Yes, Arlington Is Getting Cooler, and The Tipsy Oak Offers Beer-Battered Proof

Only a couple of miles from the ever-looming AT&T Stadium, in the heart of a fast-growing urban district of Arlington is The Tipsy Oak, a restaurant where craft food meets craft brews. It's designed with a rustic look accompanied by a wraparound porch and an outside bar area with a direct view of a small stage where local bands perform.

Each guest is greeted by a menu full of appetizing starters and entrees ranging from light and refreshing to bold and hearty. A tap line sits at the center of it all, consisting of 32 different brew choices hailing from both local and nationally recognized breweries, leaving no room for dull moments.

The Tipsy Oak is a paradise, not only for local food and brew lovers, but for visitors seeking something to do in Arlington.

“We saw it as a great opportunity to provide Arlington with a cool, patio-styled restaurant with great food and brews, something the area had been lacking," says Kevin von Ehrenfried, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Julia.

Kevin and Julia’s vision has tapped into a growing sense of place in Arlington, which is seeing a new spate of bars and restaurants. Not far from The Tipsy Oak you'll find one of DFW's most interesting new bars, 4 Kahunas Tiki Lounge.

The Tipsy Oak's menu includes dishes like an intriguing fried bacon Korean barbecue burger and a Canada-inspired poutine shareable with hand-cut fries, cheese curds, cheddar jack, brown gravy and a sunny side up egg. They also cook up a delicious blackened salmon dish that is covered in a sweet pepper Thai sauce, rosemary roasted potatoes and asparagus. Kevin makes all the sauces in-house.

"Wheels are always turning when it comes to infusing different dishes," Kevin says. "Like right now, we have a few that are infused with whiskey, and we are always creating some infused with beers from local breweries like Legal Draft Beer Company.” The menu also features beer-battered fish and chips made with Legal Draft's Smash and Grab IPA.

When Kevin and Julia aren’t busy cooking, they host local musicians not just for entertainment but to help local artists get exposure. They also team up with local breweries when hosting beer events.

“That’s a part of the whole agenda of this area here: to always have different venues with different things going on, where it’s walker-friendly and you can get a taste of a lot of different things in a couple of blocks," Kevin says. "So we’ll keep getting creative and coming up with some different stuff as time goes on.”

The Tipsy Oak, 301 E. Front St., Arlington. Open 11 a.m.-midnight daily.