Texas’ Best Cocktails in a MICHELIN Restaurant in 2025

What makes Mister Charles special?

Mister Charles is a riot. The theme was an irreverent play on the classics.

It’s in one of the most iconic buildings in this part of Dallas. It was a working pharmacy from the early 1900s. The facade is identical. This is where you got your prescriptions, but you also sat at the bar and had grilled cheese or a malt. It was this gathering place.

We like to create characters that go with our restaurants. Mister Charles is this well-traveled, super polished, sophisticated guy that also likes to have a lot of fun. European hotel bar menu with a bunch of classic dishes done in a fun, edgy way in a really special space.

What is the inspiration behind your cocktails?

We have to make sure that the cocktail program fits the concept. We can't have an all-agave cocktail program at a French restaurant. A couple of agave cocktails, a gin cocktail, vodka cocktail, whiskey cocktail, scotch cocktail and others cover the ground for a lot of people. There's a number of classic cocktails or plays on classics, maybe 70%. That could be as simple as a fantastic Hugo.

Past that, we want to see what our team is super fired up about. They show us anything and everything they want. We wanted to showcase their creativity. There’s four specialty cocktails they came up with. It’s a very collaborative effort, so myself and my two operating partners, Benji and Jay, sit in on every cocktail tasting.

What are the must-tries?

We're in an old pharmacy building. The penicillin. If you're an agave person, Crime of Passion. Equal parts tequila and mezcal, aperol, passion fruit and a little habanero.

What makes Dallas dining special?

A lot of people find it better than they expected. We got steak, barbecue and Tex-Mex as good or better than anywhere else in the country, but there's a lot more to the dining scene now. A really impressive scene doing rockstar stuff with zero signs of slowing down.

There's always been great food, but in the last five years, if you're in New York or LA looking to expand, Dallas is one of the top cities. You'll see a bunch of brand names.

How does Dallas and Texas influence your cocktail menu?

The restaurant business is 50% business and 50% art. Most people miss that divide. We have to be super in tune with what our local guests wants. Also, we crush tequila here in Texas, so we lean a little heavy into agave.

How do you build your team?

Obviously, we’ve got to have banging cocktails. There's no room for mediocrity there. Cocktails need to be classic or unique and well-made with high quality ingredients. But at the end of the day, we need to have people that want to take care of other people. That is paramount.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to build a cocktail program?

It needs to be on brand with what you're doing. What fits the concept? What does the guest want? What are the bartenders fired up about?

I would have your classic cocktail standards. Everyone loves familiarity. And then we always look for diversity. In Texas, you can put a margarita on a French bistro menu, but pick the best margarita.

And then, what’s your price point? What are the highest quality products you can buy to fit into the price point? The final part that’s so important is value.

Hero image: Duro Hospitality / The Bar Team at Mister Charles - Chas Martin, Benji Homsey, Ross See, J Chastain and Corbin See