One of Dallas’ Most Iconic Pubs Just Opened a Moody Sister Concept in Oak Cliff

When the team behind the Old Monk lands in a neighborhood they like, it’s fair to assume more bars will follow.

Feargal McKinney owns three Irish pubs within a half-mile stretch of Henderson Avenue: the storied Old Monk, along with newer additions in Skellig and Spider Murphy’s. The last two opened in 2015 and 2023, respectively, cementing McKinney’s hegemony over Guinness sales in the burgeoning nightlife district.

In 2024, McKinney turned his eyes to a new area. North Oak Cliff, to be exact. The Old Monk in Oak Cliff opened on the fringe of the Bishop Arts District, debuting a second iteration of the celebrated Irish pub that’s poured some of the best pints in town since 1998. That’s also around the same time McKinney announced his intention to double down on his Oak Cliff investment with a darker, cocktail-centric concept close by.

How close? 66 feet to the west, according to a signpost planted in front of the Old Monk, which also points customers to McKinney’s native Dublin, 4,479 miles away. 

Kilmac’s opened next door to the Old Monk on Wednesday after close to two years of anticipation. Construction delays pushed the bar’s opening back from fall 2025. The polished cocktail bar is ready to pour both inside and outside. More drinks will pour from an Airstream trailer sitting in the Hill Country-inspired garden area (true to fashion, the garden area is floored with red gravel that looks like McKinney trucked it in from San Angelo).

The Scene

In its last life, the space Kilmac’s occupies was an automotive garage-turned-mancave for longtime Oak Cliff resident Ron Patterson. Co-owner and Pubsmith LLC (McKinney’s group) operations manager Charles Reis says they tried to “embrace the vibe” of Patterson’s retreat, which molded their plans for Kilmac’s.

“It was a dark little cinder block room, and it just kind of screamed dark bar and cocktails. It’s just what that place felt like it needed,” Reis says. 

Those cinder block walls are now brushed black and accented with dark wooden features, adding to the dim, intimate vibe Reis and McKinney have created. Lighting comes in the form of a few gentle overheads, bistro candles strung across the bar, and a wrought-iron chandelier watching over staff as they mix cocktails.

The walls around the buzzy bar and a cozy seating area are adorned with antiques, taxidermy gamefowl, and gigantic framed tarot cards. Kilmac’s eclectic decor draws on European and Southwestern influences, which Reis credits McKinney with.

“It’s a very mixed, sort of diverse inspirations,” Reis says. “And that’s a really fun blend of Feargal’s. He has such a great mind for European esthetics and pub decor. He also really has a great eye for finding unique light fixtures and unique artwork for the walls.”

The comparatively larger outside area is definitely a tone shift. Barrel tables, fire pits, a stone patio with timber roofing, and vintage multicolored metal lawn chairs create a laid-back Central Texas feel. The Skellig’s patio area was used as a touchpoint for the garden, Reis says.

Food + Bev

Looking for draft beer? If creamy pint of Guinness is your speed, Kilmac’s is the place. The Irish stout pours out of the bar’s lone beer tap, which Reis says was non-negotiable.

“All of us feel real strongly that we wouldn’t open a bar without Guinness on tap,” Reis says.

The bar’s 14-item menu of signature cocktails is the focus instead. Reis and general manager Cameron Westmoreland created the cocktail program, which he says emphasizes classics with balanced flavors and “some really unique ingredients.”

At Kilmac’s, “unique” means using a Guinness reduction and Aztec chocolate bitters, blended with Buffalo Trace to create a house-special Old Fashioned finished with oak smoke and served still smoldering. It could also mean house-made serrano hot honey syrup, which spices up mezcal, Amaro Montenegro, peach, and lemon to create the Santa Muerte.

Reis says his take on a gin martini, served with Cocchi Americano and lemon oil, has been popular so far, as has the toasted coconut daiquiri.

“It’s a really classic daiquiri just made with two interesting rums that work really well,” Reis says.

For a succinct food offering, Reis and McKinney brought in Dallas pizza maestro Lee Hunzinger to create a line of 12 pizza recipes that take on a decidedly New York flavor, albeit with a hint more flopiness and some Neapolitan-style char marks. As with the cocktails, Reis says the emphasis is on ingredients such as Jimmy’s sausage and Stanislaus tomatoes straight from Modesto.

The most popular pies so far have included the spinach mushroom pizza, served with confit garlic and Grana Padano cheese, and the drunken pepperoni. Both come with vodka sauce, which is made in-house to Hunzinger’s specifications.

“He’s still around for a little while, helping us make sure that we don’t mess up his menu,” Reis says. “But he is just really the most knowledgeable person on pizza I’ve ever talked to in my life.”

The Future in Oak Cliff

Reis says Kilmac’s and the Old Monk will complement each other rather than compete, with customers able to eat dinner at one before heading to the other for a nightcap.

“I think people love the opportunity to go to a couple of places in the night and have a little bit different experience at both, obviously very different menus for the most part,” Reis says. “So I think you have the opportunity to really enjoy the best of both worlds by having them both next door.”

Along with the man cave, McKinney has also bought the home behind Kilmac’s. The house is currently being used for storage and office space. While Kilmac’s is currently the priority and there are no plans for the house at present, a potential concept in the space is “certainly a possibility for the future,” Reis says.

“It’s such a neighborhood. It’s tons of regulars and tons of neighbors that walk down to Old Monk Oak Cliff,” Reis says. “They all seem to know each other, and our staff has gotten to know all of them so well.”

Kilmac’s is located at 814 W. Davis St and is open from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. Reis says the bar will be open Wednesday through Saturday this week, then switch to a Wednesday-through-Sunday schedule next week.