Where to Drink

Where to drink in Fort Worth right now: 5 best bars open until 2 am

Niles City Hall, Fort Worth Stockyards bar

Niles City Hall Saloon is a new late-night spot in the Stockyards.

Photo courtesy of Niles City Hall

Sometimes at the end of a perfectly lovely evening out, the night still feels young. That’s when a good nightcap (or two) is in order, but not at a rowdy college bar where the lines are too long and skirts are too short. We’re talking about more grown-up dives — places to carry on the conversation until the wee hours of the night, without being pestered by shot girls or bottle service boozers.

Bars open until the traditional "lights on" hour of 2 am are increasingly hard to find in Fort Worth; even the new spots in the trendiest areas of town are calling it quits at 11 pm or midnight. So for this month's Where to Drink, we order up five potential watering holes for a final, late-night stop.

Niles City Hall Saloon
Long overdue for a good craft cocktail bar, the Fort Worth Stockyards now has its own with the recent opening of this Prohibition-style speakeasy. Located just next door to Love Shack on East Exchange Avenue, the “period-correct” bar might be where cattle barons and ranchers of yesteryear would have toasted to a hard day’s work. Long banquette seating is cozy, while wooden barstools and creaky wood floors fit the saloon atmosphere. A menu of pre-Prohibition specialty classic cocktails includes the Gold Rush made simply with bourbon, lemon juice and honey: a Sazerac served with a sugar cube: and a concoction called Corpse Reviver #2 made with gin, orange liqueur, and an absinthe rinse. Expect occasional live acoustic music, but nothing too noisy. The bar is closed on Mondays but open until midnight weekdays and until 2 am on Friday and Saturday.

Off the Record West
This hybrid bar and record shop is a low-key spinoff of the Deep Ellum original, where bins of vinyl combine with beer and cocktails to create a cool vibe. The space took over Hot Damn! Tamales’ dining area in January. (The tamale shop is still open next door.) White subway tile, hanging pendant lighting, a mix of wood and metal furnishings, and historic tin ceiling tile original to the brick building provide for an industrial yet updated atmosphere. Craft beer is big here — there are around 20 or so on tap. But the cocktail menu is lengthy, too. Favorites range from the gin and champagne-based French 75 to summer refreshers like the Paloma, mixed with grapefruit soda and mezcal, and the Aperol spritz topped with prosecco and Topo Chico. Note that all cocktails are half-off on Tuesdays. The bar is open until 2 am daily.

Ye Olde Bull & Bush
There are several reasons to revisit this longtime British-inspired bar for a late-night pint: Soccer is big here and we’re in the midst of an exciting FIFA World Cup (note that the bar opens at 4 pm, so game times won’t be live.) It’s also the perfect place to cool off with a cold beer after a steamy Concerts in the Gardens performance, which take place virtually steps away in the Fort Worth Botanic Garden through July 4. And perhaps most convincing is that the formerly smoked-filled bar is now cigarette-free, thanks to an ordinance that went into effect in March. Pick a tune on the juke box, play a game of darts, and sip on an English ale. The bar is open until 2 am daily.

Finn MacCool’s Pub
Sit and socialize without the distraction of bands or karaoke at this Southside neighborhood watering hole. It's located in a 1920s-era building with its original brick walls, floors, and tin ceilings. Named for a mythical Irish warrior, the bar is home to regulars from the surrounding Ryan Place, Berkeley, and Fairmount neighborhoods, but the welcoming staff makes every guest feel at home. End the evening on a cozy note with an iced Irish coffee on the bar’s new patio porch. Open until 2 am daily.

T & P Tavern
With a 4,300-square-foot covered patio and Art Deco interior, this historic train station diner-turned modern day gastropub sits a bit off the radar in the ground floor of the Texas & Pacific Lofts. There’s a wall with several rotating craft beers and a menu of train station-themed martinis. (On Mondays, all martinis are $4 from open to close.) Fun fact: the bar was honored with a Preservation Project Award by Historic Fort Worth, Inc. in 2013. Open until 2 am daily.

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Dumpling News

Vietnamese cafe-market to open at new development west of Fort Worth

Hao's

Dumplings from Hao's

Fort Worth restaurateur Hao Tran has a new cafe and market in the works: Called Duong DeVille, it will open in a new development called Entrepreneur Park along 405 Jim Wright Fwy. in White Settlement. According to Tran, it's slated to open by late 2025.

Tran is the owner of Hao’s Grocery and Cafe, the Asian grocery store and cafe she opened in 2019 where she sells dumplings and other foodstuffs.

Tran, who was born in Vietnam and moved to the U.S. with her family after the fall of Saigon, says Duong DeVille will offer family recipes and noodles.

“It will be a full menu of Vietnamese dishes from different regions in Vietnam from the south and from the west, which is Hue,” she says. “We’ll have Asian-inspired mocktails, as well.”

And of course Tran’s popular dumplings, in options such as veggie, pork, or smoked beef cheek.

“I think they're so popular because it appeals to all age groups and transcends all cultures; it’s not anything extreme or too spicy, and it’s fun to eat,” she says.

Duong will also have a small market with offerings similar to Hao’s Grocery and Cafe, including sauces, meats, noodles, and pickled vegetables such as habanero pickles and pickled lotus rootlet.

It's going into a new development in White Settlement from siblings Will Churchill and Corrie Watson Fletcher of Frank Kent Cadillac fame. Tran says she's known them for years, as they're both "very embedded in the community," and she's done a few events for them previously.

Churchill is co-owner of Heim Barbecue, which is relocating its restaurant in Burleson to Weatherford; as well as Fort Brewery, which just closed its cafe with a plan to focus on its brewing operation. According toFort Worth Report, he and Fletcher just took over four buildings along Jim Wright Freeway, which will also serve as a new headquarters for the Frank Kent Motor Company. They also plan to create a corporate and catering headquarters for Heim BBQ, from which they'll sell merchandise and frozen foods.

The 4,000 square-foot space designated for Duong DeVille will have space for the cooking classes that Tran hosts several times a month.

“I’m looking forward to offering a more full menu, a full bar, a mini grocery store and more space for classes, dinners, and events,” Tran says. “I’m limited in what I can offer in food now, but at the restaurant, I can offer a full menu.”