. Elephant East opened in 2021, Poco Fiasco in 2022 and Tequila Social in the summer of 2023.
Tequila Social was always going to close. The Observer reported that the space at 3100 McKinnon St. was already slated for redevelopment. Harwood International kept the patio open through the World Cup's four weeks in Dallas, and it closed on Friday, Aug. 21. The same article said the courtyard looked busiest on weekends when Katy Trail Ice House had a wait, or when a big game was on.
Harwood's statement described the closures as part of a broader reinvestment. "In select locations, we are exploring new concepts as well as conversions to amenities that further support our existing and prospective tenants and patrons," a spokesperson told the Observer.
The first new concept is Docent Steak at 2801 N. Harwood St. It opened Oct. 1, more than two years after it was first announced. In its fall openings roundup, the Observer reported that Docent runs one of the largest Kobe beef programs in Texas. Samurai artifacts from the Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum's Samurai Collection decorate the dining room. The same group also runs Stillwell's at the Swexan, Mercat Bistro and Happiest Hours.
The Harwood happy hour now lives at a steakhouse bar
Poco Fiasco's pizza window closed with the rest of the McKinnon Street rooms, and no replacement for that space has been announced. At Harwood's new steakhouse on North Harwood Street, Docent's weeknight happy hour runs 4 to 6 p.m. at the bar and on the terrace. Poco Fiasco was known for $6 bites and $7 to $8 cocktails, and the Docent prices come in close to that.
| Docent happy hour item | Price |
|---|---|
| East Coast oysters, Asian pear mignonette snow | $3 |
| Parmesan fries, truffle aioli | $5 |
| Spicy tuna crispy rice | $8 |
| Wagyu potstickers, citrus ponzu | $8 |
| HWD TX wagyu cheeseburger | $10 |
| Frozen margaritas and all spritzes | $8 |
At full price, Docent's cocktails run $18 to $20. The two-hour weekday window is when it costs about what Poco Fiasco did.
The hours point the same way. Docent is open 4 to 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 5 to 11 p.m. Saturday and 5 to 10 p.m. Sunday. Reservations go through OpenTable, where guests choose between The Gallery and The Vault. The Vault is a speakeasy-style lounge. The rideshare drop-off is at 2813 N. Harwood St.
McKinney Avenue made the same bet with a sports bar
At the north end of McKinney Avenue, near Knox Street, the reason for the change was stated outright. Alberto Lombardi of Lombardi Family Concepts opened Mar y Sol Cocina Latina at 4511 McKinney Ave. in the summer of 2024, and it served its last dinner on Aug. 15, 2026. He explained the decision to The Dallas Morning News:
"You cannot survive without business during the week."
He told the paper the space should become "a casual place for a burger and a beer. And a place to meet." That place is Victory Tap. Lombardi first tried the concept in West Plano before the World Cup. The Dallas version has a few dozen TVs and two F1 simulators on the terrace. It opened with a free Texas–OU tailgate on Saturday, Oct. 10.
A sports bar can fill on a weeknight because there is almost always a game on. That is the gap Mar y Sol's owner said he needed to close.
Farther south, Marlowe opened Sept. 23 at 2912 McKinney Ave., near Howell Street, in the brick building that used to be Theory Nightclub. It is an Art Deco lounge with a penguin mascot and custom ceramics from Marcello Andres Ceramics. According to the Observer's preview, the kitchen cooks without seed oils. The building used to be a nightclub, and it now offers dinner along with the cocktails.
Maple Avenue's newcomers serve three meals' worth of hours
Two national chains opened on Maple Avenue a week apart, and both were designed from the start to run all week.
Élephante, the California-based coastal Italian restaurant, opened Sept. 1 at 2701 Maple Ave. D Magazine reported that it seats 348. A dining room that size needs to be busy more than two nights a week.
JOEY Maple opened Sept. 10 at 2508 Maple Ave. It is 7,800 square feet and serves lunch, happy hour and dinner. CW33 reported that Executive Chef Matthew Stowe, a Top Chef alumnus, runs the kitchen. The menu includes a bone-in prime ribeye, a tomahawk and fire-torched sushi. The Observer reported that the Canadian brand built on what had been a parking lot across the street from the Crescent, next to Truluck's. It is the company's second Dallas location, after NorthPark. Of all the fall arrivals, it is the only one whose opening announcement included lunch, which gives it the most weekday hours.
The rooms that didn't need to change
Restaurants that already had steady weekday traffic stayed put this fall. When the Michelin Guide released its 2026 Texas selection on Oct. 8, Mamani at 2681 Howell St. kept the one star it earned in 2025. No new Dallas restaurant earned a star. Harwood's Stillwell's and Mercat Bistro remain on the Recommended list.
In its August coverage, the Observer listed the long-running Cedar Springs Road names: Nick & Sam's, Uchi, Harwood Arms, Ocean Prime, Las Palmas and Sixty Vines. Newer additions include The Bread Club, Two Hands, Avra and Domodomo Kō. One more is on the way. The Observer reported in September that Guest House would open in October at 1900 Cedar Springs Rd. The company's Dallas page still says "coming soon."
How the new map sorts by night of the week
Here is where the fall openings fit, based on the hours and programs each one lists:
- Weekday lunch: JOEY Maple, 2508 Maple Ave., the one new opening with lunch service.
- Monday through Friday, 4 to 6 p.m.: the Docent bar and terrace, 2801 N. Harwood St., for $3 oysters and $8 frozen margaritas.
- Any night with a game on: Victory Tap, 4511 McKinney Ave., with a few dozen screens and two F1 simulators on the terrace.
- A larger group dinner: Élephante, 2701 Maple Ave., with 348 seats.
- A late Friday: Marlowe at 2912 McKinney Ave., or Docent, which stays open until 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Hours and prices are as posted in late October and can change, so check before you go. The former Tequila Social, Poco Fiasco, Elephant East and Dolce Riviera spaces on McKinnon Street are still empty, and Harwood has not announced what will replace them.
When restaurants change on a block, it changes what living on that block is like. Our team watches these openings and closings the same way we watch sales. If you're thinking about what Uptown's new dining map means for a condo near Harwood Street or a townhome off McKinney, Hewitt+Saucedo can walk you through it, with a free home valuation or early access to off-market homes.
