The Tradewinds Social Club

Typical dive bar. Parking lot is extremely small and bad surfacing. Believe there are a few others businesses around the bar you can park if it fills up. Took a long time to get 2 beers we ordered. You could hardly tell any alcohol was in the mixed drink as they filled it in a tall glass meant for cokes. So the little bit of alcohol got drowned out by the mixer. Was a friendly atmosphere, though even though a rough crowd can be in there at times.

The divest of dive I’ve been to. It was dingy but a friendly atmosphere. There weren’t a lot of people when we came to visit but heck they were very friendly in there. The bar is situated in the middle of both rooms. One side have most of the sitting while the other side had a few tables, a spot for karaōke and a couch. If you use a card to pay for drink it has to have at least $ 10 charge before you can close it. Drinks are cheap, so if you plan on only having only a couple make sure to bring cash.

This place is the best dive bar I have been to in a minute. It’s got a teeny tiny parking lot, but if the lot is full, you can definitely park down the street and walk over.
As for the joint itself, it’s a small, nondescript building. Inside, bistro style tables are dispersed throughout the main area and the bar itself is cozy with cushioned stools and a lifted step to use as a foot rest. The room is bordered with Christmas lights in varying colors and the music is jukebox selected. Minimal AC, so oscillating fans move lazily under the friendly lights. There’s pool, shuffleboard, and darts, and a small patio out back that you can smoke on. We stopped in on a Sunday night, so the place was pretty vacant. It was chill.
Mixed drinks are served in jar glasses, which was an unexpected touch I appreciated. I am unsure of our bartender’s name, but she was super kind and went out of her way to accommodate us. Walking up as a first timer, I have to say I was nervous about whether or not the bathrooms would be clean, but I’m pleased to say they were exceptionally clean (and well lit). All in all, I had a great experience at this bar and would love to come back for drinks, pizza, a live show, or all three. Check it out!

This Bar is fun don’t get me wrong… But the high rating led me astray… I guess when I see a high rating I expect just a tad more… even from the diviest bars.

To quote that sage philosopher Toby Keith, «I love this bar.»
No pretense, no singles pickups, no brunch, none of those $ 1000 millionaires you find all over Dallas. Just a nice, dark place with tall, cool drinks at low prices.
I go to a bar to DRINK, not to show off. And this place fits the bill.
Posers need not apply.

Cheap drinks, and a very cozy (size wise) atmosphere. This is just what I’m looking for when I want to get away from the Uptown «meat market» bars. Everyone here just comes to enjoy a couple of drinks have light conversation.
The drinks are usually very strong but the alcohol selection is slightly limited. But this should be expected, it’s a dive bar, and a dang good one.
The most recent addition is a covered patio in the back. They even put some «sky light» type panels to let the sun in.
I have yet to try the pizza but I really really want to. I’ve only heard good things about it.
This is one of those places that has serious regulars, like, they come every night kind of regulars but new faces are always welcome :)

We came because there was reportedly a pop-​up ramen bar here, and we wanted to check it out. Ditch the ramen, but come here for the crowd. Five dollars for a measly bowl that wasn’t good and an undercooked egg. Ugh. Not worth it.
This is the dive bar of dive bars. Cigarette smokers out in the back-​ish sort of patio, a band playing Jimi Hendrix and The Cure, and big men with hair in oiled curly ponytails wearing wolf shirts. There are bags of potato chips laying around everywhere to sate your drunk-​food needs, and what seemed like the remnants of a burger/​hot dog table. There was only cheese, lettuce and tomatoes left, and it could just imagine the listeria crawling all over the food.
I think I would’ve had more fun if it wasn’t for the Uptown girls and hipsters sulking in the corners, only here for the subpar ramen. I made fun of a guy for smoking an e-​cigarette for five minutes.

I will make this short and sweet. If you want a red Solo cup full of Jack Daniel’s (and I am sure whatever other liquor you can put in one) for a measly $ 4… then get your butt down here!
Place was packed and dimly lit, making for a very interesting time!

An authentic dive bar. Superb. Something I can always appreciate, since the bougie socialites of Dallas are now tiring of looking rich. Great place for people to talk. Something I wish we could all do more of. Coolest staff. Top 5 staff in all of Dallas. Not even kidding. Shuffleboard is slanted so that the pucks curve super far. Kinda cool to play on actually. Only thing that could be better is good draft beer. C’mon. This is Dallas. There are breweries up and down every street these days.

Out of the way, no signage, cheap drinks, wobbly tables, free shuffleboard, parking lot, 24-​hour taco shop surrounded, gas station across the street, legit dive bar. If you want to stop by, it’s the building right before Gino’s when you’re driving west down Davis.

This bar is a lot further from Bishop Arts than I had thought. It’s in the middle of nowhere with a make shift parking lot on top of a hill. If you can imagine a dirtier version of the Double Wide that’s what this bar reminded me of, with just about the same amounts of tattoos.
My friend and I sat on the side of the bar that looks like you’re in someone’s living room. They had a DJ who was awesome, and then two bands played. Very tight quarters but made for a fun time. I was sitting at the corner of the bar and the singer of one of the bands walked over and serenaded me for a few seconds. Pretty cool.
My friend and I split a pizza that came out on an old school cafeteria tray. The pizza was pretty good. Kind of blander than what I like, but tasted fresh.
I stuck with Lone Star all night and had a cheap tab when I left. The two bartenders working were busting their asses getting drinks out.
Since this place is off the radar I don’t know how often I’ll be here, but I’m going to make a mental note to check out the calendar to see if other bands I like will be playing here. Last night was good times.

This place is one heck of a cool dive bar. I like the division of the place. One side has pool tables, shuffleboard, and tables to sit and chill. The other side has a small dance floor, a super comfy couch, and a spot perfect for a DJ. There is even a small patio out back.
The bartender, Melissa, is a load of fun. She danced it up a bit with some of the patrons between trips to the kitchen the last time I was there. Nice to see her enthusiasm, and she pours good drinks, too.
Parking can be tricky at times, but like Allison said, you can park at the Church next door. I’m sure ‘Jesus’ won’t mind.

Relaxing, low-​key, atmosphere. Great tunes on the juke box. I loved the ‘bar food’- the pizza reminded me of the pies of the northeast-​fresh, with toppin’s o’ plenty to keep you coming back for a different concoction each time. Melissa, the bar keep of the night, nonchalantly poured the ‘healthy’ drinks while crackin’ up with regulars-​all the regulars make you feel welcome as if you were one of them.
Go with no expectations and you too will be wildly/​overwhelmingly impressed.

Dive Bars 101
Pros & Suggestions
Stiff Drinks
Jello Shots for $ 2 (everynite)
Bartenders dancing with patrons
Karaōke (this could also be viewed as con depending on the singer)
Erotic games
Security camera in the parking lot to make sure you don’t get jacked
PBR
Hungry for a little snack? No worries, bags of chips readily available.
Order a shot. They’ll make you a double without asking for it.
Pool table & Shuffleboard
Can’t find parking in the lot? Park at the Church next door, they will pray for you the next day.
Everyone is having a great time. I mean it. Everyone.
You won’t find Miss 25 Year old with Daddy’s credit card.
Stiff Drinks
Cons & Warnings
Creepy old men eye raping you
Congratulations! You have just completed Allison’s Dive Bars 101. Please proceed to Tradewinds for your final test.

The fact that you’re afraid to get out of your car when you get there, and there are no windows to the outside, almost no signage advertising itself outside, puts it squarely in old school dive territory. You’ll find no yuppies or tourists in this joint.
The pizza was amazingly good; wasn’t really expecting that given the overall ambience. Thin, handmade crust, with fresh herbs and vegetables. Our drinks were strong and cheap. Plus, the TABC made a surprise appearance on our first visit, just adding to the experience. (disclosure: everything checked out OK and the bar was not in violation — but still, kind of exciting!)
If this place were closer to my house, I’d show up more often. As it is, will stay on my list of places to re-​visit periodically.

Definitely a fan. I’ve been here several times on Monday nights because my friend’s husband spins records here AND it’s service industry night. First drink is free!
You’ll miss it if you aren’t looking for it. It’s in a tiny white, non-​descript building on Davis, and I think the only sign is on the door. The decorations and furniture are very thrifty, but they make up for it with friendly regulars and cheap drinks. The pizza ain’t half bad either. The bartender is the nicest guy. The second time I came in, he had my Shiner ready for me.
I haven’t been on other nights, but I always see their events on Facebook. The owner and managers make a point of trying to hold fun and interesting events (movie nights, live music, DJs). The times I’ve been it hasn’t been super packed, which is a good thing, because I like to actually have conversations with my friends. There is a pool table, some couches, and they’ve tossed a few chairs out back for the smokers. The laid-​back atmosphere really makes it feel like you are in a friend’s apartment, just hanging out. Good job, Tradewinds!

Utterly disappointing…
Hot on Unilocal + all the great reviews = sheer disappointment.
What are the elements of a «good» dive bar? To me, something… anything unique… there are just too many bars in the world that haven’t spent money upgrading anything, are located in the shittiest locations, and have sparse, mostly unexciting crowds… I don’t know why this has suddenly struck a chord.
Tradewinds Social Club is not even in the Bishops Art District… it takes even more work to get to… and it’s not located around anything you would remotely want to visit.
The first thing I noticed was the mildew smell from the carpet. We went on a Thursday night around 11pm… there were maybe 6 people there. We ordered the supposedly strong drinks… my friend was happy with his dewars and soda, but my whiskey and coke for the same price did not come close to toxicity of the drinks at the Loon.
There are plenty of «dive bars» that are more conveniently located and have better crowds… all of Lakewood, for instance. The Loon serves strong drinks… the Marquis II in Houston serves famously strong Long Island Ice Teas… the Slip Inn plays great hip hop… yes, these are popular, and the Slip Inn is more of a club than a bar, but there is a reason they are popular.
Maybe I came on the wrong night but I would say don’t waste your time… there is nothing intentionally cool or unique about this place… it’s just old, smelly and poorly located.

Long live Tradewinds: King of the Dallas dive bars!
It’s dirty and grimy and you *might* wanna dig out that old Club for your steering wheel before you leave your car on the «cliff» parking lot ’round back.
Inside, you’ll find a mix of people almost as random and mismatched as the glasses they use to house their perfectly poured, and perfectly cheap cocktails.
On the night of my first visit — a DJ was spinning, the pool and shuffleboard tables were in hot rotation AND you could jump-​in on friendly discussions, ranging from the last season of Lost to Art Nouveau-​inspired tattoos, outside in their designated smoking area… ahem — I *believe* someone had strung together a few U-​haul moving blankets to create the intimate, enclosed smoking space; but don’t you worry your freshly highlighted head, dear suburbanites –I’m *sure* it’s up to code!
All HAIL, Tradewinds! You’ve done well to earn that rusty crown.

Wait… are you SURE we’re in Dallas? Because this place is the bomb diggity dot com slash bag of chips slash a cherry on top. What a delicious divey surprise I found this weekend!
After gawking at boobies and nipple tassles at the Dallas Burlesque Festival in the OC, I wasn’t quite ready to head home. But where to go? I wanted something local, dark, low key, cheap, and off the beaten path…
Enter Tradewinds. The discreet, shabby white building does nothing to reveal its hidden treasures inside. Park in the muddy lot next door, and stumble down the rocky path in your heels. Inside you’ll find a pool table, shuffleboard, bizarre-​lookin’ regulars, nice bartenders, and random furniture.
There is some very Denton-​esque DJ and artsy fartsy projections happening in the back room on the weekends. The people back there were a delightful mix of SMU frat boys and Dallas hipsters sexily dancing.
I also love that you get a random glass when you order a drink. Mismatched glasses show personality, just like Grandma’s attic. No draft beer, but they have Schlitz in a can!!! What more could a girl want?
The only downside for my night? They were out of wine, and I heard they offer great big glasses of wine for cheap. But the fact that they offer wine… mmmm Momma like! Hello, Tradewinds. I think you have a new BFF. See ya around…

DISCLAIMER: This is the diviest dive I have been to yet. It is on the corner of Carjack and Hold up, but is FANTASMAGORIC!!!
This place is nestled in a small white building off of Davis, just about 3 miles west of Bishop Arts. Blink and you will miss it as there are no big signs announcing its presence. We pulled in, held our breath and prepared for the worst. We had no idea the mecca of delight that we were about to embark on. It is very dark, small, very small, there is a pool table and shuffle board and 2 dart boards. A man with dreads and a woman calling herself DJ Sistalove took turns spinning the beats. We read there was karaōke, but I think that is Saturday nights only.
My friend ordered a vodka and 7…$ 3…strong pour. I had a glass of their house Cabernet (Woodbridge). They presented me with a GIANT goblet (fit for the Princess I am) filled to the brim…$ 4. I think I’m in love. The décor is the most random assortment of crap I have ever seen, and I am pretty sure there was a parachute on the ceiling to cover up whatever black mold is growing there currently. At one point DJ Sistalove started spinning a version of «Eleanore» by the Turtles. I about fainted.
Trade winds, gee, I think you’re swell, and you really do me well, you’re my pride and joy et cetera…
Sidenote– if you even get this Turtles reference, you may be my soulmate.