Rayo Bar & Lounge Becomes an Instant Neighborhood Hit

Call it destiny. Call it love at first sip. Whatever you call it, just know that Rayo Bar & Lounge and Exposition Park are a match meant to be.

Rayo Bar & Lounge opened on Aug. 23 in the former Pizza Lounge at the corner of Exposition and Parry avenues. With only three weeks under its belt, Rayo Bar and Lounge is a passion project turned instant neighborhood attraction.

Rayo comes to Dallas by way of Portlanders Ryan Victor and Lauren Wahlstrom. For the last two years the bartending duo have been working diligently behind the scenes to create a self-funded neighborhood cocktail bar. The Observer announced their efforts on July 23.

Victor and Wahlstrom imagined an inviting sanctuary where they’d take their combined experience from Parliament, Las Palmas, The Braca Room and Las Almas Rotas (their new neighbor). They teamed up with Birdie’s Joshua Harmon. “Killer cocktails,” enhanced comfort foods and an authentic inviting atmosphere was the game plan to achieve their dreams. In less than a month, that dream is reality.

The bar is moody and Art Deco-inspired. There are plenty of booths, bar seating and a patio. Groups congregated outdoors and indoors like they’d been visiting the bar for years.

Directions are clear: Order at the bar and seat yourself. The patio is prime real estate for Dallas' flash of fall weather. We took advantage of an umbrella-covered high-top table.

The fall breeze kept us cool as a top-tier playlist enlivened Rayo’s corner nook. Hits from Dusty Springfield’s “Spooky”, Chaka Khan’s “I’m Every Woman” and Michael McDonald’s “I Keep Forgettin'” set the tone for the laid-back atmosphere.

Despite signage, the bartender had quickly dropped off a round of water and offered to take our order.
The no-frills paper menu floored us. In a world of shake fees, caviar-garninised martinis and cocktails that require a whole production, we were ecstatic to see craft cocktails at an approachable price. House cocktails ranged from $10 to $13. Quality and presentation weren’t spared. Part Time Lover ($13), with rum, amaro and rosemary, is an aromatic hard hitter. Full Time Crush ($13), with gin, blackberry, mint, lemon and soda, is refreshing. The Rise & Fall ($10), a mezcal sour with reposado tequila, chicha morada, lime, honey and cardamom, is picturesque.

For food, we ordered half the menu. Spoiler: We’ll be back for the other half.

Harmon outdid himself. Everything on Rayo’s menu is nostalgic and comforting with an added pizzazz.
The house potato chips and dip ($9) is served with a roasted onion dip and fish roe and pimento cheese topped with chili honey crisp. The dips were accompanied by freshly cut potato chips and fried Ritz crackers. The table next to us stopped by to rave about the Fish Stix ($13), miso-marinated cod and nuoc cham tartar sauce served with Rayo’s pickles and kimchi.
For dinner, we ordered a Caesar Salad ($11) and french fries ($8). We upgraded our Caesar salad by adding chicken ($6). Petite romaine, burnt seaweed, charred lemon wedges, fried garlic crumbs and crisp fried chicken assured us we made a semi-healthy dinner decision. Then we gobbled down a hearty serving of Hondashi- and furikake-topped fries.

A second round of cocktails included a sugary watermelon paloma slushie ($9). The elderflower frozé wasn’t available. In its place was a Frankenstein of a drink, a one-off buzz-inducing whiskey and coke slushie made with leftover apple and mango liqueurs.
Palm-sized sliders are a must order. The Filet O’ Fish ($6.50) is McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish all grown up. The fried panko-breaded cod is crispy with a tangy caviar tartar sauce. The “government cheese” keeps the slider grounded. The Royale ($6.50), Texas wagyu patty with caramelized shallots, Rayo pickles, swiss and a quail egg, is prime bar food. The Trojan Horse ($8), a ground lamb patty with whipped barrel-aged feta and pickled onion, added variety to the mix.

As we checked out, Rayo’s team began converting part of the patio into a Yakitori station. Fridays and Saturdays from 11 p.m. to late, Rayo runs a special late-night menu consisting of skewers, grilled Caesar salad, double bake potatoes and shishito peppers. We’ll be back for the octopus skewer ($10).

With pricing, elevated bar food and craft cocktails like this, Rayo will make all of Dallas a regular in no time.

Rayo Bar & Lounge. 841 Exposition Ave. Tuesday – Saturday, 4 p.m. – late.