Uptown News

New hotel in Uptown Dallas debuts with coffee bar and rotisserie chicken

Good Graces will be on the ground floor of the hotel.

Rendering courtesy of Marriott

The new Marriott Dallas Uptown, a contemporary hotel set to debut in Uptown in February, has appointed a chef to oversee its food & beverage offerings including Good Graces, its full-service restaurant which will occupy a prominent space on the hotel's ground floor.

Executive chef is Juan Pablo Silva, who was previously executive chef at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas and whose international resume includes opening hotels around the world including The Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi Grand Canal, the Four Seasons in Doha, Qatar and the Four Seasons in Beirut, Lebanon.

Good Graces will be a modern brasserie, serving oysters, charcuterie, salads, steak, seafood, wine, and cocktails in a bright and airy space, with decorative touches and lighting that they hope will evoke a French brasserie atmosphere.

The expectation from the hotel's management is that Silva will be a draw, and to that end, they've created an open kitchen to afford a view of Silva and his team at work.

Silva, who joined the hotel in October, says his mission is to reach locals as well as hotel guests.

"We want to appeal not just to hotel guests but people from the area, who we hope will see this as a new offering for high-end and casual dining," he says.

The menu will extend from burgers to ambitious foodie dishes, and prices will be moderate, with the most expensive item being a Wagyu steak for $38. With the pandemic, their opening menu will be concise, which they'll expand and modify in response to customer demand.

"Gulf coast oysters will be a centerpiece, but the menu will also include local charcuterie, housemade pastas, mussels and fries," he says. "Seasonality will be a goal, with daily specials drawn from local vendors."

He'll also incorporate flavors from his background; he's originally from Peru.

"I have a South American background, and I love to use ingredients with bold flavors like dried chiles, while also keeping in mind European techniques in terms of execution," he says.

There will definitely be a traditional Peruvian rotisserie chicken, marinated twice, then cooked slowly until the skin is extra crisp. It'll be served with crispy potato and chimichurri sauce. His ceviche will be an "Asian version" with marinated tuna and a wonton crisp.

He's also into surpassing expectations.

"You may see something on the menu that sounds 'normal' like chicken bites, but we'll always do a surprising preparation, like brining the chicken and using Indian spices and serving it with a chutney," he says. "You've been in a restaurant where you get your dish and it's not as great as what you read on the menu. We want to do the opposite of that."

The hotel will hit all the important notes:

A weekend brunch served on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am-2 pm
A happy hour with its own menu of bites
Vicinity Coffee, a coffee shop brewing Starbucks coffee with pastries prepared daily by an inhouse pastry chef. "We're expecting the coffee shop to be a great success," Silva says.
Lunch for workers nearby
Draft beer as well as wine on tap

Good Graces will have a little something extra: a Tanqueray Gin Champion Shaker, a showpiece interactive device that mixes cocktails.

The hotel has 14 stories and 255 guestrooms, with full-service restaurant Good Graces, a casual all-day café + lobby lounge, fitness center, and pool deck with views.

hotels

new roots

L.A. celebrity favorite The Ivy plants Dallas branch near Katy Trail

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

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A Los Angeles restaurant famous for celebrity sightings on its bright floral patios is opening a branch in Dallas: The Ivy will debut in fall 2027 at 4205 Buena Vista St. inside The Terminal at Katy Trail.

“This will be the first Ivy outside of Southern California,” says India Wolfe, the restaurant founders' daughter, in a release. "I felt a strong calling to bring The Ivy somewhere new and to plant roots there with our family.”

India’s parents opened The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in 1980, followed by Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica five years later.

While her father, chef Richard Irving, and mother, Lynn von Kersting, remain in LA, Wolfe and her husband, Ernest Wolfe IV, will move to Dallas in February with their two children and dogs, to operate The Ivy. The restaurant will be located inside a luxury apartment tower overlooking the Katy Trail.

India started working as a teen at the family's third branch in Santa Monica and learned everything "from greeting guests and waiting tables to staging events, filming viral social media, and modernizing the business for a new generation," says the release.

Both she and her husband spent time in other professions but were drawn to the dining field. Ernest helped his in-laws so often at The Ivy that they finally employed him full-time.

“I love working with him," India says, "and we complement each other’s skills really well, not unlike my mom and dad.”

The Ivy The family behind The Ivy.Courtesy photo

The Wolfes say they want the Dallas restaurant to retain The Ivy’s familiar cooking, warmth and character, while making it feel like home in a new city.

“I love the idea of people taking a walk on the Katy Trail and then meeting friends for brunch at The Ivy,” India says.

Her parents are assisting with the design and menu; India wants a contemporary vibe but doesn’t plan to change what works so well.

“I don’t want to make it too different because I think the reason that people from Dallas come to The Ivy is because they love The Ivy,” she says. “That said, this new restaurant will certainly stand on its own two feet.”

Unlike the original, the Dallas Ivy will have a bar, an idea India dreamed up. While restaurant bars are nothing unusual, India actually envisioned what her family jokingly calls “the D Bar" (so named for Dallas), where guests can clink glasses and share good energy around a curved, D-shaped counter.

Her interest in art and flowers will result in a space well-appointed with roses, a family tradition, and local blooms like zinnias and snapdragons.

The Ivy serves upscale American comfort food and Californian cuisine with influences from Italian, French, Cajun, and Mexican cooking. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients, so the menus evolve throughout the year.

While the Dallas menu is being developed, the restaurant's Southern California winter menus, for example, include starters such as crab cakes, Caesar salad, and grilled-vegetable salad. Pasta options include lobster ravioli with Ivy pink sauce and lobster tagliatelle. Wood- or stone-fired pizzas include margherita and Cajun shrimp pies, while house-baked breads, old-fashioned red velvet cake, coconut cake, and chocolate chip cookies round out the menu.

The Ivy has always been at the center of family life, India notes. Now she and Ernest are bringing that way of life to Dallas.

She adds, “I am confident it will be a great home for The Ivy and for our family.”

openings katy trail