Postino Wine Cafe, the eclectic and funky wine café making its way out of Phoenix & Houston, is opening their first location in Dallas on Monday, April 19 offering lunch, happy hour, dinner and an equally lively weekend brunch.

Located in the historic district of Deep Ellum, at 2647 Main Street, Dallas, TX 75226 and sharing a stand-alone building with local favorite Merit Coffee, the new restaurant and bar features a carefully selected wine program as well as an approachable yet sophisticated food menu.

With a motto of “drinking wine at lunch is not a crime”, the vibrant and passionate co-founder, Lauren Bailey explains, “Deep Ellum instantly caught our attention with its deep-rooted history, incredible buildings and lively community. We quickly fell in love with the art, the other businesses and most of all the people who make it such a special place. I had goosebumps when I first stepped into the building and knew in my gut that was the one.”

Bailey who was a longtime server and bartender for many restaurants before co-founding their parent company (Upward Projects), painstakingly searches for historic or older buildings and then breathes life into them all while respecting the surrounding area. Not one Postino is like the other. While this isn’t a new or necessarily groundbreaking process, it’s an important part of the company’s DNA and belief system. From front of the house, back of the house, design team and more, the authentic heartbeat and integrity of the creative team behind this concept is a truly unique one in the restaurant industry.

Bailey explains, “The story of Postino began with an old post office in Arizona and was the beginning of the continually evolving recipe for additional locations, each selected for its uniqueness and place in the community. It has been a rewardingly challenging experience both mentally and physically and one we still use as the benchmark for our success. All these years later, we still have that grit and passion of a small operation…we’ve just grown up a little.”

She continues, “We work to connect to people and have a heartbeat behind our doors which is another reason this location was important for us; especially since we want to earn our place in the community. We are humbled by the already positive welcome we’ve received from our neighbors. Dallas is a special place for us, and we look forward to growing old here.”

“Our projects always start with finding the neighborhood that we connect with and then bringing to life to the space in a way that really connects with the neighborhood. As soon as we discovered Deep Ellum, we knew it was the perfect match for us with the vibrant, come-as-you-are culture,” explains Bailey.

Postino hallmarks include sophisticated mid-century modern furniture sourced from local vintage shops, quirky found objects, art installations, rollup garage doors and custom walnut wine walls. In addition, one of the many standouts in Dallas are a collection of vintage chandeliers collected over many years. In addition, each location has a different art installation devoted to the history of its location.

The Dallas location commemorates Deep Ellum’s rich musical history with a wall inside the café decoupaged with vintage concert tickets gathered from the community and Postino fans across the country. This also ties into Postino’s adaptive reuse philosophy.

Postino features a thoughtful selection of 30 wines by the glass and 40 wines by the bottle in their rack wine program available for dine-in or to-go. These wines are carefully selected by Postino’s Beverage Director and in-house certified advanced sommelier, Brent Karlicek.

Karlicek explains, “Whether unique collaborative projects with iconic winemakers around the world, or hard to find boutique selections, the Postino wine program is both exploratory and satisfying. In addition to wine, 30 beers are poured featuring local Dallas craft breweries, along with a number of Texas favorites and new cocktails for the brunch menu.”

Postino’s food menu is built around shareables or “Snacky Things”, and fresh pressed paninis, salads, soups, and other boards. The menu is comprised of dishes made with simple, fresh and delicious ingredients. The long time favorite of the menu is the Bruschetta with 12 varieties to choose from such as Brie, Apple & Fig Spread; the classic – Fresh Mozzarella, Tomato and Basil; Warm Artichoke Spread; Smoked Salmon & Pesto; Piquillo Pepper & Goat Cheese; and Burrata, Bacon, Arugula & Tomato.

Additional highlights in the “Snacky Things” section include Crispy Cauliflower – cauliflower, sultana raisin, caper, romesco; and Tuna Tartare – salsa verde, Persian cucumber, pine nut, lemon oil, focaccia crostini. Guests looking to pair their wine with a charcuterie board can look to “The Boards” portion of the menu to share with friends such as The Bounty Board – crispy cauliflower, market vegetables, guindilla pepper, spicy marcona almond, herb cucumber cream, smoked almond hummus; Butcher’s Block – artisan meats and cheeses, smoked almond hummus, asparagus, olives, assorted nuts, crostini; Pub Board – soft pretzel, schreiner’s chorizo, cornichon, aged cheddar, Peruvian corn nuts, pickle.

For those seeking a more robust meal, Postino’s fresh paninis, soups and salads include favorites such as the Nine Iron Panini – smoked bacon, grilled chicken, fresh Stracciatella, mixed greens, tomato, dijonnaise; Prosciutto & Brie Panini – prosciutto di parma, brie, fig jam, arugula, balsamic vinegar, olive oil; Hannah’s Field – kale, quinoa, apple, apricot, toasted almond, pecorino stagionato, pickled red onion, apple cider-mustard vinaigrette; Raspberry Chicken – chicken salad, almond, pecan, apple, gorgonzola, mixed greens, raspberry vinaigrette; and the Brussels Sprouts Salad – kale, brussels sprout, manchego, spicy marcona almond, bacon, dried cherry, lemon manchego dressing.

Brunch menu standouts include the Croque Monsieur Madame – ham, dijonnaise, gruyere, bechamel, fried egg, little gem greens, Lille vinaigrette; Cast Iron Sticky Bread – warm pull apart bread, cinnamon, spiced pecans, Madagascar vanilla caramel; Focaccia Stack – grilled focaccia, smashed avocado, crispy prosciutto, fried egg, watermelon radish, arugula, feta, spicy marcona almond; Meatball Shakshouka – boiled egg, house meatball, arrabiata sauce, feta, herbs, crispy fingerling.

The culinary team is committed to sourcing local Texas ingredients from farmers, ranchers and other purveyors when possible. This initiative also includes local breweries such as Deep Ellum Brewing Co., Revolver Brewing, Community Beer Co., Lakewood Brewing as well as La Spiga Bakery for all of the bread served at Postino.

The space is 3,500 square feet and seats 110 total, including a spacious outdoor patio that seats 50.

Open daily for lunch, dinner with weekend brunch available, hours of operation: Monday – Thursday, 11am – 11pm; Friday 11am – 12am; Saturday 9am – 12am; Sunday 9am – 10pm.

Postino rocks a festive brunch with $5 mimosas, robust brunch cocktails, plus happy hour specials including the daily staple $5 ‘til 5pm (all wines by the glass and pitchers of beer for $5 from open – 5pm) as well as $25 Bottle & Board on Monday & Tuesday evenings (a bottle of wine and a board of bruschetta for $25).

Take-out and 3rd party delivery will be available. Masks are requested of guests, when not seated to dine or drink.