“In all the things I read about Tina’s, they’ll say we’re ‘divey,’ or ‘unfussy.’ Oh my god, if they only know — there’s so much fuss!”

That’s Krystle Schilling, co-owner and queen of fuss at Tulsa’s favorite new neighborhood bar, Tina’s. Now a year in, Krystle and her husband and co-owner Tyler — along with the rest of downtown Tulsa — have a pretty good sense of what all the fuss is about.

Tina’s is the neighborhood bar we didn’t know we needed, the puzzle piece that gets plunked into the middle of the landscape, bringing it all together after not even realizing it’d been out of place.

Both previously business owners (Krystle as a hairdresser and Tyler as a co-owner at cocktail bar Valkyrie), the Schillings took a leap and opened Tina’s to fill a gap they saw in Tulsa’s bar scene: a place people in their 30s and 40s would actually want to go for drinks, and where patrons can actually hear each other talk. A little neighborhood bar that serves really good food and has a clean bathroom. It’s not complicated, and it doesn’t have to be.

“So many bars today are just so experiential,” Tyler says. “I don’t need a 10-ingredient cocktail. We just wanna hang out, talk **** and drink really good cocktails.”

Despite the city’s recent growth in arts and nightlife, hanging out, talking **** and sipping cocktails might still be the absolute best time one could possibly have on a Saturday night in Tulsa, and Tina’s is the perfect place to do it. The volume is reasonable, the space is welcoming and beautiful to look at. Simple is the mantra, and Krystle said every element — from the restaurant’s nostalgic aesthetic to its warm surfaces and handcrafted wooden booths to the menu — is “warm, classic and deliberate.” Being inside Tina’s feels like being inside an old family den, wide and comfortable enough for everyone to crowd around the table. Tina’s signature design aesthetic is the product of Krystle’s vision, close neighborhood friend and architectural designer Kate Wallace-Helm’s execution and Tulsa woodworker Eric Franzen’s craftsmanship.

Tina’s is doing more than a few things right, and regulars are firmly bought in. They love it for that warmth Krystle mentioned, which is something our culture seems to be starved of these days. It even offers a daily menu called “Patina’s” aimed at welcoming guests over 60 — it’s illegal to offer deals based on age, but in a town where the bar scene is more generally popularized by folks in their 20s and 30s, the program is important, if just in its symbolism. Patina’s is a way to honor the intergenerationality of Tina’s clientele, and offer a welcoming space where the young and young at heart can meet over cocktails and conversation, and find some connection despite their age gap.

Once, Tyler got a call from a Patina’s regular, so pleased to be warmly welcomed into a bar at her age that she had to share feedback. “Nobody wants old ladies at their bar!” she pointed out. “But we feel wanted here.”

“It's so homey and cozy, and everyone there is so cute and nice,” explains one regular, Darku Jarmola. “And the wine is delish.”

“Everything tastes like it’s made with TLC,” says another.

Tina’s arrived on the scene in December 2023 after a season of whispers and speculation. For months, a construction build-out acted as free advertising, and window dressings teased that something new was coming. “Cold drinks, warm friends.” No more, no less. It was plenty to get the neighborhood talking, eagerly awaiting its opening. The team had conservatively optimistic hopes for the business back then, no idea yet of the fanatical patronage that was to come.

“One of the first meetings we had, I guessed we might be doing 50, maybe 100 burgers a week,” recalls Head Chef Alex Koch. “We thought it was gonna be so chill. Then we opened, and were shocked. We sell almost 500 burgers a week now. It’s insane.”

That burger is widely respected as one of Tulsa’s best, winning the hearts and stomachs of regional reviewers and national publications like Eater*. It’s a double patty griddled and oozing with melted American cheese, velvety onions grilled on top, pickles, chef’s special burger sauce and a golden bun crisped to perfection. It is a call-back to a classic Route 66 roadside burger, served with a basket of salt-bombed fries that absolutely demand to be eaten in their entirety. (Per Chef Alex, there is no secret ingredient; in the understatement of this edition, she insists, “we just salt them well and always check that they taste great!”)

Order food from Tina’s and you’ll pick it up at the window, where you’ll meet Chef Alex, Casey and the rest of the kitchen crew. Krystle and Alex agreed that the cut-out kitchen window is an essential element of the design, created in the spirit of connection, and to give the back-of-house staff the same facetime with guests that the bartenders get to enjoy.

“Having the window has made a huge impact,” Alex says. “People say kind things through the window all the time, and it’s really sweet. Keeping in touch with the people that support you just feels great.”

It’s a certain kind of heaven, noshing on a Tina’s smashburger and washing it down with a Negroni on a Tuesday afternoon. But variety is the spice of life, and if you’re looking to change it up and sample something new, the fall menu has a few seasonal features to try.

The whipped feta and carrots feature the eponymous whipped feta, a sprinkle of pomegranate seeds, sesame oil and a swirl of pomegranate molasses that gives the dip a deep, addictive sweetness.

Grilled cheese stans would insist you try the version at Tina’s, which is upgraded with bacon, crispy in all the right places, and served beside a cup of cheesy tomato soup dressed with a sprig of dill as the ultimate comfort dish for cold days. It’s rich with a great crust — a little thicc for a late lunch, but, when in Rome ...

And the Cancha is a Peruvian corn nut dish that tastes a bit like a corn nut and a cricket mated. It’s not quite a standout dish for me, but is serviceable if you need something salty to pop in between rounds. On the lighter side, the Caesar is also a fine choice.

But the true star of the show is the cocktail program. Ask Tina himself (the bar’s namesake is a nickname for Tyler) and he’ll tell you that this is “a bar that serves food,” on a simple mission to revisit the classics. Really well-done Negronis, Manhattans, a perfect Last Word, tiki classics like a Bumbo, Old Fashioneds and even a Shirley Temple are standard fare on the bar’s menu.

Inventive drinks — like the Self-Starter, a Negroni-esque creation from bartender Jamie Jennings; a Kalimotxo (equal parts red wine and cola; trust them!); and The Birthday Girl, crowned for its excellence at the annual Philbrook Mix event — center the staff’s creativity. The newly added Frozen Irish Coffee is a yummy, boozy treat made with Irish whiskey, DoubleShot cold brew, Irish cream and oat milk, and is available as a smol guy on the happy hour menu for just $6 from 3-6 p.m. Tuesday-Friday.

But then there’s the wine! Those who prefer wine to a cocktail can sample fine bubbles and wines from the curated list, or at happy hour, grab a few friends and head over for “Girl Lunch,” a bottle of select Pet Nat and the whipped feta and carrots, packaged for $50.

On the special occasion of Valentine’s Day, Tina’s traveled back in time to become Valentina’s. Reminiscent of a ’70s prom night, the Valentina’s pop-up channeled a romantic dinner in an old Italian eatery, where bistro tables covered with checkered tablecloths, fresh corsages and a negroni fountain wooed lovers into a date night. It’s Krystle’s favorite holiday of the year, and she believes it’ll be a staple for many to come — another way for the bar to love on the neighborhood.

Looking ahead into 2025, there’s more to love on the horizon: Tina’s first birthday party on Dec. 21 will feature a “Mickey T’s” pop-up concept, with all-day service, hot cakes, egg McMuffin-esque sandwiches, breakfast and lunch, visors and headsets ... as classic as it gets.

Off menu, Krystle and Tyler are looking forward to unwinding from a long year of hustle and DIY entrepreneurialism, and celebrating good health and good living. “We also really want to be able to offer health insurance to our staff,” they explain. “That’s very important to us.”

“We just want to keep it simple, keep it warm,” Krystle adds. “You know, have a good little life.”

* Author’s Note: Tina’s was recently reviewed for Eater in The 18 Best Restaurants in Tulsa, Oklahoma by the late Jess Brent, a fine, one-of-a-kind Tulsa-based writer, who passed away just weeks before this issue went to print. Give it a read.