Where To Eat Now

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best new downtown restaurants for lunch

For those who like to meet for lunch in downtown Dallas, things have never been better. And by "better," we mean new places, opening all around the central core. You'll always have your classics like the Zodiac at Neiman Marcus, but if you're hungry for what's brand new, here's the list.

Black Ship/Little Katana
A sibling to the Little Katanas on Travis Street and at Galleria Dallas, the Omni location is the new project of LK Concepts and Dallas businessman Odes Kim. In addition to tuna towers and mega sushi plates served on ornately carved wooden boats, the menu features Japanese, Korean, and American touches on dishes such as miso-glazed sea bass and Wagyu New York strip steak.

Cafe Izmir
The just-opened downtown location of this Greenville Avenue favorite has its classic items, including the hummus of which it is very proud, plus some new offerings. Diners can get "bowls" with a protein, choice of saffron rice or salad, and a side of vegetables. It also offers baked flatbreads and pide (pies), an arugula salad, Izmir house fries, doner (thinly shaved lamb and beef), and many sandwich options.

Coal Vines
Latest branch of this local chain from colorful restaurateur Joseph Palladino hits the lunch market hard. At dinner, it follows the pattern of its siblings in Uptown Dallas, Addison, Plano, and Southlake, with wine service and a sit-down experience. But at lunch, it goes fast-casual, emphasis on fast, serving pastas and $8 personal pizzas in basic flavors such as pepperoni, in a few minutes.

Grill & Vine
Open at the newly renovated Westin Dallas Downtown, Grill & Vine does an updated reinterpretation of the classic bar and grill, with a tavern design, following the example set by the first Grill & Vine, which debuted in the Bay Area in 2013. The tavern-style launch menu includes the specialty, smoked brisket eggs Benedict, plus pulled pork on brioche sliders, deviled eggs, sweet potato bisque, steel-cut Irish oats, and a Caesar made with kale.

Herrera's
One of Dallas' favored Mexican restaurants celebrates its downtown debut in mid-March with a menu that includes Tex-Mex staples along with new, more upscale Mexican items. Think seafood, including ceviche and fish tacos. There'll be a full bar, so that means margaritas. (There's another Herrera's by a different family member on Sylvan Avenue.)

Latin Deli
Second branch of the charming Lakewood-adjacent restaurant sits across from the JFK Memorial, near El Centro College, where it serves dishes from Colombia, Peru, and Venezuela. The sandwiches are winners, especially the Cuban sandwich, a trademark item. There's coffee and breakfast chilaquiles in the morning, as well as beautiful, house-made cupcakes in unique options such as tres leches and sweet corn, which you can feel free to eat any time you like.

NOLA Brasserie
Upscale but casual, featuring a blend of American and Creole favorites, NOLA is a unique concept in Dallas, as most restaurants with New Orleans cuisine are lower-scale concepts offering po' boys and fried fish. The menu includes fried oysters with coleslaw and hush puppies, and gumbo with rice. In the '60s, this location was home to the only Dallas branch of Brennan's, the famed Creole restaurant in New Orleans' French Quarter.

Purple Onion
Modest home-cooking restaurant moved from Irving Boulevard into a space at Field and Main streets that was previously the Original Italian Cafe. The menu includes P.O. signatures such as chicken-fried steak, chicken and dumplings, and pot roast, plus a huge salad bar and pizza by the slice.

Spice in the City
Get health-conscious to-go food at lunch and dinner with Indian, Pakistani, and Malaysian spices and flavors at this canteen located in the former Fuse kitchen at the Dallas Power & Lighting building. Sample dishes might include grass-fed steak saag gosht, a Pakistani dish, atop a cashew and raisin pulao (spicy rice). They'll open in the lobby and poolside patio space in June.

Tutta's Pizza
Former food truck concept makes the big step to a real-live restaurant, in Dallas' upwardly trending West End. It occupies the location that used to be Dick's Last Resort, a large space with an enviable patio, where it serves pizzas and sandwiches such as the Italian Hot Date with pepperoni, spicy calabrese, ham, bacon, spinach, and tomatoes on house-baked bread, served with house-made chips.

Grill & Vine pork shoulder sliders.

Photo courtesy of Grill & Vine

Grill & Vine pork shoulder sliders.

where-to-eat lunch downtown openings

What Just Opened

Crazy wave of Dallas restaurants and bars have all just opened

Courtesy

1519 Main St.

The Dallas hospitality scene almost never sleeps and right now it's pulling an all-nighter, with a big slate of fresh openings, all of which have debuted within the past days, give or take.

Everyone's hustling to get their doors open in time for the holidays, and these establishments have all made it happen: From a cosmopolitan new lounge in downtown Dallas to a modern Asian restaurant in Plano to a bountiful AYCE Chinese seafood spot in Richardson, there's something here to pique everyone's interest and appetite.

1519 Main
Spectacular lounge is now open in downtown Dallas at 1519 Main St., in a nearly century-old building across from the Joule Dallas hotel where it's serving up stellar drinks in a space that's both cosmopolitan and low-key. The bar is from Hospitality Alliance, the company led by restaurant wunderkind Kevin Lillis, who helped create the original AT&T Discovery District. It's a stunning space with many original features like the rose-and-cream marble floors from the 1920s and the brick walls with signage from prior businesses in the space that dating back decades. The menu has cocktails from Brian Van Flandern, who oversaw the program at Per Se, The Carlyle Hotel, The Plaza Hotel, and Palm Court restaurant, and also has a homage menu featuring recipes from some of the most impactful but now closed cocktail lounges in the country. They're open Thursday-Saturday from 5 pm-12 am.

Centrale Italia
New concept from veteran restaurateur Patrick Colombo (Cru Wine Bar, Princi Italia) opened in November at Preston Hollow Village at Walnut Hill Lane and US-75 with a menu of wood-fired dishes, Neapolitan style pizza, pastas, and gelato made in-house. They're debuting brunch on Sunday December 7 and lunch on Monday December 8, with a menu that includes spicy meatball sub, chicken parm on toasted ciabatta, and a parmesan garlic cheeseburger with Wagyu beef and arugula. Salads include Little Gem Caesar, chopped salad with salami, prosciutto, and soppressata, and an Italian Cobb salad with chicken, Romaine, radicchio, avocado, beets, prosciutto, eggs, and Campari tomato in a creamy gorgonzola.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Restaurant in Richardson which just opened in the former Maxim's space is an all-you-can-eat sushi/seafood buffet featuring a daily rotating menu with 300-plus items from various Asian cuisines. There are oysters, crab legs, lobster, sushi bar, ramen bar, dumplings bar, skewers bar, noodles, stir-fries, and Chinese dishes both Cantonese and Sichuan, such as spicy boiled beef and kung pao chicken. Plus dim sum and desserts such as precision-cut layer cakes and a chocolate fondue station where you can dip strawberries and other fruit. (The lobster and crab are available at dinner and weekends only, not at lunch.) The price is $20 at lunch, $30 at dinner on weeknighs, and $35 all weekend long.

Jashan
Indian ambitious new Indian restaurant with a one-of-a-kind menu offering has opened at Plano's Legacy North with a chef team who are bringing flavors from cities and regions across India, from Dehli's fried potato tikkis to pepper chicken from the south. For those seeking something truly unique, Jahsan also offer a Dil Se menu — an omakase-style tasting, available in 7- or 13-course versions, featuring a procession of these flavors, letting guests discover the stories of these cities in one visit.

La Stella Italian Steakhouse
Stupendous Italian restaurant just opened at a storied North Dallas address at 14655 Dallas Pkwy. in the former Lawry's space, where it stands as a bigger, grander spinoff of its sibling La Stella Cucina, the Italian restaurant in Dallas' Design District. The menu is an expanded version of the original: combining Italian seafood and a chophouse, plus an accompanying music lounge for live entertainment.

LuLu Modern Chinese
Glamorous new Asian restaurant just opened in Plano at 3310 Dallas Pkwy. #121, with a goal is to bring an authentic and modern Chinese American dining experience. The menu features classics like Peking duck, xiao long bao (soup dumplings), and seafood executed with spices and recipes from various regions of China — from Shanghai to the Pan Asian continent. The 4,300-square-foot space features a subtle lounge theme — a place you can dine or grab tequila shots over a soundtrack of '90s hip-hop and pop, plus craft cocktails, and a serious collection of sake and wine — but not what you'd typically find at a Chinese restaurant.

Mendocino Farms
California chain known for creative sandwiches, salads, soups, and other healthy fare, has opened its newest DFW-area location — the sixth — at NorthPark Center, joining Addison, downtown Dallas, Plano, Preston Hollow, and Dallas' West Village. With its casual but upscale menu, featuring staples such as the Chicken & Hummus Crunch Wrap — as well as seasonal offerings like the November to Remember sandwich with turkey, mozzarella, mushroom & turkey sausage stuffing, spicy cranberry chutney, and Romaine on toasted cranberry walnut wheat bread — NorthPark seems like a perfect fit.

Old Ferry Donut
Doughnut shop chain from Korea entered the U.S. in 2023, with five locations in California. Now they've made their Texas debut in Carrollton at 2225 Old Denton Rd. #215, Their doughnuts are unique: They have a slightly chewier, more bready texture than the fluffy texture of a Krispy Kreme, and are a little less sweet than traditional American doughnuts. Many of their doughnuts have fillings, made from premium ingredients. The menu includes old-school flavors such as Boston Cream, Original Glaze, and Cinnamon Sugar — but also new-school flavors like White Chocolate Sesame, Earl Gray, and Matcha Cream.

Roots Chicken Shak
Fried chicken restaurant concept from celebrity chef Tiffany Derry, just opened a location at 3748 Belt Line Rd. #118, in a former Einstein's Bagels on the southeast corner of Marsh Lane. There are chicken wings, tenders, nuggets, and sandwiches on sweet potato buns. Derry opened the first Roots Chicken Shack at Plano's Legacy Food Hall in 2017, but the Addison location is owned by franchisees.

Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice
Halal BBQ spot which originated in Pilot Point is in soft opening mode at a new second location in Plano at 3201 Alma Dr., just west of US-75, where they'll be open from 11 am–3 pm or sell out. There's likely to be a line, because BBQ places like to have a line, but the Yearby's in Pilot Point also earned a slot on Texas Monthly’s 50 Best list for 2025.

openings