Dallas · A-Z Dates

Cheap Date Ideas in Dallas

13 cheap date ideas in Dallas, hand-picked from our A-to-Z guide — from Eatzi's + Reverchon Park to ZaLat Pizza. Every spot below was verified by an editor on the ground, with the address, the best time to go, and a one-line reason it earns the trip.

Spring picnic basket with flowers on a wooden tableE

Eatzi's + Reverchon Park

Oak Lawn

  • $
  • Afternoon
  • Nature

Build a picnic at Phil Romano's 1996 gourmet market, walk it to Reverchon Park's 46 oak-shaded acres on Turtle Creek.

Tip Eatzi's is the original Dallas market-meal — Phil Romano (who founded Macaroni Grill and Fuddruckers) opened it in 1996 as a 'gourmet on the go' concept. Walk in: rotisserie chickens spinning, a 30-ft bread wall, a cheese counter, ready prepped salads and steaks. Build a two-person picnic for ~$35 total. Then walk 4 minutes east to Reverchon Park — 46 leafy acres along Turtle Creek with the only public swimming pool in central Dallas, oak shade, a bandshell, and benches. Skip the obvious sushi date; eat outside.

Full entry →Map ↗
Cowboys herding longhorn cattle through Fort Worth StockyardsF

Fort Worth Stockyards

Fort Worth (40 min west of Dallas)

  • $
  • Afternoon
  • Cultural

Longhorns driven down Exchange Avenue at 11:30 and 4 daily. Joe T. Garcia's patio after. The most Texan afternoon within a tank of gas.

Tip The only place in America where Texas Longhorns are driven down a public street twice daily, 11:30 and 4 PM (since 1999 — performance, not original cattle drive, but the longhorns are real and the cowboys are working). Walk Exchange Ave: Stockyards Hotel (where Bonnie & Clyde stayed), White Elephant Saloon (1884), Cowtown Coliseum (Friday/Saturday rodeo, $20). Joe T. Garcia's (2201 N Commerce, 8 min drive) is the legendary Tex-Mex patio — cash only until recently, line out the door, garden under the live oaks. The most cinematically Texan afternoon you can have within a tank of gas.

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Gilley's blue and red neon sign in Dallas at nightG

Greenville Avenue

Lower Greenville

  • $
  • Evening
  • Nightlife

Lower G — half a mile of patios, Truck Yard's treehouse bar, the original Dallas night-out strip.

Tip Greenville Avenue between Belmont and Ross is the original Dallas night-out strip — a half-mile of patios, dive bars, and Tex-Mex. The Truck Yard (5624 Sears at Greenville) is the move: open-air food-truck park + live music + a treehouse bar built around a real oak tree. Mexican Sugar for upscale margaritas. Blind Butcher for cocktails + charcuterie. HG Sply Co for the rooftop. St. Patrick's Day Parade (March) shuts the whole street down — the largest in Texas. Locals call it 'Lower G' to distinguish from the suburban stretch.

Full entry →Map ↗
Geese crossing a bridge with people at Klyde Warren ParkK

Klyde Warren Park

Downtown (Arts District)

  • Free
  • Daytime
  • Nature

A 5.2-acre park built on top of a freeway. Food trucks along the eastern edge, the DMA and Nasher across the street.

Tip A 5.2-acre park built ON TOP of Woodall Rodgers Freeway in 2012 — the freeway runs underneath, you don't hear it. Food trucks lined along the eastern edge (rotating; Easy Slider for burgers, Ruthie's grilled cheese, Cool Haus ice cream). Free yoga Saturdays 11 AM. Outdoor concerts at the central pavilion most summer weekends. Connects directly to the Dallas Museum of Art (M) and the Nasher Sculpture Center (N) — you can do all three on foot in one afternoon. The Frisco Pavilion has the best free wifi in downtown.

Full entry →Map ↗Book ↗
Bakery counter filled with pastries and baked goodsL

La Banqueta (Trini Garza)

West Dallas (Little Mexico)

  • $
  • Evening
  • Food

$3 al pastor tacos cut from the vertical spit, a salsa bar with seven options, no English on the menu. The Dallas taqueria of record.

Tip The taqueria of record in Dallas — has been since the 1990s. Cabeza, lengua, suadero, al pastor cut from a vertical spit, all in handmade corn tortillas, $3 per taco. Multiple locations now but the West Davis spot has the original feel: walk-up window + outdoor picnic tables, salsa bar with seven options (the salsa de aguacate is the move), no English on the menu boards. Eat three tacos standing up, watch a soccer match on the patio TV. The neighborhood (formerly 'Little Mexico') is the most authentic Mexican-American Dallas; combine with Trinity Groves (T) for a longer west-side evening.

Full entry →Map ↗
Tall sculpture on display at the Dallas Museum of ArtM

Dallas Museum of Art

Downtown Arts District

  • Free
  • Afternoon
  • Cultural

Free general admission, always. Pollock's Cathedral, Hopper, and Thursday Late Nights til 9 with cocktails in the atrium.

Tip FREE general admission, always — one of the few major US museums with no ticket required for the permanent collection. Edward Larrabee Barnes 1984 building anchors the Arts District (the largest contiguous arts district in America at 68 acres). Collection: Pollock's 'Cathedral,' Hopper's 'Lighthouse Hill,' a serious Indonesian textiles room, a 5,000-year ancient Americas wing. Thursday Late Nights til 9 PM with cocktails in the atrium. Combine with the Nasher next door (N), the Crow Museum of Asian Art across the street (Q), and the Meyerson Symphony Hall a block away — all in five minutes' walking.

Full entry →Map ↗Book ↗
Large red abstract sculpture in a downtown Dallas parkN

Nasher Sculpture Center

Downtown Arts District

  • $
  • Daytime
  • Cultural

Renzo Piano travertine pavilion, Peter Walker garden, Calder and Giacometti under glass louvres. First Saturdays are free.

Tip Raymond Nasher's personal collection of modern sculpture — Calder, Giacometti, Henry Moore, Picasso, Rodin, Serra — installed in a Renzo Piano travertine pavilion + a 2-acre sculpture garden by Peter Walker. The roof is glass-louvered to wash the indoor galleries in north light. The garden is the best slow-walk date in downtown: shaded benches between de Kooning bronzes. 'Til Midnight at the Nasher' (third Friday) has outdoor concerts + movies in the garden, free with admission. First Saturdays free for everyone. Right next door to the DMA (M).

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Green trees beside a brown concrete building in DallasO

Old East Dallas

East Dallas

  • Free
  • Daytime
  • Cultural

Six blocks of pre-1925 Prairie and Tudor mansions on Swiss Avenue. The Dallas before Highland Park existed.

Tip Swiss Avenue Historic District — the largest collection of pre-1925 mansions in Texas, six blocks of Prairie School, Tudor Revival, and Italianate homes from when this was the rich part of Dallas (before Highland Park got established). Drive or walk Swiss between Munger and La Vista. The Aldredge House (5500 Swiss) is the most-photographed. Annual Swiss Avenue Mother's Day Home Tour opens a dozen private interiors. Continue to Lakewood (5 min east) for the dining strip — Mot Hai Ba (Vietnamese, by Peja Krstic), Lakewood Landing (oldest neighborhood bar in Dallas, 1948), Tre's Bistro.

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Latte, croissant and book on a cozy cafe tableQ

Quill Coffee + Crow Museum

Downtown Arts District

  • Free
  • Morning
  • Cafe

Third-wave coffee inside a free museum of Asian art. The Arts District's quietest corner, and most tourists never find it.

Tip Quill Coffee at the Crow Museum is the secret coffee date downtown — a third-wave shop in the lobby of the Crow Museum of Asian Art, all marble and floor-to-ceiling windows looking out at the Trauma Tower. The Crow Museum is FREE — Asian art from 3,500 BCE to present, with a serious Jain temple-ceiling reconstruction. Quill does single-origin pour-overs ($5), oat-milk lattes, no laptop nazis. Combine with the DMA and Nasher (both 30 seconds' walk) for a slow-museum-Sunday morning. Most Dallas tourists never find this corner.

Full entry →Map ↗Book ↗
Vintage streetcar with destination sign on a city streetU

Uptown (McKinney Trolley)

Uptown

  • Free
  • Afternoon
  • Activity

Free 1900s streetcars on a 2.45-mile Uptown loop. Hop off at any of 35 stops, eat queso, get back on.

Tip The McKinney Avenue Trolley (the M-Line) is a working historic streetcar — restored 1900s cars on a 2.45-mile loop through Uptown, completely FREE. Hop on at any of 35 stops. McKinney Avenue itself is the patio strip: The Old Monk for beer, Mi Cocina for queso + Mambo Taxi cocktails, Javier's for upscale Mexican (book a week ahead), Bread Winners Café for brunch. West Village at the north end is a small outdoor shopping cluster. The trolley itself is the date — sit on the open back deck if it's the 1909 Petunia car.

Full entry →Map ↗Book ↗
Cyclist riding a path beside White Rock Lake, DallasW

White Rock Lake

East Dallas

  • Free
  • Daytime
  • Nature

A 1,015-acre lake in the middle of Dallas. Bike the 9.3-mile loop, kayak from the east shore, end at Lakewood Brewing.

Tip A 1,015-acre reservoir in the middle of Dallas with a 9.3-mile shoreline trail — the biggest free-outdoor space in the city. Bike or run the full loop (mostly flat, paved). Kayak/SUP rentals at White Rock Paddle Co. ($20/hr) on the east shore. Big Thicket on the west side is a wild marsh — herons, beavers, the rare green-tree frog. Arboretum (8525 Garland Rd) is adjacent ($17, the cherry blossoms in March and the pumpkin village in October are the seasonal hits). End at Lakewood Brewing taproom 10 min west for a beer.

Full entry →Map ↗
Texas Star ferris wheel from above at the State Fair of TexasX

Exposition Park / Fair Park

East Dallas

  • Free
  • Afternoon
  • Cultural

277 acres of 1936 Art Deco from the Texas Centennial — the largest such collection in America. Big Tex stands here. Corny dogs invented here in 1942.

Tip 277 acres of Art Deco buildings from the 1936 Texas Centennial Exposition — the largest collection of Art Deco architecture in America in one place. National Historic Landmark. Home of Big Tex (the 55-ft cowboy that presides over the State Fair of Texas every Sept/Oct — 3+ million visitors). Year-round: African American Museum, Dallas Museum of Natural History, Cotton Bowl Stadium (the original 1930 college football venue). Adjacent Exposition Park (the neighborhood) has Murray Street Coffee + Mac's Bar — Dallas's longest-running dive bar. Combine with the State Fair (late Sept – mid Oct) if you can — corny dogs originated here in 1942.

Full entry →Map ↗Book ↗
Orange neon LED pizza-slice sign glowing at nightZ

ZaLat Pizza

Lower Greenville (late-night)

  • $
  • Late Night
  • Food

Open til 4 AM seven nights. Vietnamese flavors on pizza — The Notorious P.I.G., pork belly + cilantro + sriracha. The Dallas late night.

Tip Dallas's late-night pizza of choice — open til 4 AM seven nights a week. Started 2015 in a closet-sized Henderson Ave kitchen by Khanh Nguyen, who put Vietnamese flavors on pizza: 'The Notorious P.I.G.' (pork belly + cilantro + sriracha), 'Spicy Hawaiian' with pickled jalapeño + fresno chili. The Fitzhugh location has the longest hours and the patio. After the Deep Ellum shows let out, after the Lower Greenville bars close, after Henderson Avenue calls it — ZaLat is where the 2:30 AM Dallas date ends. Order slices ($5) or a whole 14-inch ($24). Outdoor seating at picnic tables.

Full entry →Map ↗

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More Dallas date ideas

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See the full A–Z guide to Dallas — all 26 dates →

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Dallas cheap date ideas — FAQ

What are the best cheap date ideas in Dallas?
Low-cost by design — every spot here is either free to walk into or sits at the cheapest paid tier. A big night on a small bill.
How much do cheap date ideas in Dallas cost?
It depends on the spot — 7 of the 13 are free to visit, and the rest run from a casual outing to a splurge. Every entry on this page shows its price tier, so you can plan the night to your budget.
Which Dallas neighborhoods have the best cheap date ideas?
These picks cluster around Oak Lawn, Fort Worth, Lower Greenville, among others — each entry lists its exact address and the nearest transit stop.
When is the best time for cheap date ideas in Dallas?
Most of these work best around afternoon, but every entry notes the ideal time to arrive so you can time the date right.
How many cheap date ideas does this guide cover in Dallas?
13 — hand-verified by editors and drawn from our full A-to-Z guide to Dallas. Each one has a real address, the best time to go, and an editor's note.