Nikki Greek Bistro Closes, Reopening This Fall as The Devonshire Club

Is Dallas lonely? Unsocialized? A recent spark in the restaurant industry has us thinking so. 

This month, Nikki Greek Bistro & Lounge closed. It was an upscale-leaning Greek restaurant and lounge that offered different dining spaces so guests could experience the feeling of a traditional Greek restaurant: 

“When we visit our family in Greece, we dine and drink in a more fluid way,” co-owner Elia “Tom” Georgalis told the Observer previously. “This means we may go to one spot and head to the patio or lounge for pre-dinner drinks, then move into the dining room for our meal and then return to the lounge area for drinks while enjoying live music or a DJ late into the night. We want our guests to experience this at Nikki while also having the ability to eat well-executed and carefully sourced authentic Greek cuisine.”

It celebrated a year of authentic Greek cuisine before Georgalis and his wife, Lisa, announced its temporary closure and upcoming reopening. The space at 5757 W. Lovers Lane will reopen on Friday, Nov. 14, as The Devonshire Club, named after the adjacent neighborhood.

The Georgalis hope for it to be a relaxing spot with nice cocktails, shareable plates and vibrant conversations.

They say the community is what inspired the change of scenery. “We have been honored to share my family’s recipes and see how warmly Dallas embraced them,” Tom Georgalis said. “But over the past year, we’ve listened to our neighbors and regulars. People want a place where they can linger, socialize and enjoy great food and drinks in a lively, comfortable atmosphere. The Devonshire Club was born out of that vision.”

There’s been an uptick in restaurants that want to be your pregame, main event and after party. First, it was the speakeasies that gave everyone a little two-for-one special. Now, it’s supper clubs and restaurants popping up with transitional vibes and menus for every occasion.

So who wasn’t able to mingle over pistachio baklava and saffron scallops? Are they OK?

The surrounding Devonshire neighborhood inspired the new look and menu. “We wanted to create a place that feels alive — somewhere with constant energy and movement,” Lisa Georgalis said. “You can play a game, catch a match with friends or meet someone new over cocktails and small plates. It’s not the kind of place where you’re stuck in your seat; it’s designed to move, breathe and connect with the neighborhood around it.”

The Devonshire Club will be open until 2 a.m. on weekends, offering a balanced feel of an elevated bar and a lounge experience. It will have billiards, shuffleboard, darts and TVs throughout the space for watching sports and other entertainment. 

Six days a week, there will be a happy hour from 3 to 7 p.m., with specials on food and drinks.

The food and drink are a collaborative effort between the Georgalis family and chef Jacob Williamson, who has over 15 years of experience and a distinguished history, including some time with Wolfgang Puck. He’s now the culinary director for Hooper Hospitality Concepts, which opened The Saint in East Dallas.

Williamson describes the menu as new American lounge fare with global influences. A spicy tuna tartare with potato pavé and piment d’espelette was highlighted in a release we received, as was a smoked salmon rillettes, duck confit quesadilla with Brie and tart cherry, and Tom’s fries, reimagined with béchamel, feta, Fresno peppers and cilantro.

“We spent a lot of time researching what works around town and what people in the area really enjoy,” Williamson said. “Everything is designed to be accessible and sharable, food you want to eat while you’re having a great drink and an even better conversation. You can order by the bite, mix and match your favorites, and really make it your own. It’s a choose-your-own-adventure kind of menu with something for everyone. It’s elevated, but it’s still fun.”

The Devonshire Club will open at 5757 W. Lovers Lane on Friday, Nov. 14.