Buy Me Brunch

Where to chow down among the downtown Dallas brunch bunch

If Dallas is a brunch town, then downtown Dallas is the brunch mecca. Some of the city's best restaurants roll out the mimosas on the weekend, along with mouthwatering entrees and Instagram-worthy atmosphere.

Can't decide where to go? Let this list help you out.

Americano
We have three words for you: Nutella. Filled. Doughnuts. But this sophisticated Italian eatery, which opened at the Joule hotel in 2015, also fills out its inventive brunch menu with dishes such as eggs alla puttanesca and a pappardelle Bolognese with chili oil, pecorino cheese, and a farm egg. Wash it all down with a Rosemary Rickey (blanco tequila, aperol, honey, lime, grapefruit, and rosemary) or a twist on the classic, a basil balsamic Bloody Mary.

Ascension
The cult favorite — there are two others in Dallas, and one is set to open in Houston — specializes in coffee and wine. Aren't those really the main draws of brunch? And at brunch, you can also count on $3 mimosas, with $1 refills. But the farm-to-table menu fulfills visitors too, serving up ricotta hotcakes, smoked salmon hash, Croque Madame eggs benedict, a paleo breakfast bowl, and, of course, avocado toast.

City Hall Bistro
Now open in the Adolphus Hotel, this light and bright restaurant keeps the mimosas flowing (only $5) and has a little something for everyone. The menu runs the gamut from a chia seed bowl with apples, dates, dried fruit, goji berries, and cinnamon to migas, complete with spicy chorizo, morcilla, caramelized peppers, potato crisps, and a fried egg. To put a little pep in your step, start the day with the serrano and manchego flatbread.

Dallas Farmers Market
Take your pick at this modern food hall, where tasty restaurants sit side-by-side vendors selling artisanal goods and fresh food items. At Rex's Seafood, order up a carafe of mimosas to go with some tuna nachos or oysters. Pretend you're European and brunch on cheese and wine at Scardello, or grab a few breakfast tacos and quesadillas at Taqueria La Ventana. Combine brunch with Dallas' second-favorite thing — patios — at Mudhen. After eating, do your weekly shopping in The Shed and load up on fresh, local fruits, veggies, and other treats.

Grayson Social
This Southern hot spot calls its weekend meal "killer brunch," mainly for its killer biscuits but also because its offerings are so stellar. Obviously you should start with an assortment of freshly made biscuits and seasonal jam for the table. If you opt not to go killer quite so early, there is also the chicken-fried quail and waffles, shaved prime rib poutine, or housemade granola parfait to consider.

TorTaco
Once only open on weekdays, this Fort Worth import has debuted its weekend presence in a big way. Chef Nico Sanchez's signature brunch dishes include the True Grit (white cheddar grits, applewood smoked bacon, two eggs over easy, and sourdough toast), the Sweet Ride (brioche bread with strawberry cream cheese, blueberries, maple syrup, and bacon), and the Back Roads (sauteed chicken, cheddar, crispy potatoes, serrano rice, two medium eggs, and creamy poblano sauce). There are also $2 mimosas, Bloody Marys, sangria, and swirls until 3 pm.

Tutta's Pizza
Owner Jeremy Scott made the move from mobile pizza oven to patio-perfect West End restaurant in 2015, meaning you always know where to find dynamite pies. And now brunch too, as Tutta's is branching out to include the weekend meal. But don't expect the usual suspects — instead of French toast and omelettes, there's avocado toast frybread and breakfast wings (bourbon-maple-bacon ones, at that, served atop buttermilk biscuits with spiced cream gravy). Also look for specials on mimosa carafes and house-smoked Bloody Marys.

Wild Salsa
If your weekend includes a taco omelette, you're doing it right. You find that here, in addition to beef barbacoa potato hash and such staples as huevos rancheros and breakfast burritos. Trying to choose between a pitcher of Wild-Ritas (with pineapple and jalapeño-infused tequila) or the Sangria Roja may be the hardest decision you make all day.

Yolk
This Chicago import has been BYOB until recently — now you can count on mimosas and other brunch drinks to complement the yummy breakfast staples such as cinnamon roll French toast, corned beef hash, and four different kinds of Benedicts.

There are obviously too many fantastic restaurants to list, but trust us that when it comes to brunch in downtown Dallas, you are covered for the foreseeable future.

TorTaco is now serving brunch on weekends

Courtesy photo

TorTaco is now serving brunch on weekends

Tres chic

Deep Ellum bar duo to open bohemian French restaurant in Bishop Arts

Courtesy Peter Novotny

The in-progress exterior of Trapeze

A new French-inspired restaurant and bar from the team behind two Deep Ellum hot spots will soon make its debut in Dallas' Bishop Arts District: Called Trapeze, it will open this spring in a cute bungalow at 240 W. 8th St.

Trapeze is from Peter Novotny and Dan Murry, who operate popular Deep Ellum haunts Ruins and Armoury D.E. They have been remodeling the old Bishop Arts bungalow extensively for their newest restaurant venture.

“It’s basically going to be kind of a French bohemian bar and restaurant, with real emphasis on the bohemian,” Novotny says. “It will kind of feel like an old-fashioned bohemian artist’s enclave.”

Matt Battaglia, the founder of the now-defunct Denton music festival Oaktopia and current tour manager for musician Marc Rebillet, is also involved in the project.

The space itself underwent a massive revamp that’s been in the works for months, including a few weather-induced delays. And because Trapeze is located in a conservation district, that construction had to be done in a way that would maintain the home’s original look.

“It’s basically a complete renovation,” Novotny says. “They had to rebuild the entire structure. The whole exterior is all new.”

Novotny says that the inspiration for Trapeze comes from Oak Cliff’s own historical French influence. That will be reflected in the space’s “quirky” vibe, which he says will be very colorful and in keeping with the bohemian theme.

The neighborhood was once home to the French utopian community La Reunion, which sprouted up around 1855.

“We’re trying to do a tribute to the French history of Oak Cliff and Bishop Arts, and our goal is to capture the things we love about regional French cuisine and culture,” he says.

To head up the kitchen at Trapeze, Novotny and Murry tapped Jeremy Spector, a New York chef who’s worked in much-lauded kitchens like Balthazar and Gramercy Tavern, along with owning and operating his own restaurants in the city, as culinary director. Spector is developing the menu for the restaurant, which will serve classic dishes from the different regions of France, along with flavors inspired by France’s once-vast colonial empire, including Moroccan cuisine.

As one might expect from two Deep Ellum bar experts, the cocktail program at Trapeze will be serious. Expect classic French cocktails, New Orleans-influenced libations, and an extensive list of cognacs, rhum agricoles, and “many other classic French spirits and liqueurs,” Novotny says. The bar will also offer a solid menu of aperitifs and digestifs, along with cocktails mixed with absinthe, cognac, and Chartreuse, and French and “French-adjacent” cider and beer.

Novotny and Murry are shooting for an opening date in April, just in time for what will hopefully be good spring weather.

bishop arts deep ellum openings