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    Where to Eat Now

    Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 restaurants to go with friends

    Teresa Gubbins
    Oct 7, 2015 | 10:59 am

    For our October rendition of Where to Eat, we're getting all inclusive. We're feeling extra social. We're thinking about where we want to go with friends.

     

    We're looking for places we can hit before a show or after a game. Places where the setting and convenience often come before the food.

     

    Group dining has distinctive logistical challenges. You need space. The restaurant must be big enough and not so crowded that it can't push together tables on a moment's notice. And there must be ample parking.

     

    It also requires amiable service, be it a willingness to write up 10 separate checks without batting an eye or the good-natured understanding that the tip will not come close to proper compensation. Big parties so often shortchange on the tip.

     

    As for the food, the menu shouldn't be too fancy. It has to be expansive and sufficiently generic that everyone can find something to eat. Here's our list of 10 places where you can dine with a group:

     

     Angry Dog
    The Deep Ellum mainstay is a popular, low-pressure hang-out that sees all walks of life, from office workers to bikers. Its huge space includes TVs, lots of beers on tap, and tables topped with vinyl tablecloths that beg to be rearranged to your specifications. A big menu of well-done bar food includes burgers, hot dogs, and shareable appetizers like fried pickles and beer-battered onion rings.

     

     Campisi's
    There isn't a pizzeria in town that isn't good for a group. Regardless of where you stand on the pizza front — thick crust or thin, Neapolitan or New York — pizza by its very nature is a dish to be shared. Campisi's wears the crown as Dallas' original pizzeria. The fact that its old-school thin-crust pizzas are currently eclipsed by newcomers means there's less competition to get a big table, and they don't mind if you BYOB.

     

     Chino Chinatown
    Pretty much ​any restaurant at Trinity Groves is going to fill the bill as a good destination for a group. This outdoor food court has many features you'd find in the suburbs including a massive patio and plenty of parking. It's easy to get to, and it's near downtown without being in downtown. And Chino has an unusual menu fusing two cuisines — Asian and Mexican — that please nearly everyone, with egg rolls and guacamole side by side.

     

     Dish
    Cedar Springs restaurant on the ground floor of the Ilume building has become known for its drag brunch (it even has its own Facebook page), when it draws a bawdy crowd. But if you go any other time, they can usually handle a last-minute group without a fuss. With a chef-devised menu and reasonable prices ($12 for a prosciutto-and-fig flatbread), this is one of the more foodie-ish places on this list, but the parking is a minus, as some of the surrounding street areas result in tickets.

     

     Kona Grill
    Arizona-based chain Kona Grill opened in NorthPark in 2006 with an emphasis on sushi and Asian food. But its menu encompasses mainstream dishes like flatbreads and spinach-artichoke dip. The restaurant is big enough that it's almost never packed, with circular booths where a group can fit. NorthPark's central location is a plus, and its entrance is accessible to the street. And there's the mall parking lot. Sometimes group dining is about something as dumb as a parking lot.

     

     La Calle Doce
    The original La Calle Doce has been in Oak Cliff since 1981, plying coastal Mexican seafood, plus combo plates for those who don't like fish, and frequently replenished chips and salsa. There's drive-up parking, with a wrap-around porch patio that's easy for a group to conquer, or else share a table inside. La Calle Doce has a kind of Volkswagen quality to it: From the outside, it looks like the modest residence it once was, but the space seems to expand to fit the need.

     

     Ozona
    Ozona has a number of trademarks including its renowned Bloody Mary bar, massive patio, and a chicken-fried steak that has earned many best-of nods. Its vaguely Tex-Mex menu is a crowd-pleaser, but what seals the deal for its group friendliness is its relaxed, forgiving atmosphere, one that verges on "dive." Easy come, easy go, no one judges here, and the margaritas aren't too bad, either.

     

     Stampede 66
    Stephan Pyles' Texana joint feels comfortable yet new, with a convivial, even boisterous atmosphere that lets everyone blend in. Roomy booths accommodate groups of up to 8 officially, 10 if you're busting a move. It's in an deal location if you want to be downtown without having to actually, ugh, drive through downtown. The menu extends from $4 tacos and snacks to a $56 rib eye, if you're so inclined. A bottle of Prosecco to share is $40.

     

     Truck Yard
    ​Truck Yard is almost too obvious a place to even mention, but how could we not? If you want no-pressure atmosphere, this is the place. With a ring of food-truck purveyors where you go and get (and pay for) your own, there'll be no awkward exchange over splitting the bill, and no need to leave a tip at all. It's the quintessential place for a group, and unfortunately, the packed parking lot with a valet proves that point. What you get in the vibe, you lose in the parking.

     

     Zorba's
    Collin County is full of chain restaurants, and chains generally offer safe harbor for group dining. So we flip the coin with this Plano old-timer with reliable Greek food, suitable for carnivores and vegetarians alike, where the staff is ever-happy to make room for your birthday celebration or promotion at work. With its festive atmosphere and cozy size, they hardly even need to push together the tables. There's an added fringe benefit for the tight-fisted group: Zorba's is BYOB.

    Chino Chinatown in Trinity Groves has a menu with not one but two cuisines.

    Chino Chinatown at Trinity Groves in Dallas
      
    Chino Chinatown at Trinity Groves/Facebook
    Chino Chinatown in Trinity Groves has a menu with not one but two cuisines.
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    Taco News

    Family taqueria nabs Thunderbird Station space in Dallas' Deep Ellum

    Teresa Gubbins
    Jul 14, 2025 | 4:09 pm
    El Arquito
    El Arquito
    El Arquito

    A Dallas family-owned taqueria chain has opened a location at a historic Deep Ellum address: Taquería El Arquito, known for its trompo tacos and customer-friendly hours, has opened an outlet at 3400 Commerce St., in the space previously occupied by Thunderbird Station, which closed in 2023.

    Taqueria El Arquito opened in late June. It's a family venture from siblings Analí, Nancy, Martha, and Victor Hugo Reza, working with chefs Juan Diego Gutierrez and José Angel Avila, to recreate family recipes — particularly for their tacos de trompo, with a goal to spotlight their Mexican heritage by serving a strictly authentic rendition.

    They keep long hours, opening early at 6 am Monday-Saturday and 7 am on Sunday, spotlighting the key meal: breakfast, with classics like a breakfast taco with eggs and mozzarella cheese on a flour tortilla, with choice of bacon, beans, house-made chorizo, ham, potatoes, or sausage, for $2.89. They also do a breakfast sandwich and breakfast burrito, plus generous $10.39 plates such as migas, huevos rancheros, and chilaquiles.

    They're open for lunch and dinner with their bestselling trompo tacos, plus hefty torta sandwiches, in four "global" varieties that include Milanesa (beef with mozzarella cheese), Cubana (beef, trompo meat, salchicha, ham, American cheese, and mozzarella cheese), and Hawaiian, a clever twist on pastor with trompo meat, ham, and pineapple. Torta prices range from $12 to $14.

    They also have tamales and menudo on weekends, plus horchata, aguas frescas, and churros and elote for dessert.

    “We love to prepare the food with love — we call it magic flavors," Analí says. "We’re known for our tacos but we also have burritos, tortas, burgers, chilaquiles, breakfast, and refreshing agua fresca. Don’t even think about skipping the horchata here."

    They founded the concept — named for the many arcs in their hometown Taxco, Mexico — during the pandemic, opening their first location in a convenience store at 1909 S. Cesar Chavez Blvd. in 2020. They've expanded quickly, opening eight other locations, primarily in gas stations across DFW from Royse City to Dallas to Haltom City to Fort Worth.

    They put themselves on the map after opening a location at The Corner in Preston Center in 2024 — one of the few not located in a gas station.

     El Arquito Former Gulf station at 3400 Commerce St. Courtesy photo 

    The Deep Ellum location is special for a couple of reasons. Like Preston Center, it is not a gas station offshoot but is on its own, and it will be the first in the chain to serve alcohol. They've applied for a license which is pending.

    "We'll have some alcohol two frozen margaritas with a wine base, plus Michelada, Pulque, and three to four beers," Anali says.

    But there's also the synchronicity of the building itself. While it is not a restaurant-in-a-gas-station like most of their other locations, the building itself is a former gas station, and one with a venerable history: the former Gulf station at the corner of Canton Street that was built in 1957, and operated for decades as Riegel's Gulf Service. In a neighborhood being mowed down by developers, it's an exemplary example of preserving the heritage via re-use. The space boasts indoor seating and comes with an expansive outdoor patio.

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