The W Dallas Victory Park is home to the lavish Villa Azur where guests are treated to top-tier dining and, as the sun goes down, extravagant nightlife experiences. The dress code is elegant chic, and the venue certainly matches the attire. 

Through Villa Azur’s entryway, and behind heavy curtains, sits a stocked bar, then a dining room and, lining the back wall, a floor-to-ceiling glass wine cellar. Ambient lighting by small lamps at each table gives the room a sultry vibe – definitely a scene for the romantics out there. 

Once the sun goes down and the clock strikes 9:30, the venue transforms into an energetic, almost circus-like atmosphere. Dancers in bold costumes and some even on stilts take to the dining room floor and live musicians and DJs play from a balcony above the wine cellar. It really is an extraordinary experience.

Drinks, dessert and everything in between is spot-on in terms of taste and luxury. The Finally Old Fashioned is an absolute must for whiskey drinkers. The drink is a delicate combination of stoutness and sweetness, but the smoked bottle poured over an engraved ice block put this drink over the edge. If whiskey doesn’t do it for you and sweet is your preference, the Golden Espresso Martini is a fantastic selection.

The food portions are hearty, so the Baked Bucheron Cheese is a well-paired light starter. Baked French goat cheese topped with butternuts and hazelnut honey paired with filone toast — it is heavenly. 

For the steak lovers out there, I’m sure any cut would be delicious, but the Prime Filet Mignon fits the name because it is a prime choice – cooked medium rare, that is. It checks all the boxes: juicy, tender and well-seasoned. The pasta, though, is usually what gets peoples’ attention. One of the options, the Pâte à La Meule, is prepared tableside in an Instagram-worthy fashion – in a pecorino Romano wheel and cognac-flamed. Basically, they set your cheese on fire right in front of you and mix in your pasta. It is beautiful and a little bit scary. Another great pasta option, if you are not a fan of fire, is the Ravioles De Roman. The little cheese ravioli with truffle cream and shaved truffle can be best described as rich and creamy.

It would be a crime to skip out on the dessert, though. Typically, when you order Tiramisu at other restaurants, they serve a small square of it. Not here. At Villa Azur Dallas, it comes in a large bowl of its own, and it makes fantastic leftovers for a midnight snack. Not everyone loves the taste of coffee, though, so another fantastic choice is the Paris Brest. It is made with Valrhona dulcey cream, dulce de leche, toasted almonds and spiced compressed pears. If this makes any sense, it tastes like Spring. It is a tender dish that is sweet, but not overwhelmingly so.

Why not sign up now for our newsletter to get the best of Texas in your inbox?

Cover photo courtesy Villa Azur Dallas

Jordan Maddox is a graduate student at the University of North Texas in Denton, studying Journalism and PR. She loves spending her free time out in nature and exploring North Texas. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @jordan.maddoxx