Cowboys Red River

I love dancing at this place! The music is excellent. Live band! The dance floor is one of the best I’ve seen. I wish it didn’t get so crowded, but that’s a good sign, right? The lessons are FREE and so so helpful! Love Gene’s technical and comical approach.

This place is pretty awesome, the dance floor is fun. The overall vibe is very exciting. Bouncers are pretty chill and they let Veterans in for free. soild place.

This place is HUGE. I, for some reason, had never been to Cowboys Red River, so my husband and I went with friends for a birthday. We were able to reserve a little seating area for our crew fairly close to the day of the event. I think this place is a hit for a few reasons, the music live or the dj is all relevant or familiar, the atmosphere is very clean and taken care of and the drinks are relatively inexpensive compared to other places in Dallas.
I was impressed by the service of the bar tenders. They were very quick and efficient.

I’m not a huge fan of this place but I will say that the drinks are incredibly cheap (especially during happy hour) and the girls who work the bars are very sweet and incredibly skilled bartenders.

While I am by no means a fan of country music or honky tonks, I will try just about anything for a friend. My friend’s birthday came up and she mentioned boot scooting’ boogie after dinner. In my head I had already planned on making an exit after dinner and looking at the pictures on social media. Then my friend begged me to come and I reluctantly agreed to go for a just a bit.
Parking was very easy to find and cover was $ 8. After having our IDs checked and paying, we walked in and found a table. This place is huge and I think has Billy Bob’s beat out for being the largest honky tonk. Surprisingly we found a table easily so we could scope out the place. As we sat down, one of the few country songs I know was played by the cover band and I sang along. My friend wanted to dance so she went off to the dance floor and I just kind of hung around people watching.
Cowboys Red River is fun, even if you are not a big fan of country music like myself. My friend dragged me to the dance floor for a little line dancing and I actually learned a routine. While my motive might have been to not get my toes stepped on anymore, I still mastered the line dance.
The bar is easy to navigate and drinks come relatively quickly. I was also surprised at how reasonable the drink prices were, as most places have drinks with prices way marked up. Employees are friendly and constantly walking around to pick up discarded glasses. I bet they appreciate that at the end of the night when they don’t have as much to clean up. To top it all off, they have a soap lady in the women’s bathroom who helps drunk girls get soap and towels for tips.
Honky tonks aren’t my favorite place to go but I would definitely go back to try out a ladies night. The video advertisements of ladies night looked quite fun and entertaining.

If you like country music in a nightclub scene this place is for you. I’ve only been once but it was pretty cool, like something you’d picture in a country movie. I’ll return the next time I’m in the area.

I’m from San Francisco and currently hang my hat in Los Angeles. I had never two stepped before and was nervous about whether me and tattoos/​septum piercing and perhaps obvious lack of knowledge on the country dance floor would be a recipe for an awkward time.
I had the most amazing night! Two stepping is fairly a simple and fun. I love dancing but am used to fighting off groper weirdos who have had too many drinks. This place was awesome because I was able to get my dance on and now get creeped on by a weirdo once. I was lucky enough to meet a really nice guy (who happened to be an actual cowboy-​like ropes calfs and everything) and dance with him pretty much all night.
I think it’s a cool, welcoming environment and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys partner dancing and just looking to have a good time.
I’ll mosey on through when I’m back in town!

WELCOME TO TEXAS COUNTRY! :)
I went on a Friday night for a FREE two-​steppin’ lesson and boy am I glad I went! It was my first time learning to two-​step and I’ve lived in the area for close to 17 years!
The lesson started at 7pm and lasted til 830 or 9 including the basic and intermediate lesson. I stayed for both and the intermediate lesson is not too hard which is nice for the beginner.
It was a lot better than I had imagined it, had a blast, and made a new friend. :)
I still yet have to ride the mechanical bull… next time…

Having been both to red river and billy bobs. Red river is my choice. There is no smoking inside, it’s well ac’ed, and a good size building. We came on a Thursday night for the free dances lessons; we ended up at the bar drinking $ 2.50 coors light. We’re beginners at best, and needed more one on one coaching, so sat it out. We went out for dinner and got back to red river at 11pm and the place was packed. It was awesome, live band, good sound. Played Cupid shuffle and those kinda songs too, it did get a little hip hop at one stage, but everyone was having a good time on the dance floor. $ 2.50 coors all night Thursday’s too.

Love dancing here but watch out for the bartenders. Pay with cash only, count your change. If you must use a CC keep your receipt and take a picture of what you give back to them. They will add extra to the tip.

Cowboys Red River is a great time! The dance lessons are helpful and everyone is really nice. Thursday nights are a big crowd and we also went on Saturday which had a good turn out. The live music was great, the dancing was fun, and the crowd was great. Definitely recommended!

Friends in town from New England?
Plan on a cowboys red river night. This is an experience. People are pretty friendly. Drinks are pretty cheap. They have a race track style dance floor! If you are looking to dance I’d recommend bringing a dance partner or dancing with your friends. A couple guys came over and asked girls in our group to dance, but it was mostly a lot of people watching. I’d recommend going somewhere else before and stopping by later in the evening when the activity picks up!

Visiting Texas wouldn’t be complete without a visit to an authentic honky-​tonk dance hall with live country music and a fully stocked bar. So, I surfed the internet and found the Cowboys Red River — it looked like the real deal and they even had a mechanical bull! ($ 5 to ride btw).
They’re not open everyday, (Thursday to Saturday methinks) but on Friday nights patrons can enter free before 8pm (otherwise it’s a $ 8 cover) and everyone is welcomed to participate in a free partner dance lesson from 7:00pm-8:30pm! 7:00 — 8:00 is an introduction and 8:00 — 8:30 is an intermediate lesson where you learn more complicated sequences. Yeah, my boyfriend and I struggled with getting the basics down, but we had a great time and loved the enthusiastic atmosphere.
On my trip I also noticed that half the belly bars were decorated with balloons, so I assumed that a special birthday boy or girl was celebrating in an epic way. The venue is huge, so if you’re thinking of a location to host an awesome party, this dance hall should definitely be a contender!

This is a real cool place! I’m from Wichita Falls but have had the pleasure of coming here twice now… The first of which I had the awkward opportunity to see my aunt dance on the bar. Haha.
It has a few bar areas which make it easy to get a hold of your beverage of choice. The really cool part is the stage for the live band and then the dance floor that circles the largest bar. It’s a real unique set up.
My wife and I love to dance so taking advantage of the dance floor is a must. We came here after the Rangers game on the 4^th of July and got here at 12:50 am. We still had to pay an $ 8 cover each when the establishment was going to be open only for another hour. That was pretty disappointing and seemed kind of greedy of the establishment but I assume they have to make their money.
Regardless, this is easily a 4 star dancehall.

The honky-​tonk stereotype and the commercial strength of Dallas got together and made a baby.
Perks
— The free dance lessons! Blake Elder is a great instructor, especially given the number of newbies (myself included) coming in for their first country dancing lesson. He brings so much energy and structure to the lessons that you feel comfortable scootin’ across the dance floor.
— The scale of this place leaves no shortage of potential dance partners. However, expect that about 50% of follows will say «no» to a dance. The culture here is very different from swing dancing where a polite and non-​creepy lead is almost never declined. No big deal. Just expect it.
— It’s a bar, so of course the alcohol is a plus. Is that bottle of Shiner or Blue Moon overpriced at $ 4.75? Not terribly so. They also have various drink specials based on the night.
— Live music really adds to the atmosphere of this place. The house band puts a lot of energy into the room, and the lead singer’s voice sounds like something I could hear on a country radio station.
— No cover on the Thursday night that I went. Keep in mind, I arrived at 7pm for the lesson.
Drawbacks
— The cattle herd. This place becomes far too crowded later in the night. To borrow a term from the instructor, «battle conditions» get pretty rough as you have to navigate a very crowded floor around 11pm onwards. Be warned! Again, get there early if you are coming for the dancing. When I left at midnight, there were probably 75+ people lined up outside. Also, maybe park far away when you get there so you don’t have to deal with the shark tank when leaving.
— Ladies’ night is code for gender discrimination. This irks me, but get there early enough on a Thursday to avoid cover.
Overall, you can have a lot of fun at this place if you come for the dancing.

This place is awesome if you are looking to learn how to 2 step. Nice and cleaner cut crowd then most clubs. When I go there I can dance the whole night! They also have great staff. I have had my note 4 fall out of my pocket a couple of times and every time someone returned it. There’s dance lesson nights on Wednesdays I believe, ladies night (free) Thursday, and Friday and Saturday they have a great live band that plays and the dance floor is fun. They also have tables to sit at, pool and a mechanical bull. Definitely have a great time here! Oh also they play some pop music for a bit later at night, so it’s not always country.

Great place, good company and cheap drinks!
Enough room to keep people from sticking to each other. Also, the live music is a plus.

Good place to go dancing. My girlfriend loves this place and she had to reach me to dance. The atmosphere is very energetic. The music mixes it up quite a bit which is nice.
Excellent place for couples

Great live music! The place is HUGE! A Nascar sized dance floor. I was there for work travel and truly enjoyed a great night out in Dallas.

Very cool and authentic Texas place. Great music and I enjoyed the dance floor.
Cheap beers and they even played some non-​country stuff to spice it up.