Dallas visitors on a budget have something new to look forward to when visiting the Big D. Deep Ellum Hostel, an independently owned hostel in our favorite funky neighborhood, opened recently. It offers 14 private and shared rooms — from singles to dorm-style beds — and accommodates up to 72 travelers a night. Complete with a unique lobby bar, Izkina, it's Dallas's answer to the Freehand Hotel.
Izkina offers guests and Dallas residents alike a Spanish-inspired experience with some simple Spanish cocktails, like red wine and cola, sherry with lemon soda, traditional mixed drinks and sangrias. To finish out the effect, the menu is complete with six gin-and-tonic options, from traditional (with Fords Gin and Fever Tree tonic, orange, jasmine and coriander) to Asian-inspired (with KI NO BI Kyoto Dry Gin, shiso, ginger soda and kumquat).
Since a night at the hostel can run you from $40 (dorm-style bed) to $140 (private room for up to four), it's nice to see that the prices at Izkina offer the same opportunity for frugality. Belly up to the bar, and you can enjoy food for less than $10 a plate and cocktails for $7-$20. Tapas-style offerings, from traditional to a bit more unusual options like sherried mushrooms, will be available to fill you up while sipping your G&Ts. The baby octopus, meatballs and Spanish pancakes aren't to be missed.
If you're feeling like a bit of a Dallas baller, treat your fellow travelers to a bowl of red or white sangria for $36. Don't dismiss the sangria bowls as punch-strength — the red and white options boast gin and rhum to accompany the rosé and tempranillo (respectively).
Izkina will be open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. daily, giving Dallas residents the chance to stop in for a relaxed cocktail or bowl of booze. (Casual.) The grand opening of Deep Ellum Hostel and Izkina is from 7-10 p.m. Thursday, with complimentary drinks and bites and tours of the building.
Deep Ellum Hostel and Izkina, 2801 Elm St.