Where To Eat Now

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best restaurants to dine before a show

The 2016 good-times calendar is now open. Gexa Pavilion launched its season in April, and the symphony is soaring at the Mort. David Cross is at the Majestic, the Mavs and the Stars are about to start play-offs, and there are 13 can't-miss theater shows this month.

You can't see all that entertainment on an empty stomach. But the rules for finding the right restaurant before (or after) a show are unique.

Proximity is everything. It should be near the venue or on the way. Walking distance, even better.

It needs easy egress and efficient service. The last thing you want is to waste valuable minutes waiting on a valet or trying in vain to get the check.

It can't be too crowded, and it can't be too complicated. This is no time for a foodie experience, people.

These are the 10 best restaurants to start your night out.

Cook Hall
Restaurant on the ground floor of the W Hotel in Victory Park is a slam-dunk for any event at American Airlines Center, one block away. It has a flexible menu, with snacks, sandwiches, or a real dinner (gnocchi with sage and English peas, mmm). It has fancy drinks. Drinks are good. It's also never so crowded that you can't get a table or the check when you need it.

Hard Rock Cafe
On the other end of Victory Park is the industrious Hard Rock Cafe, which seems to try extra hard to compensate for the fact that it's a couple of blocks from the AAC. (Walking is so hard.) Entrees are probably not the way to go here, but there's a nice arugula salad, and there's always some kind of gourmet burger on special. Also good if you're headed to House of Blues.

Jorge's Tex-Mex
Any restaurant at One Arts Plaza knows the drill when there are events in the Arts District, but longtime survivor Jorge's Tex-Mex hews to the requirements especially well. Jorge's wastes no time getting your $13 brisket enchilada plate in front of you, and they will have the check tallied when you're ready to go.

Taqueria La Ventana
Little taqueria cousin of Meso Maya is a good drop-in for all downtown entertainment destinations. There's street parking nearby, and it has an expansive patio for dining onsite. The menu is limited to tacos, salad bowls, and great margaritas, and it's quick, casual, and cheap.

LUCK
West Dallas is not near anything, but Trinity Groves has suburban-style parking while being 10 minutes from most inner-city entertainment venues. As an upscale food court, it has plenty of choices, so there's no wait. LUCK has the best beer selection, and a trim menu that speeds up your decision process. Soft pretzels or fish and chips? "Beer rocks" are fun meat pies served with a beer cheese fondue.

Mudhen
The Dallas Farmers Market is not an obvious choice, as it is not adjacent to any venues. But it does have loads of street parking, is not crowded at night, and is only one exit on I-30 away from Fair Park. Mudhen is the healthy-ish concept from restaurateur Shannon Wynne, with fun veggie dips and chips and fancy poutine. Theoretically, it all comes to the table quickly — once you've enlightened your server, that is.

Pizza Lounge
Pizzeria located on prime corner in Exposition Park is a no-frills place where you can get a decent pizza and an equally decent beer with almost no trouble at all. Service is intuitive and responsive; a raised eyebrow is all it takes. It also serves fine sandwiches, including a salami-stacked Italian grinder, and A-plus sweet potato fries. Dallas Music Hall is literally across the street. Literally.

TNT Tacos and Tequila
The Quadrangle is more of a maze than it used to be, yes. Sorry, progress. But note that there is a parking garage in the middle of it all. Once you figure that out, you can slip in and out of TNT Tacos and Tequila, all stealth missile-like. This hip little Mexican is easy peasy for tacos and margaritas, with beaucoup seating inside and out, making it a favorite for patrons of Theatre Three next door.

Twisted Root
An early (2009) graduate of Diners, Drive-ins, & Dives, this Deep Ellum burger joint has its routine down pat. The menu is primarily burgers, fries, and shakes, but there's also a hot dog, grilled cheese, and a black bean burger. Its fast-casual service mode guarantees you get your food quick, and there's free on-street parking until 6 pm. If you're seeing a show at The Bomb Factory or Undermain Theatre, you'll probably have to move your car to their lots.

Waffle House
We are talking about the new Waffle House on Ross Avenue, which has many admirable assets. It is a mere 1.8 miles from the Arts District. It has its own dedicated and spacious parking lot. You can order breakfast any time. You can grab a cup of sturdy coffee as a pick-me-up before your show. And — surprise — there's a side salad with blue cheese dressing. So fresh.

Jorge's Tex-Mex

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Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

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