"I want Docent to become a restaurant people return to for the big milestones, but also the regular nights in between." Rhea Knight, general manager of the new Docent Steak, told CW33 ahead of the restaurant's October 1 opening in the Harwood District. Her goal matters because of what happened six weeks earlier, a few doors away.
In August, Harwood Hospitality closed four of its Uptown concepts at once: Elephant East, Poco Fiasco, Tequila Social and Dolce Riviera. Most of what went away was the district's easygoing, walk-in, patio-first layer. Docent, the replacement, starts its prime steaks at $72. The casual night out hasn't left the district. It now depends on the clock: it lives in weekday happy-hour windows at the venues that have been here longest, and on one floor of the new steakhouse.
What Closed, and What the Closures Had in Common
Each of the four had its own personality. Elephant East opened in 2021 behind the large elephant on McKinnon Street. Poco Fiasco arrived in 2022 with a pizza window, build-your-own martinis and a happy hour of $6 bites and $7 to $8 cocktails. Dolce Riviera first opened in 2016, closed during the pandemic and came back in May 2022 with a new patio and a bar called Parlor. Tequila Social opened in summer 2023 with a courtyard that seated 200.
Tequila Social's closing was planned in advance. According to the Dallas Observer's August 24 report, the ground floor at 3100 McKinnon Street was already slated for redevelopment. Harwood International kept the restaurant open through the four weeks of World Cup matches in Dallas and closed it on Friday, August 21.
The company described the move as 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 Harwood spokesperson told the Observer. When the Observer reported the closures in late August, it said what would come next in this part of Uptown had not yet been decided. The phrase "conversions to amenities" leaves open the possibility that some of these storefronts will stop being restaurants altogether.
PaperCity counted about 15 culinary concepts in the district before the closures and 10 afterward. Docent is the eleventh.
Docent Was Built With Two Speeds
Docent sits at 2801 N. Harwood Street in Harwood No. 14, the building designed by Kengo Kuma, and Harwood Hospitality first announced it more than two years ago. The main dining room is the formal one, with white tablecloths and direct access to a wraparound patio. The lower level is described as more casual and lively, with televisions. Private dining rooms hold up to 80 guests.
The upstairs room is the reason for the press coverage. The menu is built on HWD Beef, the Akaushi program Harwood developed with ranchers in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico for Stillwell's. It uses the whole animal. Docent is also a designated member of the Kobe Beef Marketing & Distribution Promotion Association. That lets it serve authentic Kobe beef, A5 Wagyu from Japan by the ounce, and a rotating flight of five Kobe cuts. Dry-aged Texas Wagyu starts at $85.
The lower level is the part that matters for a regular weeknight. Under Knight's stated goal, a room with televisions beneath a Kobe dining room is how the restaurant plans to fill "the regular nights in between." Docent's own hours page lists Monday through Thursday from 4 to 10 p.m., Friday from 4 to 11 p.m., Saturday from 5 to 11 p.m., and Sunday from 5 to 10 p.m. Reservations are taken through OpenTable. For arrival, Docent's location page lists valet drop-off on Harry Hines Boulevard and a separate rideshare drop-off at 2813 N. Harwood Street.
The Old Price Point Survived at the Old Pubs
The best comparison is Poco Fiasco's happy hour, with bites at $6 and cocktails at $7 to $8. Those prices are still easy to find in the district, though only during set hours.
Harwood Arms, at 2823 McKinnon Street, runs happy hour Monday through Thursday from 4 to 7 p.m. and Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. It offers $7 bites and drinks, $6 wine and well drinks, and $1 off draft beer. That is essentially the Poco Fiasco price list in a different building. The pub is open until 2 a.m. every night.
Happiest Hour, at 2616 Olive Street, runs weekday happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. with half-price "Happytizers" and $7 select cocktails, beer and wine. It is also the district venue that kept drawing crowds through the summer. The Observer reported in July that fans packed the bar for a World Cup match and ranked it sixth among U.S. bars visited during the tournament.
Mercat Bistro, at 2501 N. Harwood Street, Suite 225, offers the district's earliest after-work window. Its happy hour runs weekdays from 2:30 to 5 p.m. The menu includes $2 oysters, $6 ricotta and honey, $6 blistered shishito peppers and $7 beef tartare. Mercat also serves weekday breakfast from 7 a.m., which few places in the district do.
For daytime, Magnolias Sous Le Pont at 2727 N. Harwood Street lists daily hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., a 4 to 5 p.m. happy hour, and online pickup ordering. NDA American Brasserie at 2801 N. Harwood Street was still taking reservations this week for weekday breakfast, lunch, happy hour and dinner.
Put those hours side by side and the new pattern is easy to see:
| Venue | Address | Lower-price window | Sample prices |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mercat Bistro | 2501 N. Harwood St., Ste. 225 | Weekdays 2:30–5 p.m. | $2 oysters, $6–$7 bites |
| Magnolias Sous Le Pont | 2727 N. Harwood St. | Daily 4–5 p.m. | Café menu, pickup available |
| Happiest Hour | 2616 Olive St. | Weekdays 4–6 p.m. | Half-price Happytizers, $7 select drinks |
| Harwood Arms | 2823 McKinnon St. | Mon–Thu 4–7 p.m., Fri 11 a.m.–7 p.m. | $7 bites and drinks, $6 wine and wells |
| Docent Steak, lower level | 2801 N. Harwood St. | Opens 4 p.m. Mon–Fri | Casual floor with TVs; steaks from $72 |
Before 7 p.m. on a weekday, a guest can still eat and drink around the district for about what Poco Fiasco used to charge. After 7, and on most of the weekend, the remaining choices cost more or are sit-down meals. The big outdoor patios that served the walk-in crowd at any hour, including Tequila Social's 200-seat courtyard, are the part of the district that has not been replaced.
The Museum That Connects the District
The new steakhouse also explains how the district fits together. Harwood International is owned by the Barbier-Mueller family, and more than 100 pieces from the family's collection of art and cultural objects now furnish Docent's dining rooms. The pieces include 16th-century sculpture, armor, textiles and equestrian artifacts.
The rest of that collection is a few blocks away at the Ann & Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Museum: The Samurai Collection, 2501 N. Harwood Street. Admission is free, and the current exhibition is IRON MEN: The Artistry of Iron in Samurai Armor. The museum's own ticket page lists Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. A district page lists Wednesday through Sunday, so check the timed-ticket calendar before going.
The museum's After-Hours Cocktail Tour links the collection directly to the restaurants. It runs on select dates, costs $40, and includes a cocktail and a $25 Harwood District dining voucher. For a resident who wants a planned evening out without a milestone-sized bill, a free exhibition followed by a happy hour two blocks away may be the district's best option this fall.
On the October Calendar
The district's remaining bars already have dates on the calendar this month, and two Uptown-wide events fall nearby:
- October 10: Rivalry Weekend at Happiest Hour.
- October 15: Taste of the Trolley at the Fashion Industry Gallery, 6 to 10 p.m.
- October 30: Uptown Dallas Block Party at 2950 Cityplace West Blvd., 6 to 10 p.m., hosted by Uptown Dallas Inc.
- October 31: Halloween at the pub, Harwood Arms.
The Observer expects more openings from Harwood Hospitality "going into the new year" as the company reworks its roster. Until those concepts and the 3100 McKinnon redevelopment are announced, the clearest guide to an ordinary weeknight in the Harwood District is the set of happy-hour windows in the table above.
Changes like the Harwood District's reinvestment shape how Uptown buildings and blocks are valued, sometimes long before the new tenants arrive. If you own nearby and want to know how this round of changes affects your property, Christian Smith Real Estate Group can walk you through it. Request Your Personalized Home Valuation.
