November 6, 2024

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The View On Cooking

New Irving ‘hangout’ serves traditional American bar fare, Tex-Mex and Nepalese snacks

A new sports bar in Irving wants to be a neighborhood gathering spot — a place to watch a game or play pool.

But Hangout Restaurant and Sports Club, which opened earlier this summer, also wants to offer something a little different.

The restaurant serves a blend of traditional American bar fare, Tex-Mex favorites and Nepalese food, like momas, or dumplings, peanut sadeko, a crunchy Nepalese appetizer, and marinated and grilled meats.

Owner Prajwal Chhetri, who was born and raised in Nepal, said he saw a need for Irving to have an independently owned sports bar. And given the city’s diversity, he decided to also offer food from his native Nepal.

“Since we’re in Irving, which is such a mixture of communities, we decided to serve a fusion of cuisines,” he said. “We’re not a typical sports bar, and we’re not a typical Nepalese restaurant.”

The bar has 32 TV screens, a private lounge available for parties and a covered patio, with plans to add another patio.

Patrons can play pool and ping pong, foosball, air hockey and snooker, a popular British billiards game. The 12-foot-long snooker table was specially ordered in Belgium, and Chhetri believes it is the only one like it in North Texas. The bar will also have traditional games like Jenga and lesser-known ones like Carrom, a tabletop game popular in South Asia.

“Our vision is a place where people come to eat, drink, play and watch a game, spend a couple hours here and forget about the rest of the world,” Chhetri said.

Hangout, 3554 W. Airport Freeway, will have a grand opening Saturday, with live music, food and drinks specials. Irving Mayor Rick Stopfer and community leaders plan to attend a ribbon cutting at 5 p.m.

A jogger runs along Campion Trail in north Irving. The city ranks 82nd out of 100 of the largest cities in the U.S. for health and fitness, according to a national fitness index.