Palma Pours It On: All-Day Happy Hour and Agave Nights Hit Dallas

Palma was just settling into its new home in Deep Ellum and we dropped by expeditiously to try out the drinks and extended happy hour.

Palma is another 2-for-1 special: a restaurant with a speakeasy. Within Palma is Ghost Donkey, a vibrant neon bar that's all about agave spirits. Both are from Flagship Restaurant Group, an Omaha-based hospitality company behind Blue Sushi Sake Grill and Plank Provisions.
Dallas is the only city where these concepts are united. Palma only has one other location in Phoenix, its flagship, while Ghost Donkey has locations all around the U.S. and even Australia. Bringing both together was a no-brainer for what's going on in the city's dining scene right now.

The Tex-Asian fusion menu at Palma is served in a tropical, "hidden oasis" atmosphere. They contradict, but it works. You walk through a breezy patio to get to the main dining room, which has circular booths, bar seating and lounge-style table and chairs.

A Cinco de Mayo opening was spot on for the concept since it's an ideal place for late-night dinner and drinks when the weather is right. Even if the weather is wrong, the patio is covered, so the vibes can and will continue.

The tagline on Palma's Instagram account reads: "Normalizing longer happy hour." Theirs runs Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
During this time, cocktails range from $7 to $ 9 and draft beers go for $5. We ordered the frozen blood orange margarita, prickly mojito and a Vibe Check. They rank about halfway between expert mixology and plastic cup cocktails on a lawn. So, they're not doing anything crazy, but there's more oomph than your average drink.

For $7, you can't beat that.

If you're with a group, a party platter (photo at top) is an obvious starter since it features five of Palma's eight appetizers: charred edamame, hatch chili queso, yummy fries, crab rangoon, and popcorn chicken. It can feed three or four people with moderate appetites, so order accordingly.

Our favorites were the hatch chili queso and the popcorn chicken. The edamame is forgettable, but few places serve it well enough for it not to be (Editor's Note: Ouch! But not arguing). There wasn't anything crazy going on with the crab rangoon and the Yummy Fries (sweet potato waffle fries with chilli, aioli, soy, furikake, scallion, ginger and bonito) were decent, but if you aren't first to the capitalist-style pile, you're eating plain sweet potato waffle fries.

For $30, though, it's a fun way to try a bunch of things. For an extra oomph, ask for loaded queso and they'll add achiote minced pork, guacamole, corn and jalapeño salsa, tomato and scallion for a small upcharge.

Appetizers are half the focal point of the happy hour menu and the other half is a variety of maki rolls. Prices start at $5 for a simple California roll and cap out at $13 for the yellowtail habanero roll.

Whoever priced the menu knows their audience because these are some solid deals they run practically all day during the week. These are some 2017 prices they're dishing out. You can't even get a California roll at the grocery store for $5.

The kitchen plated our yellowtail habanero, macha maki and spicy tuna maki rolls on the same plate. Similar to the drinks, they're somewhere in the middle for taste and quality. We wouldn't return specifically for the sushi, but it can be a clean start to the night.

We think the platos fuertes could be the main event here. They serve a KFC (Korean Fried Chicken) sandwich, a signature smash burger, and queso birria beef tacos, all of which are priced under $20.
More restaurants should try to execute things like Palma, in the sense of reasonable pricing and on-par food for the occasion.

While all these other new concepts are shooting for the stars in grandeur, Palma wants to tap the brakes a bit and create a dining environment where people can have an elevated night out without spending $20 per drink and above that just for an appetizer.

Connected to Palma is its speakeasy, Ghost Donkey. We didn't go in for drinks, but we did pass through to get a vibe check. It's upbeat with an extensive agave spirit list that will meet drinkers where they're at, but allow them to explore beyond their palettes.

There's some interesting stuff here we'll most certainly be back to try.

Palma, 2625 Main St., Monday - Wednesday, 11 a.m. - 12 a.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. - 1 a.m.; Friday, 11 a.m. - 2 a.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 a.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. - 12 a.m.