With an impressive ice bar and classic fresh ingredients, Eddie "Lucky" Campbell takes patrons back to the Golden Age of Cocktails. Courtesy Kevin Marple.
Before the days of speakeasy raids and bathtub booze, there was what is nostalgically known as the Golden Age of Cocktails. Luckily for those of us planted firmly in 2011, celebrity chef Eddie “Lucky” Campbell brings us The Chesterfield, a Main Street bar/restaurant named after one of the most recognizable brands of cigarettes from that very era.
During this time, drinking had become an art, and barmen had become craftsmen. According to Campbell, in authentic speakeasies, “the drinks weren’t necessarily that good.” This explains why he’s celebrating pre-Prohibition, where chandeliers, exotic fabrics and candlelight were the norm.
But beyond the crown moldings and vintage club chairs, the menu is the real gem. Seasonal drinks, which change four times a year, include the Bottle Rocket, Apple Toddy and Pickled Ginger Mule. Fresh ingredients such as pink peppercorn, house-made mixers and ginger beer (made with fresh ginger, obviously) will send your taste buds traveling. If you’re not one to venture beyond vodka tonic and peanuts, fear not. The easily navigable 11-chapter menu, modeled after the first American cocktail manuals, is arranged by style of drink (sours, juleps, etc.), so there is a little something for even the most timid.
With exposed brick and crown moldings, The Chesterfield bar delivers the full pre-Prohibition experience. Courtesy Kevin Marple.
In the kitchen, executive chef Michael Ehlert whips up a new-American menu featuring small plates anchored in classical technique. He insists on making everything himself (including rolling his own pasta) with only the freshest ingredients.
Just opened in the heart of downtown Dallas, The Chesterfield will take guests on a trip through time … through illuminated archways, alleyways and a French door system that retracts into the walls. So should you actually find yourself inside, consider yourself lucky. The exposed brick walls patched with bricks from the Chicago warehouse fires and wood floors from an old Carolina tobacco farm pay homage to the elegance of this bygone era. So be gone, be healthy and be merry.
The Chesterfield
1404 Main Street, Dallas
214-741-2811
