Diddy at Opening Party of Zouk: But is the New Nightclub Worth the Hype?

It seems a rare thing for an actual nightclub to open in Dallas without a hint of pretension, apathy and bets on its rapid demise. Whether this is due to the fact that as Texans we’d often rather have a beer at the neighborhood tavern than a bottle of Goose at the latest hot spot, or perhaps nightclubs are, simply put, a suspicious breed in themselves, I won’t posit here. What I will say is that at the opening party for Zouk December 11th, which Diddy hosted, the throngs were out in good measure, filling up the cavernous, two-story space almost to the brim. Looks like this new place and downtown Dallas may be a match made in party heaven.

Or, maybe not. You may not recall, but back in the day this notorious space was known as The Starck Club, an 80s icon of out-of-this-world hedonism that attracted the glittering, go-go celebs of the era, the space designed by the ultra-cool Phillipe Starck. While the Starck heyday may be over, the idea of a super-club designed to accommodate hundreds of dancing party-goers is alive and well in the Zouk concept, which hopes to fill their gigantic space every weekend, including every sprawling VIP booth and private room.

This, of course, remains to be seen. During my venture there on a Friday night, I found the place to be worse than dead: only a few stragglers at one of the many bars, and two bottle service tables full (I find the whole point of shelling out the bucks for a VIP table is to have a place to sit in a full bar, and get a drink without waiting in a line.) The service was terrible, and the music, uninspired. My vote: they may have to keep paying celebs to host events if they plan to fill the place, or else use the square footage for cool parties, a la Sunday night’s goth themed “The Church” at Lizard Lounge.

Zouk, 703 McKinney Ave, 214.754.8090, zoukdallas.com