Evelyn Is Dallas’s New Steakhouse With ‘Feminine Energy’ and Plenty of Selfies

Welcome to the Scene Report, a column in which Eater captures the vibe of a notable Texas restaurant at a specific moment in time.

Before Evelyn debuted in late March, it was one of the most hyped restaurant openings of the year, especially among the young and social set. That’s partly due to mounds of media coverage and glitzy social media posts that showcased attractive people in a visually appealing space, promising to bring diners back to Hollywood’s golden age.

In a city as steak-heavy as Dallas, there’s plenty of room to color outside the usual red-meat-and-mahogany box, and the team behind Evelyn didn’t want to create another stuffy steakhouse, ICRAVE design manager Lisa Johnson tells Eater Dallas. Instead, they wanted a restaurant that exuded “striking feminine energy,” offering a vibey dining experience with good music and space to dance. So Dallas-based Reach Hospitality, the group behind the Mexican, Black Tap, and Pie Tap, hired ICRAVE, the firm responsible for big-name restaurants including Catch and STK, to rethink the classic steakhouse experience. In this case, that translated into a lot of soft upholstery, blush tones, and artwork featuring women — some portraits depicting faces, others snapshots of clothed bodies dancing, clinking glasses, and crossing their legs.

The goal for the menu was to capture the essence of classic Hollywood steakhouses, with steaks, seafood, martinis, and wine. But how does Evelyn’s substance stack up to its style? Eater Dallas paid the Design District restaurant a visit to find out.

The Piano Room at Evelyn.

Kevin Gray

The Vibe

Evelyn is more than just the name; it’s an homage to a fictional Hollywood starlet, Johnson says. “We developed the persona around Evelyn,” she explains. “You’re never fully exposed to her identity, but you get hints of her throughout the space,” which features three separate rooms and a choose-your-own-adventure feel.

Enter through the Ruby Room, a red and gold bar area that welcomes diners with tables flanking an oval-shaped bar. The Piano Room, a more subdued dining area featuring an actual piano, welcomes diners with inviting rose-colored banquettes and soft music playing on the sound system. Photographs line the walls depicting a coquettish Evelyn, or parts of her — a leg in one shot, lips in another. Room Seven, the most high-energy space, features a dining area with a separate bar, a massive disco ball hanging overhead, and room for people to drink, mingle, and dance.

From its multi-room setup to the music and design, Evelyn is built for fun and photos. When my wife and I visited at 8 p.m. for dinner on a Friday around six weeks after its opening, the bar buzzed with people, and nearly every table was full. Women noticeably outnumbered men, with several groups seemingly there to celebrate bachelorette parties or birthdays. Others seemed to be there to simply enjoy the ambiance as they sipped cocktails, dined on oysters and steak, and snapped photos. Some, however, looked lost. At one point, three men in polos wandered up to the bar, ordered beers, and exchanged confused glances, perhaps realizing this wasn’t the scene they imagined. They slipped out after one drink.