Top Dallas Chefs

The 10 best chefs in Dallas always leave diners hungry for more

The clock is ticking on our Tastemaker Awards, where we pay tribute to the best of the best in Dallas food and beverage, leading up to our grand tasting event on May 14 at the Empire Room.

We've recognized the best neighborhood restaurants, along with breweries, bartenders, bars, burgers and rising star chefs. For this chapter, we look at the nominees for Chef of the Year. These chefs are well-established in the field, not only presiding over a kitchen or a restaurant, but also standing out in recent months for their accomplishments and culinary chops.

Like all of our categories, the winner will be announced at our party. And don't forget to weigh in on our Best New Restaurant tournament, where your vote decides who takes the title.

Here are the 10 candidates for Chef of the Year.

Tim Byres, Smoke
The chef and cookbook author (Smoke: New Firewood Cooking, whose foreword was written by recently deceased food writer Josh Ozersky) has achieved a noteworthy feat with the opening of a second branch of Smoke, his upscale meat-centric restaurant: He's almost made Plano seem cool. With every town in Texas requiring a smoked-meat guru, Dallas has Byres.

Graham Dodds, Hibiscus
After exiting the hotel restaurant world (Central 214, Front Room), chef Graham Dodds has breathed new life into Hibiscus, giving it the seasonal focus for which he is known. Dishes like Wagyu oxtail with crisp gnocchi and arugula pesto fill the same opulent niche Hibiscus has always occupied and yet are simultaneously trademark Dodds.

Omar Flores, Casa Rubia
After much critical acclaim at Oak Cliff seafood restaurant Driftwood, chef Omar Flores has rebounded at Casa Rubia, his Spanish tapas restaurant and one of the success stories at Trinity Groves. Classics like paella and mussels are on the menu but upgraded via Flores' finely tuned chef perspective.

Jeff Harris, AF+B
How to put this: Chef Jeff Harris, formerly of Craft Dallas and Bolsa, is good enough to get people from Dallas to drive to Fort Worth. At AF+B, he's doing high-end gastropub fare, putting a fine-dining polish and creative flair on rustic dishes such as chorizo Scotch eggs.

Kelly Hightower, Oso Food & Wine
Between owner Michael Cox and veteran chef Kelly Hightower, there's a lot of experience at Oso Food & Wine, Cox's charming neighborhood restaurant at Preston and Forest. Hightower is in his element with international flavors from Mediterranean hummus to lamb kofte with Moroccan spices to an Italian-themed chop salad.

Andrea Maricich, The Second Floor
At the Second Floor, the high-end hotel restaurant at the Westin Galleria, chef Andrea Maricich starts with traditional dishes, then adds cultural influences and seasonal notes that bring a new level of excitement. Her spring menu includes deviled eggs with New England lobster and a lemon Parmesan crisp.

Matt McCallister, FT33
Chef Matt McCallister continues to make waves at FT33, his Design District fine-dinery known for its minimalist-sounding menu and plate presentations in which much energy is devoted to making things look like a pile of rubble. The chef remains on the crest with the announcement of Filament, a second restaurant opening in Deep Ellum.

Kyle McClelland, Proof + Pantry
Northeast native Kyle McClelland helped anchor Proof + Pantry, the One Arts Plaza restaurant that was at the center of a media maelstrom when it rejected a review from the Dallas Morning News. He'll also helm a new sibling restaurant, Madrina, which will feature Mexican dishes crafted via French techniques.

Stephen Rogers, Gemma
Gemma is the favorite restaurant of the foodie set, thanks to husband-and-wife owners Stephen Rogers and Allison Yoder. Rogers is a Dallas native who cooked in California before returning to his hometown where his thoughtful menu filters global flavors through a California sensibility.

John Tesar, Knife
One of the city's most mercurial and talented chefs, John Tesar is known for never being afraid to speak his mind; in staid, scared Dallas, that makes you dangerous. Knife, his modern revision of a steakhouse with a whole pantheon of meats, was one of the most important openings of 2014. Never at rest, he's now also helping out at the Design District restaurant Oak.

---

Buy tickets now to the Tastemaker Awards on May 14.

Mercurial and talented chef John Tesar.

Chef John Tesar of Knife steakhouse in Dallas

Photo by Marc Lee [https://marcsclips.com/]

Mercurial and talented chef John Tesar.

unspecified series554589813

new roots

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

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

undefined

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