Brackets

I have been to Brackets on a few occasions. I most recently went over after a late show at Hyena’s (Mockingbird Station). We walked in and all of the chairs were turned up onto the tables and there was no one around but a couple of guys playing pool up front. I walked to the back and a bartender told me they closed up because they weren’t busy. Hmmm. You closed an hour before closing time because you didn’t think anyone else would come in. Not cool. Especially since I had talked this place up and got everyone excited to play ping pong. What a disappointment.
On my other visits I had a pretty good time. They do beer pong on Friday nights and get a decent crowd. I have never eaten the food, but my friends were pleased with their food. The drinks were good and service seemed to be good as well.
To me, this is a great set up. I don’t know many places that offer ping pong. It’s got a great location. So what gives?

I went to Brackets last night to watch the Heat v. Bulls — yes I know, not a very popular game in Mavlandia, but it was a good chance to check out a new bar. I liked Brackets enough. It was pretty empty when we went, but my date said that he had been there several times when it have been more poppin’. It’s got several games you can play — ping pong, pool, darts, but according to the website you have to pay to play. At least its not the über-​steep prices that I’ve seen elsewhere, and they seem to keep the place pretty clean, so I guess I just might pay $ 5 to play pool for 30 min… maybe.
More things I liked about the place — they had a garage-​door-​style wall where they could open up the whole place. And they had the sound on for the game. Though… didn’t like how with 2 minutes left in the game they cut the sound and put music on. I guess they were trying to wind things down, but really? Could they not have waited till the end of the game?

I think this place has probably change a lot in the last several months. Looks like there were a lot of negative reviews due to one manager in particular that may have been let go. We have nothing but great things to say about Brackets.
My only complaint is that every space is valet. Kind of ridiculous in this type of parking lot but it’s free except for the tip.
We went on a Sunday when you would expect a sports bar to be crowded but it wasn’t at all. There were only a handful of tables. The place is huge. When you first walk in there is a huge bar area with several tables and a shuffleboard then you go around the corner to the main dining area. Behind that you have a glass wall with 2 ping pong table, darts and fuse ball (sp??). We brought our 8-​year old daughter and had a great time. We ordered the kobe sliders to all split and 12 chicken wings. Plenty of food for the three of us. And the french fries… shoestring fries like Houstons (now Hillstone). Everyone was gobbling down the fries. My daughter even wanted more. The sliders were good with a spicy bar-​b-​que sauce and the wings were really good to. We ordered half lemon half spicy.
We used a Scout mob, each of us had a 24 oz. beer and we paid $ 23. Not bad for a fun Sunday afternoon outing! We will definitely be back but I have to say I never have noticed this place and would of never have gone had it not been for the Scout mob deal. So advertising does work!
Hope everyone gives them a chance again since it looks like they have made major changes from the inception of the restaurant. Our waitress was great too. Wish I could remember her name so I could give her Kudos!
We’ll be back to get our ping pong on!

The food here is good. I like my cowboy ribeye. Definitely will be back for more. The drinks are reasonably priced and the Pokes beat the Sooners.
Go Pokes!
PS: Was there for an Okstate watch party.

Valet were very good! very courteous
When you first walk in it looks small but they have a very large back room.
We a reservation for a booth, first the hostess didn’t acknowledge us, then she sat us a at a table even though booths were available. we asked for a booth she rolled her eyes and said they were all full. the mgr walked by and pointed out a booth
they had a live dj who thought this was a club played 90’s music WAY TOO LOUD! the servers looked liked it was their first day on the job… very confused and very slow! the food was decent but not worth a second visit.
Over all the Valet was the best part of the meal
We won’t return there are a lot of better place a few minutes away in uptown like frankies or primos
The wings were good and the pizza was tasty but very small we had the meat lovers

Went here on 7÷13÷2011 with some guys at my church and I must say I was not impressed at this place at all. First of all the parking is valet only, really?! this is a sports bar I don’t expect valet to be at a sports bar. So if you want to park then you have to park at Mockingbird station and walk across. The place is huge and they do have ping pong tables which is pretty rare to have around dallas bars. 5 bucks for 30 minutes is not bad at all although the paddles are in terrible conditions.
My buddy came early to get us happy hour pizza which was the most disgusting and greasy pizza i’ve ever ate. The pizza pan was covered in pizza grease, so don’t get the pizza. I did see the regular price menu and it looks very overprice and there was not a lot of people there, gee I wonder why. The concept failed completely with this upscale sports bar and the food taste like your run down and should be close down sports bar. They need to improve a lot especially having free parking and not force everyone to valet. I don’t trust random people with my car and keys and no I am not cheap, but valet doesn’t belong in a sports bar they belong to uptown or downtown.
Would I return? probably not unless my friends drag me here again or if I am in the mood for ping pong and beers.

Excellent place to watch a game! The volume is loud, but no complaints, was happy that I could hear the game, and they have TV’s everywhere!
The service was a little slow, but it was crowded, so was understandable.
I highly recommend the pizza… yummy!

Hold the Boat… you’re telling me this place has been here a year?!
These aren’t «brand new staff kinks?»
1 star is for the food and 1 star is for the EXTREME POTENTIAL this place has. It pains me to see such a bada$$ place do so poorly.
And by poorly I mean the service. Everyone was very nice but geeeeez… please figure out how to accommodate your customers or your place is doomed. We were there for over 3 hours and only managed to get 2 drinks. That’s how bad the service was.

I’ve never before been lectured, patronized and insulted by the manager of a restaurant — until I went to Brackets. Avoid this place at all costs, unless you enjoy paying for awful service and then being told you’re not worth better.
Last night, a friend and I tried Brackets for the first time to watch game one of the Western Conference Finals (Go Mavs!).
After waiting an hour at the bar for a salad, and watching an overwhelmed bartender take care of everyone in the restaurant except the patrons at the bar, we decided to leave. I paid my tab and left the salad (paltry, undressed and messy) untouched.
Moments after we left our seats, the restaurant manager inexplicably followed my friend and me into the parking lot. With a decidedly confrontational tone, he began to lecture us about the service industry and how difficult it is to serve so many patrons at once. (Remember: Brackets is a sports bar and the majority of the customers were there to watch the Mavs/​Thunder game and have a few drinks/​apps — maybe a burger. Nothing extraordinary.) My friend and I argued the restaurant was understaffed for such a busy night. He disagreed, intimating that we were unreasonable for expecting decent service with so many people in the restaurant.
In his five-​minute tirade, the manager never offered an apology or to comp our tabs (which would have been the least he could do). Instead, he explained that his MBA and PhD in marketing (which I don’t believe for a second) make him imminently qualified to run a restaurant.
Essentially, after we received terrible service and PAID FOR IT, this guy abandoned his managerial duties to chase us out the door to tell us off. In my book, that’s adding insult to injury.
What’s worse: Brackets bills itself as a sports bar. And it’s a huge one. One assumes the owners chose the size of the restaurant based on how many tables/​customers they thought they could serve. I believe they overestimated their ability. If they can’t handle the crowd for a weeknight game, how can they possibly handle weekends?
It’s clear to me this apple is rotten to the core. If the management has such a disdainful attitude toward customers, why would one expect the staff to be any different?
UPDATE (6÷9÷11): Word has it that the manager described above was fired as a result of a number of negative reviews here on Unilocal,and word-​of-​mouth from dissatisfied patrons. Service is important, but how you deal with unhappy customers speaks volumes about a business as a whole. It appears the ownership at Brackets has received that message.

Hmm, kinda not sure where to go on this one. I will settle on 3, because for the overall location, style and offerings of the place, it should be a 4. However, because there were more screaming kids there than at Dave and Busters on a Saturday afternoon, it should be a 2.
Yes, it is an upscale sports bar. GREAT TVs, good food, overall sleek look without going over the top. Very roomy, a nice alternative to the packed bars on McKinney, and should definitely be a place that people flock to once word gets out that there’s a new bar in town.
BUT.
(and this is a BIG but)
They (unapologetically) allow children. Not just children who sit at the table while their parents watch the game (which I can not IMAGINE why anyone would want to do this, to themselves OR others), but children who come in herds, and are allowed to roam freely, play all the bar games, and shriek mercilessly til their little hearts are content.
Apparently, HP and M Streets Carpool moms load up all the neighborhood kids, bring them to Brackets and turn them loose in the back, while they sit peacefully at (quiet) tables near the front and sip chardonnay.
This is NOT ok. It’s also not ok that when I, while hosting an event in the back area of the bar, asked politely for the manager, to ask him to ask the children to please refrain from their merciless shrieking, that he told me «It’s a game room. People are going to have fun, it’s not a quiet zone.»
Well, I get that. I didn’t expect to study for the MCAT here. I just want to have an adult conversation over an adult beverage with another adult, without being interrupted by 9 high pitched 11 year olds literally screaming at the top of their lungs every 7 seconds while bouncing ping pong balls off each other’s foreheads for pixie sticks.
Later, after ordering my 10^th glass of wine to drown out the noise, I was told by a bartender that they ask everyone under 21 to leave after 10 pm. Well guess what, I don’t know many sporting events that take place after 10 pm. So if you are looking for a cool place to watch a game, AWAY from your screaming children (that you probably left at home with a babysitter, or at least a bottle of water and a DVD), then go to Frankie’s, where the only screaming being done is by the owner, or other rabid fans.
If you are looking for a place that you can bring your son’s little league baseball team to run off all that high fructose corn syrup while you conveniently ignore the fact that they are screaming banshees, come
to Brackets.

I honestly do not understand the negative reviews of Brackets. This place is an upscale sports bar in a somewhat trendy location. The ambiance is great… I mean you don’t necessarily have to be interested in sports to like this place because it is still a very nice restaurant. The décor is above par for a sports bar.
From the outside you are led to believe this is a small space but once inside it is very spacious. There are some cool features, like the ping pong courts in the center of the space. Don’t worry about everyone watching you play because there are plenty of TVs to divert their attention. I believe there were pool tables, darts, and maybe even a wii game.
We had absolutely no problems with the service… I would imagine this was just the types of problem a place experiences when first opening. And our food was way above average for a sports bar. Buffalo wings were very meaty with a flavorful but not overpowering sauce. Tuna nachos, mac-​n-​cheese, creamed corn– all very tasty!
This would be a great place to take a group of people. I’ll be back!

Look pretty and wait.
You know somethings go well together, ping pong and booze, great pizza and a fun group of people. What can go wrong?
As you walk in from valet parking, the fake tin and pipe décor is very pronounced throughout the bar contrasted by lounge type tables. Looks very spacious, especially since it was mostly empty. Now with it being mostly empty you would expect speedy service right? Not so much.
Waiters here were very slow and sparse. Going straight to the bar didn’t get you drinks any faster. I had to wait 10 mins to even ask for a drink and there wasn’t even a line! There were maybe 9 people sitting at the bar and two bartenders. Maybe I wasn’t dressed fancy enough. Many of the patrons were in more formal biz wear, but this is supposed to be a sports bar right? Strangely two fully made up and attractive ladies sat alone on the stools on the far end evenly separated. Guys would stop by talk and then quickly leave, my spidey senses tingled.
To be honest, the place reeked of trying too hard instead of hanging out and having fun. The ping pong tables were the most interesting part of the bar. That’s where the few non-​biz dressed people hung out.
I rather just enjoy myself than wait and look pretty.

Can’t complain — went to go watch the Mavs game and had a good time with friends. Lots of open space and fun games to play — but when there’s a group of people or a party going on, it’s impossible to have your turn to play ping pong and the other games. Plus, everyone’s watching you so you kind of have to try to be good at it (hehe).
Food wasn’t too bad — try the Apple tart if you want dessert — it was surprisingly good and I was happy when they put vanilla ice cream on top! They have lots of variety on their menu and service is good too. I’ll definitely have to come back and try more of their food.

I liked Brackets, but I think this place is all about aligning expectations.
For example, when you get food on an airplane and it is warm and tastes ok, are you like «awesome — that was an unexpected surprise» or are you like“damn, the mushroom risotto at my favorite local Italian restaurant is WAAAAY better.” If you see a good street performer, are you like «that guy was good, let me give him a couple bucks» or do you say «well, his break dancing was ok, but i think Cirque du Soleil is superior.» OBVIOUSLY Vegas super-​shows and homemade pasta are better, but given the circumstances, you can be pleased with the results. All about expectations.
For me, this place is a sports bar — a much cooler Sports Bar than most I have ever been to with pretty good food, a great bar space, huge TVs, and the best selection of bar games I have seen in Dallas. When we went, however, I ordered the club sandwich and beers — pretty good, above average for a sports bar. Someone else ordered the Lobster Ravioli — not the best choice, probably worse than Olive Garden, but was that the best choice considering the venue???
Bottom line — MUCH better food + experience than any other Dallas sports bar I have been to. Plus, I really can’t talk poorly about any place that has bar shuffleboard and the *only* Ping Pong thunderdome I have ever seen.

Cool concept… huge space for games and drinks. The service was friendly and gave us the normal prices instead of the «Super Bowl» special prices… crazy! We spotted Matthew Stafford dining there too!

I agree here — the existing reviews are pretty unfairly harsh for this place. I’ve been here a few times for ping pong and finally ate tonight.
The food was good — the pizza was a little doughy and lacking in sauce, but still good. i’m sure it’s not exactly Cane Rosso — rather, he probably just sold them the rights… but I still have yet to try the original Cane Rosso.
I had the buffalo wings… they were warm but not hot — very crispy, meaty, and the perfect level of spice.
It’s a restaurant first and foremost, then a bar, then games. It’s probably the trendiest Sports bar in Dallas and I look forward to coming back! They do play sound for the big games and/​or upon request.

UPDATE: had a few more items on the menu and just not impressed with the outcome. The menu looks awesome… the final product is just not. Tweak the stuff in the kitchen and they’ll do better. Also… having drink specials from Noon-​5pm isn’t really helpful for those of us that actually work to pay for those expensive drinks. Just letting ya know.
UPDATE 2:
4^th visit here and it’s just pretty much THE SUCK. Wings are served almost cold. The pizza is probably the worst I’ve ever had. The Totino’s frozen pizza from the grocery store is 5-​star compared to theirs. Burnt and soggy with no flavor. not yummy at all.
If you want to drink and play some ping pong… HURRY to this place! I certainly don’t see it lasting too much longer. There is some really good advice in some of these reviews… it’s a shame they don’t read. How do I know they can’t read? The menu says one thing and the outcome is something totally different.

We went to Brackets for Cane Russo pizza. Big Mistake. Soggy and Burnt pizza is no bueno.
Don’t bother with Dessert. We got some fried dough balls with powder sugar and bad melted chocolate.
Not much of a beer on tap selection.
Waiter was great, but the rest sucked.

Brackets is pretty sweet. The spacious venue provides lots of seating, plenty of games, and many TVs for you to watch your team. Everything is really clean, and there is a good view into the kitchen area. It is most definitely a «Dallas» sports bar.
To go along with the upscale sports-​watching experience, the menu offerings are plentiful, unique, and very reasonably priced. The food is better than average bar fare, but it is not too trendy. The standard pub grub items run around $ 10 – 15, and the portions are huge.
They serve Cane Rosso pizza, which is a very sought-​after pie. CR pizzas are normally served at various locations a few days a week, so finally having a set location to cook these puppies is good. CR is actually going to open their own restaurant in Deep Ellum soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
The $ 10 Kobe burger is pretty killer. The burger goes overboard on fancy toppings, but I am not going to complain since the taste overload comes at a cheap price. The following are on the burger: an onion ring, blue cheese, peppers, panchetta, arugula, avocado, and basil mustard.
The matchstick fries are thin, and the mustard aioli is pungent and creamy. The mac and cheese has 5 different cheeses, and it has a nice creaminess. It is a bit light on flavor, but the breadcrumb crust and $ 4 price tag make up for it.
The calzone is a filling choice for $ 10, and it has great textures. The crust is tender and dense, and the filling is moist and cheesy. Although the inside has a lot of liquid bubbling, the hearty and nicely crisped crust hold all of that softness in.
If you are simply looking for no-​frills food, this is a great place for good eatin’ without having to get dressed up. You can even catch a game with your meal.

I came here for a work function, and was not impressed. I really prefer store bought pizza to theirs (it was crunchy, burnt in places, and not fresh tasting). The garlic rolls were good, but that’s not enough to make me go. The dessert (some fried dough thing) was also good, but there are much better places to go when I just want dessert. The service was spotty, though friendly when we got their attention. The wine list only featured a handful of wines by the glass, which is sort of annoying.
Basically, the food is not good enough to make me go for dinner, and the drinks are not cheap enough to make me go watch a game there.
I guess the ping-​pong table and whatnot are cool but I personally don’t get the inkling to play when I go out. Brackets is just not my place. I miss Trader Vic’s!