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.

Nola Brasserie gumbo and rice.

Photo courtesy of NOLA Brasserie

Nola Brasserie gumbo and rice.

where-to-eat lunch downtown openings

Farm News

Dallas farm-to-table champion Profound Farms closes produce operation

Profound

Profound Microfarms

A Dallas farm-to-table champion is pulling the plug: Profound Microfarms, the small farm in Lucas that provided locally-grown produce to chefs and the general public for nearly a decade, is shutting down its growing operation and discontinuing deliveries. Their final delivery and pickup day will be May 23.

According to cofounder Jeff Bednar, they were simply unable to keep the business afloat.

"It's always been tough for small farmers, and it's only getting harder," Bednar says. "I'd hate to count how many farmers and ranchers we've known in the last 10 years that have gone out of business. Honestly, I know very few farmers that could make it with out having off-farm income from a spouse or other sources."

Jeff and Lee Bednar first bought their 2.6-acre plot in Lucas in 2014, then spent three years learning hydroponic methods and building industry relationships. In May 2017, they began selling produce to Dallas-area chefs, helping to support DFW’s burgeoning farm-to-table restaurant scene, delivering to restaurants multiple times per week.

In 2018, Profound Foods received a USDA grant to create a local "food hub" — a business that helps small farmers grow by offering a combination of production, distribution, and marketing services. At their peak, by the end of 2019, they were serving 130 restaurants.

And then the pandemic arrived. They pivoted, expanding into retail sales in March 2020, offering weekly home delivery and pickup outpost options for home consumers.

Profound Microfarms lettuce Beautiful lettuces at Profound MicrofarmsProfound Microfarms

"Unfortunately, running a year-round food hub became tougher than we can sustain right now," he says. "It's disheartening we were not able to make it work after trying for 11 years. But we were able to raise our daughters the way we wanted to and we really had a great run. Profound impacted hundreds of Dallas chefs and thousands of families in our community and we'll continue to do that, just differently."

Over the years, Profound grew from harvesting greens to aggregating and delivering for other producers, then into community gathering spaces, commercial kitchens, and hands-on education.

"Profound has never been just a farm — it’s our commitment to connecting North Texans with local food, and that commitment will keep evolving even as the farm operations wind down," Bednar says.

So while the growing part has gone away, Profound will continue hosting cooking classes and other foodie events. In the interim, they'll also be listing their plants, hydroponic supplies, and greenhouses for sale.

Some of their stats:

Moved more than $4.5 million of truly local food into North Texas kitchens.
Sent 75 cents on every dollar to 185 farmers, ranchers, and producers in North Texas.
Delivered 34,000+ restaurant and home orders.
Donated over 90,000 lbs of fresh food to area charities and food banks.
Hosted dozens of interns and hundreds of volunteers for hands-on learning on our farm.
Helped over 22 companies launch food-based business in our incubator kitchen and hub.
Hosted tours for more than 15,000 people, schoolchildren, and aspiring farmers.

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