Just Beachy Dining

Can't make it to the beach? These Dallas restaurants bring it to you

When summertime rolls around, we start to crave the coastline. However, a beach vacation isn't always in the cards, and there isn't much in the way of dining with a water view here in landlocked Dallas.

But that doesn't mean Dallas lacks for great coastal cuisine, i.e., restaurants that can transport you to the beach, if only for a meal. Here's a list of our favorites.

Aw Shucks
This place reminds me of a crab shack in Fenwick Island, Delaware, where I worked one summer during college: nothing fancy, just good food. Here patrons roll up their sleeves to dig into plates of crawfish, steamed snow crab, fried seafood and po' boys — preferably at a picnic table outside, with a fan-induced breeze. If you ask for cocktail sauce, you will be directed to the patio, where there is a station to make your own. Even after 30 years — proof this place has staying power — diners still pay on the honor system.

Dive Coastal Cuisine
Not every oceanside meal has to be fried with a side of hush puppies, which is why we like Dive Coastal Cuisine and its commitment to healthier food. This Snider Plaza restaurant may not be the most beachy in Dallas, but we come here for ceviche: striped bass (or other fresh fish) marinated in lime juice with mango, cilantro, red onion, jalapeño and tomato and served with house-made plantain chips. Dive also does fresh catch of the day, an assortment of fish and shrimp tacos, and oysters on the half shell or baked. Throw in a glass or two of sangria, and we've forgotten our troubles for the afternoon.

East Hampton Sandwich Co.
East Hampton specializes in all manner of upscale sandwiches, but the lobster roll is arguably its most famous, which helped secure a spot on this list. A fresh-baked roll is filled with large chunks of knuckle and claw meat, a smattering of micro greens and chives, and a drizzle of butter, and it's served with a side of house-made potato chips. The price feels like the Hamptons too: $16 and worth every penny.

Hook Line & Sinker
Nothing sends you to the beach faster than a basket filled with fried seafood, and Hook Line & Sinker does near-greaseless renditions with fried fish, shrimp and oysters. Also on the menu: crunchy-moist hush puppies and slices of Key lime pie, which you'd expect from a place inspired by the beach shacks found along the Gulf Coast — especially one that's been doing this since 1995. HLS opened a second branch in North Dallas last year, but we like the Uptown location, which reminds us of our favorite coastal dives.

La Playa Volley Ranch
A place does not need to rely on food to transport us to the beach. Sometimes a little sun and sand can do the trick. La Playa Volley Ranch (formerly Yucatan Beach Club) in Coppell claims to have the most outdoor sand volleyball courts in North Texas, offering league play Sunday-Thursday nights, as well as special events and tournaments from March through November. There are two restaurants onsite to refuel between games, as well as outdoor bars, patio seating and a pool.

Pier 247
A newer establishment along the bustling Bishop Arts block, Pier 247 serves an assortment of seafood in a laid-back atmosphere, including a patio outfitted with picnic-style tables. Much of the menu has a Cajun theme, such as seafood gumbo, crawfish etouffee, and sausage and chicken jambalaya. Because this is Texas, many dishes also have a Texas twist, such as 247 surf and turf with chicken-fried steak, Creole and fried shrimp, and your choice of smashed potatoes or dirty rice. Bonus: Food is served until 1 am on Friday and Saturday nights.

Rex's Seafood
When businessmen need a midday vacay, they head to Rex's Seafood for fish tacos filled with fish, salmon or shrimp or one of the many blackboard specials. Because it's attached to a market, you know that everything — from ceviche to steamed shellfish to pan-seared scallops — is fresh. If you don't enjoy the food onsite, you can take your pick from the case and bring the beach to your backyard, down to an assortment of house-made sauces, marinades and dips.

Sandbar Cantina and Grill
This groovy Deep Ellum sandbox comes from five volleyball fanatics, including a couple of ex-pros, who decided Dallas needed a bar with a serious volleyball facility. So they imported some fine white sand, planted some palm trees and installed a bunch of tournament-quality courts. There's a "beach shack" serving typical bar food — chips and salsa, wings, burgers and a couple of sandwiches and salads — plus plenty of Texas beer on tap. So even if don't play, you can sit back and watch the action — or the sun set on the downtown skyline. It's not the ocean, but it's as good as it gets in Dallas.

20 Feet Seafood Joint
This New England-inspired spot from former fine-dining chef Marc Cassel (most famously of the original Green Room) turns out top-notch seafood at affordable prices. It's not much to look at, but it's BYOB, which makes it a friendly, no-frills restaurant for enjoying quality versions fish and chips and lobster rolls, as well as Cassel's Green Room mussels. If you're on the hunt for clam chowder or fried clams, this is the place to get it in Dallas.

One bite of the lobster roll at East Hampton Sandwich Co. sends you straight to the Atlantic.

East Hampton Sandwich Co. Facebook

One bite of the lobster roll at East Hampton Sandwich Co. sends you straight to the Atlantic.

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Spring Arrival

Oak Cliff gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name Dallas 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 Dallas' Oak Cliff: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave. in West Dallas, 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.

restaurants bars peruvian flavors west dallas oak cliff kent rathbun