Black Swan Saloon

HopStop

View on Large Map
Get Directions

2 people have posted a review, snapped a photo, checked in, or tipped this place. Use your voice!

+ Add Photos

00000 - 00000 of 00000

+ Add A Photo

00,000 of 00,000

2708 Elm Street Dallas, TX 75226

214-749-4848

1 User review Write A Review

Best Drink in a Plastic Cup
Award Winner 2011

Description

Deep Ellum hasn’t been known for culinary creativity, nor has it made a name for itself in the area of mixology. But Gabe Sanchez, who opened Black Swan Saloon in 2010, seeks to change all that. In 2011, he earned the coveted Dallas Observer Best of Dallas “Best Bartender? award, thanks to his proficiency with a cocktail shaker and a conversation. The bar, built into the old Thin Room, is exactly that: a long thin room with black walls and a lone flat-screen television that sits high above the bar. In the corner opposite the door sits a stage, barely big enough to hold two musicians, but that’s all the racket you need at Black Swan – just enough to pad a conversation with a little background noise.

2011 | Best Drink in a Plastic Cup

It sounds so basic, almost a little too girly, like something you'd find heavily sweetened in a martini glass. Take one sip of watermelon-infused vodka with club soda for added fizz, however, and you will never again snap-judge a drink by its fruit. It's only as sugary as it needs to be, which is hardly sweet at all, and with only enough watermelon pulp to let you know that yes, this is the fresh stuff, simple and perfect. Gabe Sanchez, bartender and proprietor, might very well be the city's... More »
2011 | Best Bar Trend

After opening with something of a whimper in the old Thin Room space amidst a flurry of other Deep Ellum bar openings back in early 2010, the Black Swan Saloon has since established itself as a go-to spot for patrons of all sorts -- an especially impressive feat considering that the watering hole doesn't even so much as boast a sign alerting walkers-by of its existence. Credit much of the bar's success to owner and main barkeep Gabe Sanchez. Aside from maybe being the best bartender in... More »
2011 | Best Bartender

"Mixologist" has always seemed such a pretentious term. Bartender wasn't good enough Did a bunch of drink-slingers attend a doctoral program in mixology at Johns Hopkins Pfft. At least we used to think that way until we met Gabe Sanchez, owner of Black Swan Saloon and winner of two other "bests" in this issue -- for introducing pickle shots to the city and creating his watermelon-infused vodka and club soda. Mixologist How about "alcohological alchemist" With its large glass jars of... More »
2010 | Best Thing That Ever Came Out Of The Ghostbar

The Black Swan Saloon is a thin sliver of a thing on Elm Street in Deep Ellum, but what it lacks in width it makes up for in depth. Figuratively and literally--the back patio's a shady place for a smoke, but Gabe, a Ghostbar ex-pat who opened the Swan this year, gives the place its soul. Behind the bar, Gabe pours little cocktails that taste a lot like sweet, sweet love--we're talking apple-cured whiskey drinks and mixes of infused vodkas fashioned from whatever Gabe picked up at... More »

Conquer Your Super Hangover

By Jamie Laughlin | Thu, February 02, 2012

Did the Super Bowl do you dirty? Are you feeling the punishing aftermath of all-day drinking? Do you feel like an injured athlete, limping off of the field? Don’t worry, player, we have a prescription for your pain: Stretch out that overextended l... More »
The State Of The Sazerac in Dallas

By Scott Reitz | Fri, October 21, 2011

I was called out on Twitter after posting a rehash of Playboy's Never Sleep:Dallas -- a guide to drinking away a Saturday in the Big D. I picked on the magazine for ordering a Manhattan, and Twitter ... More »