Catbird Is One of The Coolest New Spots to Grab a Cocktail in Dallas

The minute the elevator doors open up on level 9C of the new Thompson Hotel at The National (housed in George Dahl’s carefully restored mid-century masterpiece), you’ll immediately feel like you’re at a new Dallas hot spot. Catbird is the downtown Dallas hotel’s debut cocktail lounge led by Jeramie Robison (formerly of Uchi and The Rosewood Mansion) and it is truly something.

Designed by Caroline Todd of Todd Interiors and Cindy Zelazny of Interiors Ltd., the entrance, bar area, and semi-private lounge areas of Catbird completely dazzle with lush fabrics, glossy finishes, and a glam, Art Deco style that nods to the well-preserved building’s history. A massive, glittering Russian nesting doll sporting Coco Chanel marks the entrance of two small private lounge rooms tucked away on one side of the room. The sprawling outdoor terrace features a large fireplace and intimate views of the northern side of downtown Dallas, with plenty of spaced out seating beneath a canopy of twinkling lights and holly.

The cocktail menu at Catbird keeps it simple with nine classic drinks including Palomas, French 75s, and Negronis. You can order the traditional version or their “Catbird” counterpart — the restaurant offers thoughtful additions like passionfruit in the Collins or ginger and agave lime in the Penicillin. Or go totally original with the signature Catbird cocktail — a Cazadores Anejo-based drink topped with grapefruit foam.

The highly edited food menu is intended to be shared. Snacks like creamed poblano dip come with warm kettle potato chips for dipping and Castelvetrano olives make great light bites to sip cocktails with. If you’re looking to have dinner, I recommend ordering a mix of the Dallas hot chicken mini sandwiches, seared Yellowtail, pork skewers, or miso salmon to share. The assortment of sweets for dessert is also a can’t-miss at Catbird. It comes with two of each of pumpkin Whoopie pies, mini s’mores, and delightfully airy meringues.