New Dining Saloon Continues a Dallas Neighborhood’s Remarkable Revival

There’s a new sheriff coming to town, and his name is Billy Can Can.

OK, so he’s not exactly a sheriff, and he’s not exactly real, but the charming (fictional) figure is bringing his very real namesake saloon to Victory Park this June. The modern, Texas-inspired concept comes from Rebees, Tristan Simon’s Dallas-based place-creation company.

A playful interpretation of a high-end, late-19th-century Dallas dining saloon, Billy Can Can will be a significant addition to the up-and-coming Victory Park neighborhood, which has undergone a major revival recently under the guidance of Trademark Property Co. and Rebees, which is overseeing food and beverage programming in the neighborhood.

Billy Can Can will be Tristan Simon’s return to the Dallas dining scene after a four-year hiatus.

The restaurant and bar has enlisted Matt Ford (Americano, CBD Provisions, Craft Dallas) as executive chef. Ford created a modern Texas menu featuring prime local ingredients like Texas-raised beef, Gulf seafood, and locally-grown produce (some of which will come from the chef’s own garden).

The true-to-Texas cuisine will draw on a “melting pot of different cultures and flavors, with Creole, Cajun, Southern, German, Czech, Midwestern and clearly Tex-Mex influences,” Ford said in a statement.

Expect unusual comfort food; highlights of the menu include Crispy Oyster Sliders on saloon-made sweet-potato rolls, Hot Fried Quail, Buffalo Tenderloin and Texas Peach Cobbler.

Of course, like any self-respecting saloon, Billy Can Can will also boast an extensive beverage program, which is led by Zach Smigiel (Midnight Rambler, Victor Tangos, The Porch). You’ll find wide selections of whiskey, tequila and mezcal, 11 beers on draught, and saloon-made sarsaparilla. Smigiel has also created a dozen original cocktails to tell the story of Billy Can Can’s adventures in Mexico and the U.S. The bar will also carry more than 20 wines by the glass and wines by the bottle, including Texas’ best.

Finally, the space has been decked out with leather banquettes, a variety of taxidermy, Art Deco lights, and a six-seat poker table to really have the old-timey saloon feel.

Billy Can Can will open Thursday, June 28 at 2386 Victory Park Lane. The restaurant will be open for dinner Sundays through Thursdays 5 pm to 10 pm and Fridays and Saturdays 5  pm to midnight.