Restaurant Rumblings

John Tesar lands in another kitchen after big switch-up at Design District restaurant

Design District restaurant Oak has undergone a chef switch-up, with one chef making a hasty exit and another colorful chef entering with a partnership stake.

Chef Brian Zenner, who has been with the restaurant for more than three years, is leaving to work with a team known for its presence in the club scene. He's being replaced by chef John Tesar, who joins in the role of chef-partner, wherein he will oversee the kitchen while leading and training the culinary team.

"We are confident that this partnership will bring to Oak the experience we have always wanted to offer," says Richard Ellman, who owns Oak with his wife, Tiffanee.

Tesar, who is currently chef at Knife at the Highland Dallas hotel, says his role there will not alter in any way.

"You'll continue to still see me there plenty, and Knife will continue doing the incredible business that it has been doing, ensuring every customer has a great experience," he says. "We love being at the Highland and nothing about that will be any different."

Tesar will unroll new menu items by mid-February.

Zenner is going to work with Chris Beardon and Adam Salazar, who own the quirky candy-shop-fronted Truth & Alibi bar in Deep Ellum and The Mitchell in downtown Dallas. They also plan to open a bar-restaurant in Deep Ellum called On Premise.

Zenner met Beardon and Salazar after they hired his friend Rudy Mendoza to chef at The Mitchell, their bar that opened in a space on Main Street that has seen the comings and goings of Prohibition and the Chesterfield.

Zenner says he was starting to feel burned out on fine dining. "Oak has been a good spot, but once Belly & Trumpet closed, I suppose I lost steam," he says.

"On Premise is in the old Lemongrass spot, and it's really neat inside. It has a great patio in the back and a really big kitchen with big wok burners. So I'll probably do some wok dishes, some street vendor food, for the late-night drinking crowd.

"Right now I want to stay away from formal fine dining and go where it's more relaxed."

Chef John Tesar is adding Oak to his restaurant plate.

Dallas chef John Tesar of Spoon restaurant

Photo courtesy of John Tesar

Chef John Tesar is adding Oak to his restaurant plate.

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Pei Wei News

Upscale Indian restaurant takes over an original Pei Wei in Dallas

Roti Grill

A hallowed restaurant space in Dallas' Knox Park Village has a new tenant. The new tenant is Roti Grill, the Northern Indian restaurant known for its modern take on traditional Indian food. The space is the former Pei Wei space at 3001 Knox St., which closed in 2023 after nearly 20 years.

Roti Grill knows the neighborhood well, as it has been there since 2005 (as reported by Andoni Vossos), just around the corner at 4438 McKinney Ave.

That location was a little hidden away, without much on-street presence. And yet they survived 20 years. Imagine what they'll do in the Pei Wei space.

That Pei Wei was only the fifth Pei Wei to open in Dallas. (No. 1 was Preston Frankford, #2 was Carrollton, #3 was Las Colinas, and #4 was South Arlington — this is the kind of solid-gold intel you can find in Fork Fight!, the memoir by Pei Wei co-founder Mark Brezinski.)

But the Knox location being so centrally located in Dallas made it a major foodie destination for most of its two-decade lifespan.

Roti Grill founder Pardeep Sharma says the new location brings not only greater visibility but also gives them the opportunity to present a more refined version of the typical Roti Grill dining experience — including full-service dining and a full bar serving craft cocktails made with Indian ingredients.

“There’s a lack of Indian restaurants in DFW where guests can sit down and take their time enjoying wine, beer, or cocktails along with dinner,” Sharma says.

Open daily from 11 am-10 pm, the restaurant offers a contemporary, elevated Indian dining experience, unlike its other counter-service locations. Guests can enjoy a full-service meal paired with cocktails and wine.

Sharma is a veteran restaurateur who has owned some of Dallas' most popular Indian restaurants starting with Kebab N Kurry, which he opened in Richardson in 1982. He went on to open India Palace in 1985, a longtime staple in the Indian restaurant community.

He launched Roti Grill in Plano in 1992, and has since opened locations at Victory Plaza near downtown Dallas and at The Star in Frisco.

Roti Grill Knox Street Roti Grill gives former Pei Wei space a bright makeover.Roti Grill

Dishes include

Vegetable Samosas filled with spiced potatoes and peas
Chili Paneer with onions and bell peppers
Dahi Papdi Chaat - fried chickpea flour cake, spicy chickpeas, and chutney

Tandoori specialties include chicken tikka, ground lamb seekh kebab, and shrimp tandoori — each served with basmati rice, naan, and masala sauce. Entrees include chicken Vindaloo in a tangy sauce; plus vegetarian favorites like Chana Masala and Malai Kofta - vegetable and cheese dumplings in a creamy sauce.

Drinks include the Indian Sunset with Indian rum, amaretto, cranberry juice, and pineapple juice; and a Mango Margarita with Hornitos tequila, mango purée, and lime.

The new location spans 3,300 square feet and seats up to 80. It features a vibrant design by Hatsumi Kuzuu (Tei-An, FT33). The former Pei Wei now incorporates decorative details of Indian architecture and art, large wood beams, vibrant colors, and stenciled figures.

It joins other excellent-yet affordable restaurants at Knox Park Village that include Bread Zeppelin, the ingenious salad chain that puts salads inside a crusty loaf of bread, and Fadi's Mediterranean Grill, the excellent Mediterranean and Lebanese concept from Houston.

uptown openings