Where To Eat Now

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best restaurants for cheap dates

The most sought-after request for restaurant recommendations generally goes like this: "I'm looking for a restaurant that's nice for a date, but not too fussy. I want a nice night out with a cocktail and a decent meal. I want to dress up. I want good food. But I don't want to break the bank."

This kind of search is especially important in the realm of dating, where you need to exude the facade of a high roller without actually, you know, spending a lot of money. You need a place that's high-energy but not noisy, with a menu that's not dull but also not weird. Mainstream but not boring. Chain restaurants that don't seem like chain restaurants.

If you want cheap-cheap eats, we have a list here. Meanwhile, for cheap dates, we've found 10 restaurants right down the middle:

Cook Hall
Formerly Craft Dallas, this restaurant at the W hotel in Victory Park has been reconfigured a couple of times, but currently it resides in the crowd-pleasing "gastropub" mode. That means good bar offerings and a menu that runs from a $14 burger to a $38 tenderloin. Cheddar-jalapeño fritters with trendy Sriracha dip are $7, and you can cheat by ordering that $12 appetizer flatbread as your entrée. The cachet of dining at the W comes free.

Del Frisco's Grille
The Grille nets you all of the intangibles of its older sibling, Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House, at a lower price. You get the lavish atmosphere and on-point service, with menu options that run as low as $13 for a fried chicken sandwich with a side of French fries. This allows you to spring for a $7.50 starter of deviled eggs or split a $13 flatbread topped with mushrooms and onion, with great largesse. And when you bypass the $39 strip steak, you're doing it because you're just "not in the mood for steak right now" (and not because you're clutching your wallet).

Eureka
This California import has roots in the "better burger" trend, with a selection of 10 burgers, topped with foodie delicacies such as bone marrow porcini butter and fig marmalade. There is an enterprising veggie burger made from beet and kidney beans, topped with arugula, and served with fries for $11. But the menu goes way beyond that, with steak, entrée salads, tacos and a slew of starters such as mussels and nachos. So, whereas you could not take a date to a Hopdoddy without looking like a bit of a piker, you could totally get away with it at Eureka. It also has a serious bar program with a worthy lineup of craft beers and cocktails.

Ivy Kitchen
This new restaurant adjacent to Look Cinemas in Addison has a Houston's lineage without the association of the Houston's name. So you can feel like you're doing the indie thing and not some chain, eyeroll. The menu is not the cheapest on this list, but it is broad enough to comprise both $12 pulled pork sandwiches as well as $38 rib-eye steaks (though we both know you'll be going for that sandwich). There is also Veuve by the glass for $10 — a steal. Besides, its proximity to the movie theater offers the convenience of a built-in date night as well as reduced transportation costs; you gotta factor in every penny.

Mesa
No ordinary Tex-Mex, Mesa is the true-Mex creation of chef-owners Raul and Olga Reyes, with house-made tortillas and a mole sauce made from a family recipe with more than 20 ingredients. Tamales or tenderloin enchiladas may not be dirt cheap at $17, but cocktails such as house-made horchata with vanilla rum are one-of-a-kind and a bargain at $8. But Mesa is about relative value: The level of refinement is high, and in other cities, food this fine would command a much higher price.

Norma's Cafe
That Norma's might be cheap is duh. It's a diner where $9.99 blue plate specials such as meat loaf and chicken-fried steak are as expensive as it gets. Before you say this is too cheap: The only Norma's you want to bring a date to is the one in North Oak Cliff. Only at that Norma's are you an intrepid explorer who has unearthed a retro gem in a wave of increasingly overpriced Bishop Arts eateries. Plus you can start and finish with a cocktail at one of Bishop Arts' overpriced eateries and still come out ahead.

Pho District
The Asian/ethnic restaurant is every tightwad foodie's dating secret weapon. You look smart and edgy for finding something cool and underground, and it's almost always a cheap date. The challenge, usually, is getting the right atmosphere, and Kenzo Tran's Vietnamese/pho restaurant in Fort Worth has that covered: cool bar, chic dining room, even an open kitchen to add a sense of excitement. And with prices ranging from $9.95 for pho to $12.95 for clay pot salmon, you get a lot of bang for your dining buck.

Public School 214
California-based chain does the modern gastropub thing right, using natural materials like wood to maximize the sense of richness. The menu strikes that ideal balance of adventure and familiarity with items such as shrimp and grits, deviled eggs with crispy prosciutto, and bacon cheddar tots with Sriracha ketchup; prices hover between $10 and $16. A list of of 24 craft brews as well as wine on tap reinforce the "modern" aspect.

Thirteen Pies
This Fort Worth ex-pizzeria used to be a branch of Fireside Pies, and it also used to be a pizzeria. Ba-da-boom. Restaurateur Tristan Simon, who sold his Fireside Pies chain but kept this location, always envisioned this as more than a regular pizzeria. In addition to pies, the menu has $15 pastas and shareable starters such as wood-roasted vegetables that can serve in an entrée capacity for one. A bustling bar scene enhances the date appeal, with all cocktails priced at $9.

Wild Salsa
Upscale Mexican restaurant in downtown Dallas was among the first to comprehend the wisdom of an elastic menu whose prices start at a low-low $2.50 for a taco to a maximum $24 for lamb shank. But most of what they serve — enchiladas, chicken Milanesa, redfish — comes in at around $10, with sangria and wines by the glass a mere $7. Cheap Mexican food is nothing new, but the atmosphere at Wild Salsa feels luxe, with a firepit centerpiece and expensive-looking Day of the Dead artifacts.

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New West Village gastropub Public School 214 has lots of value in the atmosphere.

Photo by Marc Lee [https://marcsclips.com/]

New West Village gastropub Public School 214 has lots of value in the atmosphere.

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Eco Warrior News

Dallas restaurants doing amazing little things for the environment

Southwest Airlines

Cute bamboo cup from Southwest Airlines

One unfortunate legacy left by the pandemic has been a huge increase in the use of plastics — setting back progress that was being made pre-pandemic.

Plastics are bad. They harm everything they touch: the environment, health, food security, and economies. But they're convenient, subsidized, and in some cases necessary.

Pre-pandemic, a growing awareness started to snowball regarding the negative impact of plastics, particularly plastic straws and single-use plastic containers — and it was significant enough to make the plastics industry very nervous.

"In the two years leading up to the pandemic, the public backlash against plastic was a major concern for industry leaders," says a story about the plastics and the pandemic in The Guardian. "As a corporate executive remarked during an industry event early in 2019: 'We need to get the image of plastic in oceans out of the public’s mind. Otherwise, we could lose our social license to operate.'"

But then the pandemic came along, igniting mass hysteria about contagion, and suddenly, bans on single-use plastics that had been in the works were reversed in countries around the world: North America, Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“Overnight, plastics went from public enemy No. 1 to consumers asking for everything to have as much packaging as possible and to be single use," said one gleeful analyst for Shell Oil, who are a major plastics player.

The urgency of the plastics situation remains invisible to most people, lined up at the drive-thru for their coffee or Chick-Fil-A, piling up nearly 250 pounds of plastic waste every year. (That's what the average American amasses — more than any other country.) But there are nonethless pro-environment efforts being made by Dallas companies and organizations, big and small.

La Casita Bakeshop cup Revolutionary compostable cup at La Casita Bakeshop.Facebook

Dallas efforts
These Dallas restaurants and organizations are taking positive steps to fight waste, even despite the fact that it's more costly for them to do the right thing.

Plastic Free Lunch Day is November 22
In an effort to reduce the amount of single-use plastic in school cafeterias, Dallas ISD’s Food and Child Nutrition Services will participate in Plastic Free Lunch Day on November 22.

Plastic Free Lunch Day was started by middle school students in Brooklyn. The initiative was so successful that it was implemented at all New York City public schools in 2022 and has since spread and become a national observance at public schools across the country. Dallas ISD was the first in Texas to participate, when it joined up in 2022.

On this one day, in an opportunity to educate students and the community on ways to positively impact the environment, plastic items used during lunch services will be replaced with biodegradable alternatives. (Plastic cutlery, cups, and straws will be available upon request for the crybabies.)

Southwest Airlines bamboo cup
Southwest Airlines Co., the Dallas-based airline, has introduced a new bamboo cup for inflight cold beverages, and a wood stir stick in place of a plastic stick. The airline expects the new items to reduce its inflight single-use plastics by more than 1.5 million pounds annually.

In July 2024, Southwest transitioned to a paper overwrap for its napkins made from 100 percent post-consumer recycled materials — fully eliminating plastic from this service item. The airline is making an effort to eliminate single-use plastics from inflight service by 2030.

La Casita Bakeshop compostable cups
La Casita Bakeshop, the award-winning bakery and cafe operation, recently debuted fabulous new cups that are 100 percent compostable, soil- and marine-biodegradable, breaking down naturally after 90 days. and are made from natural materials.

"We are always trying to find ways to be more environmentally friendly and this is a big way we can," they said in their post announcing the new cups. "We just want to be proud of our paper trail and being a restaurant it's hard to do that."

Smoothie King biodegrable cups
Smoothie King, the Dallas-based smoothie chain, previously used styrofoam cups, but began testing a biodegradable cup in 2019. They now offer it as the default choice. They're using Vio Foam, specially made cups that biodegrade 92 percent in four years. They'll still accommodate whiny selfish customers who insist on getting a plastic cup instead, but their Vio foam cup not only helps the environment, it also keeps their smoothies cold a little longer.

Kate Weiser Recycle Box Program
Kate Weiser, the Dallas chocolatier, sells its gorgeous eye-catching bon-bons in a variety of boxes, from 4 pieces all the way up to 35 pieces. (OK, they'll sell them individually, too, but who goes to a chocolate shop and buys a single chocolate?) They have a program where you can bring your empty box to the store and get a refill and get 5 percent off. (Weiser amusingly calls it a "secret hack.")

Dude Sweet Chocolate freezer packaging
Dude Sweet Chocolate, the Oak Cliff chocolatier, has a next-level campaign in which they will accept cold-ship packaging you've received in the mail and re-use it. Say, for example, that you ordered an 8-pack of ice cream pints from Double Rainbow in San Francisco, and it arrived in a box with freezer packs and a foil liner. You can drop that packaging off at Dude Sweet's factory location at 1340 Inwood Rd., and they'll re-use it in one way or another when they're doing shipments of their chocolate.

Note: Whether you're putting it in the blue bin or the gray bin, your plastic is not being recycled. The best course when it comes to plastic, especially single-use plastic, is to not use it at all.

sustainability