Off the Cuff Opens in Deep Ellum
The opening of Off the Cuff in Deep Ellum underscores the popular food-and-music district’s continuous efforts to revitalize the neighborhood, with chic bars and restaurants appealing to young professionals.
Off the Cuff is billed as a sports bar, but it’s not a Buffalo Wild Wings or The Londoner. The walls are a fancy brick design, the table tops and booths are upscale, the sprawling bar dominates the center, and the numerous televisions are barely turned up above mute. It wants to be a hip place to drink and eat at after work; watching sports is not mandatory.
On the corner of Malcolm X and Elm, Off the Cuff is hoping to take a bite out of the doctor-nurse-medical professional demographic that heads to Deep Ellum before and after a shift at nearby Baylor Medical Center. It’s a clean bar – I didn’t feel covered in smoke when I left – but not pretentious, good for a kick-back or a meal with a significant other.
My favorite part of the bar, however, has nothing to do with what my wife or I ordered (a specialty bourbon drink called Rye’d or Die for me, a cucumber vodka cocktail for her), the comfiness of our booth, or the hospitality of the wait staff.
For the two of us, living more than 20 minutes from Deep Ellum but regular users of the DART train system, the location of Off the Cuff makes it an easy choice when deciding on locations to grab a drink. The front doors are a four-minute walk from the Baylor Medical Center green line stop; no need to uber, or park your car. It’s an easily accessible bar, and the quality of the food and drink make this bar a must-visit when frequenting Deep Ellum.
