Downtown Dining
Hall Arts Hotel in downtown Dallas to open restaurant with acclaimed chef
An exciting new restaurant is coming to the Dallas Arts District with a name-brand chef: Called Ellie's, it will open at Hall Arts Hotel, which is opening in the Dallas Arts District in fall 2019.
According to a release, executive chef will be Eric Dreyer, former executive chef at Fearing's at The Ritz-Carlton. The restaurant is named for Ellie Hall, the late mother of hotel owner and Hall Group Founder Craig Hall.
Dreyer says in a statement that he's "elated" to be collaborating with Hall Arts Hotel on a menu that will be Napa-inspired, as well as approachable, relatable, refined, and locally sourced.
Craig and Kathryn Hall have deep roots in Napa, where they own Hall Wines winery, known for its finely crafted wines.
This marks a return to Dallas for Dreyer, who most recently served as executive chef of Promised Land, the luxury estate in Montecito, California, belonging to Oprah Winfrey.
Dreyer was born in Houston and raised in Dallas. He worked for several high-end catering firms and restaurants in California, then enrolled at the California School of Culinary Arts in Pasadena.
His career in luxury hospitality began in 1999 at The Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, where he was eventually promoted to sous chef at Jer-Ne Restaurant, with James Beard award-winning Chef Troy Thompson at the helm.
He returned to Texas in 2005 as chef de cuisine of The Grand Hyatt Dallas/Fort Worth, then joined Fearing's at The Ritz-Carlton, Dallas in 2007.
Chef Dreyer's many accolades during his 11 years at Fearing's included the 2014 CultureMap Tastemaker award for Best Rising Star Chef, and then again in 2018, when he earned a spot on CultureMap's 2018 Top Ten Best Chefs list.
Dreyer co-authored The Texas Food Bible cookbook, and is dedicated to supporting and raising awareness of farmers and artisans.
The release says that Ellie's will fuse the dedication that Craig Hall's mother had to art and authenticity into a dining experience that satisfies all the senses without pretense.
