Kenzie Elizabeth knows Dallas. | Kenzie Elizabeth Dating apps are dead and making new friends is hard. Try these restaurants and bars It can be hard to make new friends, and it’s even harder to meet people to date. Whether you’re new to Dallas, want to meet a quality person and find dating apps are terrorizing you, or you just want to know where the cool 20-somethings are at, podcast host Kenzie Elizabeth has been advising millions of Gen Zers on her show House Guest and via her lifestyle brand, Friend of Mine. Oh, and via her YouTube and Instagram channels, of course. She spoke to Eater Dallas about some of her favorite places in town to meet new people — be it romantically or friendly — but the trick to every one of these spots is you have to make the first move. We suggest starting with a compliment and going from there. HG Sply Co. The rooftop is the number one place to meet other people in Dallas, and with dating, it is where people get approached the most. It’s the perfect vibe. You can go at any time of the day, and although some people do go just to get food and drinks, it’s a great place to talk to strangers but not too much of a bar where it’s too dark or loud to hear each other. [Editor’s note: Downstairs is a great first date spot. The restaurant offers a sunset toast every night, the menu accommodates vegans and vegetarians as well as meat eaters, and a lot of the tables are set up to be for two.] And if the date goes well, you can continue it on the rooftop. View this post on Instagram A post shared by HG Sply Co. (@hgsplyco) Katy Trail Ice House and Texas Truck Yard It’s such fun, but anything with a patio is good for meeting people. It’s so social, and even the table dynamics put you in a position to meet new people. Plus, Katy Trail Ice House has my favorite margarita. I also love the summer beer and Cronitas [7 oz. mini-beer bottles of Corona]. LDU Coffee I get an iced latte with normal milk, cinnamon, honey, and vanilla. I love all of the breakfast sandwiches. [Editors note: there is no wi-fi at LDU’s locations, so it is a good place to strike up a conversation with new people while waiting for your order.] Monkey Bar at Mi Cocina and Honor Bar Monkey Bar is an excellent place to be social, but it depends on the time of year. It can be very touch and go — when SMU is on, it makes the crowd a lot younger. The SMU kids are like, 20, you know? I go to Honor Bar basically every Friday night with my friends, and that’s my actual favorite margarita. We go to Honor Bar for girls’ dinner and do Monkey Bar before. They’re great places to meet people because you’re squished together and forced to talk to people. At Monkey Bar, I recommend ordering the Mambo Taxi. They are so good. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Highland Park Village (@hp_village) Bowen House It’s not necessarily the most social inside; sit on the patio if you want to be more social here. I probably [discovered] Bowen House on Instagram. I love the espresso martini and the chicken fingers. I also like the overall ambiance of the restaurant. It feels cozy and tucked in. Las Palmas is a catty-corner, so if you can’t get in, you can go over there — but this place fills up, so make a reservation. Las Palmas Outside of the food, I love this actual restaurant — the ambiance and how it is set up. The best place to meet people is on the patio. There’s also literally always a wait outside, which is a good place to talk to people. It’s hard to find places good for large groups; this one is big enough. I don’t know why I love the quesadillas here so much, but I do. They’re all I order. It’s embarrassing, but the chicken quesadilla is what I eat before a big drinking night. And we order fajitas for the table. The Rustic This is one of those obvious Dallas places, but it’s great for meeting people, especially when there is live music. I love the brunch, where you can get one bite of everything. The frozen margaritas are great also. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Rustic Dallas (@therusticdallas) Hudson House This is my favorite restaurant in Dallas. My favorite place ever is Nantucket, so I like that it has an East Coast vibe. I get the banana nut espresso martini, and I bring a lot of friends who are visiting Dallas, especially from New York, here. They’ve all loved it. The burger is my favorite burger ever. I could eat it once a week, it’s so good. I love the oysters; I often get those as an appetizer and popcorn chicken when I go out for a girls’ dinner. If you order the chicken extra crispy, it’s even better. [Editor’s note: If you want to meet new people, sit at the bar.] R+D Kitchen You will have to wait an hour for a table here, so sitting out on the patio — I think I force it to be social. I like R+D because I can get everything. I get an Honor Bar plus sushi. This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.