Ramble Room Opens With ‘White Lotus’ Punch, Titos on Tap, and Classic Plates

Jon Alexis is officially on a tear. The head of the Imperial Fizz dining group follows up on 2022’s successful opening of Escondido Tex-Mex Patio with Ramble Room, another neighborhood restaurant in Snider Plaza. It will open on March 6. Along with TJ’s Seafood and Malibu Poke, it’s a full portfolio.

Ramble Room promises custom-built booths with black leather, warm and dark wood furniture, a horse-shoe bar, and a private upstairs room for large or private parties with a view down into the restaurant. The space is 4,500 square feet, with seating for 75 in the main dining room and 50 more on the patio.

Kathy Tran

Kathy Tran

Alexis has a strong sense of purpose to go with the restaurant. In a press release, he issued a manifesto about the importance of neighborhood restaurants and food bringing us together as “the world gets angrier and society becomes increasingly unrecognizable.” While that’s a tall order for a hamburger, Alexis also makes it clear that though this is a Park Cities restaurant, it’s one without pretense. There’ll be no dress codes or mandatory 30-minute waits without a reservation. Per the release: “Ramble Room offers your favorite dishes in a warm, handsome dining room…and we serve that food with no pretension whatsoever. Wearing a hat? Incomplete party? Need a to-go box? A high chair? Our pleasure!”

The menu is loaded with familiar favorites. It was developed by culinary director and partner Stan Rodrigues, who has worked at various Dallas restaurant groups, including Nick and Sam’s, Frontburner, Harwood Hospitality, and Flavorhook.

It’s American fare in that the dishes are familiar — Swedish meatballs, Italian calamari, a French mushroom bisque and steak frites, numerous Italian plates of pasta and entrees make up the bulk of the menu, sitting next to select classic American (leaning towards steakhouse) options. The wedge salad, fried green tomatoes, crab cake salad, brick chicken, grilled salmon with grits, and a Plaza Burger with gruyere and au poivre sauce: the hits are all here. And, of course, dessert.

Kathy Tran

Kathy Tran

Kathy Tran

That horseshoe bar isn’t just for show. It will serve an array of cocktails, but the star of the show is the martini menu, powered by Tito’s on tap, which will pour at a crisp 38 degrees. “These martinis should make your teeth chatter,” Alexis says and recommends ordering his favorite — a Vesper.

Fans of the HBO show White Lotus can order a custom cocktail inspired by the show that Alexis says is a “seductive resort punch.”

The bar also has a 50-bottle wine menu, with price points ranging from under $50 a bottle to bottles that are a splurge.

Kathy Tran

Ramble Room will be at 6565 Hillcrest Ave. in Snider Plaza. It will serve dinner seven days a week to start, with lunch and brunch coming later in the spring.