Hillside Tavern serves up the best bologna sandwich

Photography by Kathy Tran.

Hillside Tavern is the neighborhood bar that’s a perfect fit for Lakewood.

Co-owners and brothers Brooks and Bradley Anderson opened the restaurant in April with co-owner and chef, Nathan Tate.

The brothers are attorneys who operate Anderson & Anderson LLP on Greenville Avenue. They credit their interest in food to their French grandmother, a “foodie” before foodies existed.

She served multicourse meals with lamb, oysters, caviar and mussels. That sparked the Andersons’ love for food and drink. The brothers admit enjoying wine at a young age.

“When Brooks and I went away to school, we always found ourselves talking about opening a bar and talking about what the latest restaurant that opened was,” Bradley says.

While practicing law, they found opportunities to venture into the food and beverage industry. They first opened Veritas Wine Room in Knox-Henderson, then Boulevardier in the Bishop Arts District and Rapscallion on Lowest Greenville.

“We had done the two restaurants and decided we wanted to try more of a neighborhood tavern, a little more bar focus,” Brooks says.

Enter Hillside Tavern, starring chef Tate.

“We have one of the best griddled burgers in Dallas,” Brooks says. “He’s got his little chef thing going on for each of the different items.”

A popular sandwich is the Long Walk, which includes crispy fried chicken thigh, Szechuan chili sauce, ranch dressing, shredded lettuce and pickles on a brioche bun.

The smoked bologna sandwich features mortadella smoked over Texas pecan, a secret sauce, mayonnaise, cheese, shredded lettuce and tomato on Texas toast. It’s topped with dill potato chips.

Try the nachos with cheese, refried beans, pickles, jalapeños, scallions, cilantro, pico de gallo, sour cream and red and green sauce. Another snack is honky tonk spiced French fries with pickled jalapeños, cheese, bacon and cream gravy.

What’s bar food without the bar? Hillside serves an array of cocktails, including the East Side with gin, lime, ginger and mint. The Kangaroo Martini stars Noilly Prat, Chopin potato vodka and orange bitters. The bar also serves 12 beers on tap and 20 to 30 canned beer options.