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Where to Eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best restaurants for groups

Teresa Gubbins
Feb 7, 2019 | 5:16 pm
Seasons 52
Completely normal group of people having a completely fabulous time at Seasons 52.
Courtesy photo

February is the month for lovers. It's the month for chocolate-covered strawberries and romantic dinners for two.

Don't be that person. Be the person who's going out with your friends and ignoring what the florists and chocolatiers and jewelers tell you to do.

Here are the 10 best restaurants in Dallas to go with a group:

Americano
Restaurant at The Joule hotel specializes in Italian-American classics, including house-made pastas such as tortellini stuffed with ricotta and butternut squash, or hand-cut pappardelle with Bolognese. There are Neapolitan-style pizzas, small plates, larger composed plates, and house-cured meats and cheeses, Artisanal breads, pastries, and desserts, including gelato. The restaurant has an easygoing vibe, and the space is minimalist yet warm, with pale wood tables that are easily pushed together for big groups.

Cane Rosso
Local chain specializes in the best Neapolitan pizza in town, with pastas and creative starters like fried artichokes with aioli deviled eggs. The food's great. They have an interesting selection of beers and wine, and some not-bad cocktails. But beyond the good eating-and-drinking possibilities, all of their locations have spacious dining rooms and patios that make it easy to spread out.

Fadi's
Mediterranean/Middle Eastern buffet from Houston family exhibits tremendous variety and very good quality. It's a buffet-style pace, which you can get vegetarian-style or with meat, making this a popular go-to for vegetarians. Hummus is extra-smooth, and warm pita is made in-house. The dining room is yours to make of it what you will, and they also serve wine. Best of all, the buffet mode means that you pay for yourself, so there's no awkward haggling over the check.

Hopdoddy Burger Bar
Austin-based chain specializes in burgers, obviously, but the food is good, and there are options for all your favorite eating plans including vegans; Hopdoddy was the first in Texas to get the buzzy Impossible Burger, the lifelike burger made entirely from plants. There's beer and wine, with fast-casual service style, so you pay your own way, and you can push tables around and take over the place.

Luck at Trinity Groves
Trinity Groves restaurant and bar features variations of regional comfort food favorites including smoked meats, sandwiches, salads, and desserts. Beverages include craft beers sourced only from North Texas breweries, with up to 40 options on tap, as well as Texas wines and spirits. Like most of what's at Trinity Groves, the atmosphere is totally relaxed, and if someone in your group wants to grab a bite from a neighboring restaurant, you can still nosh together on the patio.

Manny's Uptown
Classic Tex-Mex restaurant is a family spin-off of Mia's, one of Dallas' original Tex-Mex chains. Manny is Manny Rios, brother to Ana "Mama Mia" Enriquez, the matriarch behind Mia's. His menu is similar to what's served at Mia's: fajitas, tacos, enchiladas. But people love Manny's for two things: the brisket tacos and the swirl margaritas. The Uptown branch has multiple rooms and accommodatingly greets your group with salsa and warm chips.

The Porch
Gastropub on Henderson Avenue was one of the original settlers and keeps the flame burnin with upscale comfort food and creative cocktails, which they were doing at a time when creative + cocktails was not a common pairing. Currently steered by chef Brian Zenner, their menu includes lots of appetizers that are good for sharing such as pimento cheese dip. They're roomy enough that you can show up with 5 of your besties, but reservations are best for parties of 8 or more.

Saint Ann Restaurant & Bar
Saint Ann was one of the first restaurants to settle in the Harwood District restaurant and the question you have to ask is not "Is it good for groups?" but instead, Is anyone here not in a group? The menu includes fun items such as chorizo-stuffed dates and a braised short rib sandwich, with good cocktails and a surprisingly hefty wine list. A grassy patio in front of the place stretches for miles.

Seasons 52
The selling point on this highly popular chain from Darden Restaurants is that nothing on the menu is over 500 calories, and that's certainly not a bad thing. But the food is good, the atmosphere is lively, and the booths are like football fields. The wine list is not only extensive but also changes regularly; they take their wine program very seriously, with a sommelier who procures better wines than you'd expect. View the mall setting as a plus and not a minus: You and your gang can shop after dinner.

Trinity Hall Pub
Irish pub at Mockingbird Station is one of the most congenial and group-friendly spots in town, with all kinds of seating nooks that beg to be commandeered by your office pod, spin class, or vegan dating club. That doesn't even count the easy-come easy-go patio in front. Their beer list is excellent, they have plenty of variety on their menu (including dishes designed for the vegan club), and servers that take it all in without batting an eye.

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new roots

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

Christina Hughes Babb
Nov 11, 2026 | 4:11 pm
The Ivy
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.”

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