Frankie's Downtown holds a corner of Main Street in the center of downtown Dallas, and for game day it functions as the neighborhood's default living room.
This is downtown's anchor sports bar, the kind of room every business district needs and most lack. D Magazine lists Frankie's among the city's go-to sports bars, and the location does a lot of the work: it sits on Main Street within walking distance of downtown hotels, offices, and the light-rail line. For a former bartender, the value of a place like this is simple. It is reliable, it is central, and it does not pretend to be anything it is not.
The room
The setup is a two-level bar and grill with screens worked into every wall and a patio that opens onto the Main Street sidewalk. Harlow's bad-seat test passes because the TV density is high enough that even a back booth keeps a line to a game. It runs full on Cowboys Sundays and Mavericks nights, when the downtown crowd packs in. The trade-off is the standard downtown one: parking is a hassle, so arrive on foot or by rail if you can.
What to order
This is a bar-and-grill menu, so keep it to the classics that travel well across a long game: wings, burgers, and a cold draft from the tap list. The kitchen is built for game-watching rather than a sit-down dinner, which suits the room. At the $$ price level the move is a shareable plate and a beer rather than a complicated cocktail. The drink program does the job without trying to be a craft bar.
The crowd and best time to go
Hours run to midnight early in the week and to 2am Thursday through Saturday, so it covers both happy hour and late-game crowds. The mix skews downtown professionals after work and sports fans on game nights. Arrive an hour before a Cowboys kickoff to claim a table with a screen, or use a weekday happy hour for the quietest version of the room. Weekend late hours lean louder and busier.
What regulars say
Reviewers on Yelp and in the D Magazine directory consistently point to the central location and the screen coverage as the reasons to come, with the common complaint being downtown parking and weekend crowds. The repeated advice is to walk or take the rail and to show up early for marquee games.
Who it is for
Frankie's Downtown is for the office crowd after work, conventioneers staying downtown, and Cowboys and Mavericks fans who want a central, no-fuss place to watch. It suits anyone already in the core who does not want to drive to the suburbs for a game. Skip it if you want a quiet craft-cocktail night.
The verdict
Frankie's earns its standing on two counts. The first is location, since a dependable sports bar in the dead center of downtown Dallas is a genuinely scarce thing, and this is the one that fills the role. The second is the screen coverage, which keeps the bad seat honest even when the Cowboys crowd packs the two levels. The honest caveat is that this is a classic bar and grill, not a culinary or cocktail destination, and downtown parking will test your patience. Walk in, take the patio in good weather, order wings and a draft, and let the games run. D Magazine keeps it on its sports-bar shortlist for a reason. For watching a game in the heart of the city, it is the obvious call. A worthy uptown alternative is Christie's Sports Bar on Greenville.
For the rest of the city's game-day options, see our guide to the best sports bars in Dallas and the wider sports bars by occasion. The full local scene is mapped in the Dallas bar guide.
Sources: Frankie's Downtown official site (2026); D Magazine bars directory; Yelp reviews.
