The Saint & Saint Valentine

The Saint: For the hopeless romantic

A stroll past the front door is enough to know that a visit to the Gaston Avenue restaurant may be different from the average. For starters, there is no natural light. No windows occupy the space, creating a dark, sultry atmosphere that feels something like a smooth jazz song. Each table is adorned by a single gold lamp and the walls are wrapped in a dark wallpaper, complete with richly-colored birds and snakes intertwined with one another.

“The decor is unique. I couldn’t just have a steakhouse menu with a crab cake and a shrimp cocktail on there and then have this really, really awesome design, right?” Executive Chef and Culinary Director of Hooper Hospitality Jacob Williamson says. “The design of the restaurant really went into a lot of the thoughtfulness of the menu as well.”

The Italian steakhouse’s menu was created to offer staples that come with a twist. Williamson wanted to create a menu that “has something for everyone,” and in that pursuit he has made use of his culinary connections by fostering a farm-to-table approach. The restaurant utilizes boutique farms and ranches to supply the food used to craft menu items. While this concept may be something other establishments boast about, for Williamson, it’s just a part of the process.

“We just do it, we’re not advertising it.” he says.

Of course, handmade pastas are also a staple part of the menu.

“I’m not gonna have the usual suspects, baked potato, cocktail, crab cake, those sort of things,” Williamson says.

A date night could start with whipped ricotta that comes with chili crunch and grilled bread ($15), before jumping into a classic dish like cacio e pepe, made with fresh tagliolini and cacio di Roma ($20 – $30). If the stress of Cupid-season planning calls for something heartier, there’s plenty of wagyu options to indulge in.

If you’re looking to cap off the meal – or perhaps start it – with wine by the glass, you have plenty of options, from reds to whites/rosés and bubbles.

For those who prefer a cocktail, the top portion of the drink menu will offer you a handful of craft cocktail options, such as the Sicilian Margarita ($20) made with tequila blanco, averna amaro, blood orange and lime – something Williamson said they had to have, being in Dallas.

“Seasonality is a big thing with us. Freshness, the infusions are all made in house, the syrup all made in house,” he says. “But it’s really just about seasonality and finding a good balance of flavors.”

The Saint, 2633 Gaston Ave., 214.258.6152, thesaintdallas.com

Saint Valentine: For the relaxed Romeo

On Bryan Street, the Roman Saint Valentine is revered as the ultimate renegade. The edgy East Dallas bar’s versatility is its superpower, and after hitting their one year anniversary back in November, they’re still going strong.

The cement floor, vintage tan-colored booths, the cushioned bar seats and the occasional red candle, offer a familiar and retro ambience that has a touch of metal flair.

As the brainchild of two seasoned Dallas bartenders, Saint Valentine was something both Ryan Payne and Gabe Sanchez felt the neighborhood needed. Payne’s been bartending in Oak Cliff for years and opened Tiny Victories. Sanchez, a bartending veteran in his own right, is the mastermind behind the beloved Black Swan Saloon. The duo wanted something in-between a dive bar and a “more fancy” spot. Something that was just as elevated as it was tangible.

“This part of East Dallas, I think, is still juxtaposing from the rest of Lakewood proper, or Henderson or Greenville or the M streets,” Sanchez says. “This chunk is kind of changing.”

This “chunk” of their block is beginning to become tight-knit, with the business owners helping one another and forming their own community. Even the newer folks are buying into the idea of unity among the businesses.

“They’re coming in with open arms,” Payne says. “‘Let’s make this part of town a destination, a spot.’”

The owners have noticed a similar sentiment among their patrons. All ages, backgrounds and archetypes can be found on any given day at the bar.

“And the cool thing is, they’re all kind of sitting next to each other,”  Sanchez says. “Somebody that has lived on Bryant Street and over in Lakewood forever, they’ll be sitting next to the tattoo kid that lives off Gaston in one of those apartments. And they’re all kind of looking at the world basically the same.”

The eclectic menu offers items like the hash browns & caviar ($13), the miso garlic noods ($14) and veggie sando ($11) – date night choices fit for both the high school sweethearts, and the fairly green couple awaiting their first tiff.

he drinks are broken up into two categories: “Classics,” and “Signature,” drinks, like the Big Booty Trudy ($14) with pineapple skin charanda, passion fruit, lemon, macadamia orgeat, velvet falernum and the Mai Tai Milk Punch ($15) with coconut milk, clarified Bacardi Ocho, Agricole Rum, dry curaçao, macadamia, orgeat and lime.

“We wanted things that were fun and approachable,” Sanchez says. “We like to drink good booze, enjoy good foods you can pick up with your hands.”

Saint Valentine, 4800 Bryan St., 214.484.8140, saintvalentinedtx.com