Downtown News

Dallas' iconic underground downtown restaurant Dakota's rises again

The steak will be back but they'll also have new menu items including sides galore.

Photo courtesy of Dakota's Steakhouse

A legendary downtown Dallas steakhouse will rise again: Dakota's Steakhouse, the distinctive subterranean restaurant at 600 N. Akard St. which closed in 2020 after 37 years, will reopen on Monday, September 13 under new ownership, and with a new chef.

The new owner is restaurateur Meredith McEneny, who assumed controlling interest in January 2021. McEneny is married to Tim McEneny, a hospitality veteran who currently owns Sloane's Corner and who previously founded restaurants such as Dish and Jalisco Norte (since acquired by Local Favorite Restaurants).

Meredith, who has worked with her husband for more than a decade, says in a statement that she had a soft spot for the historic restaurant.

"The closing of Dakota's hit especially hard for me as I spent many nights celebrating special occasions there," she says. "After a refresh, we are excited to open these doors again and continue Dakota’s legacy for another 37 years."

Dakota's casts a magical spell because of its transformative nature. To get there, you must take a canopied glass elevator to an underground oasis with an 1,800-square-foot al fresco courtyard, 20-foot 5-tiered granite water wall, multi-tiered landscaping, and lava rock fire pit.

Between the patio and the New Orleans vibe of the restaurant's interior, Dakota's has always made the list for most romantic dining spots. It was also an employer to many a F&B professional over the years, including Tim McEneny, who oversaw its operations from 2009 to 2019.

Meredith gave the kitchen an overhaul but kept the dining room and patio features which include vintage black-and-white photographs, Italian Carrera marble, and gas lamps.

The new chef is Ji Kang, who is chef at Sloane's Corner and Pizza Leila, who was tasked with creating a menu that kept its original staples — steak from the renowned Allen Brothers and seafood — but also adding new entrées as well as a big array of sides such as broccolini, roasted parsnip, and Yukon potato puree.

New dishes include Lobster & King Crab Rigatoni, served with ‘nduja, PEI mussels, cherry tomatoes, English peas, basil and toasted breadcrumbs; and beef Wellington with puff pastry, mushroom duxelles, prosciutto and bordelaise and Roasted Bone Marrow, served with a braised oxtail and beet marmalade.

The lunch menu is especially key given the restaurant's downtown location and features Steak Frites cleverly priced at $19.84, to symbolize the year the restaurant debuted.

Other lunch items include:

shaved ribeye sandwich with arugula, gruyere cheese and horseradish
Buttermilk Fried Chicken with honey mustard aioli and B&B pickles
Turkey Club with house made smoked turkey breast, bacon, bibb lettuce, heirloom tomatoes, and dijonnaise.

Hours will be Monday-Saturday 11 am-2:30 pm, and dinner from 5-10 pm, with a happy hour from 4-6 pm on weekdays.

downtown openings

Hummus News

New Mediterranean restaurant in McKinney spotlights Greek and Lebanese

Ilio's

Chicken shawarma plate at Ilio's Greek & Lebanese

A new Mediterranean restaurant starring two cuisines has debuted in McKinney: Called Ilio’s Greek & Lebanese Restaurant, it's now open at 210 N. Custer Rd. #130, with a collection of Middle Eastern favorites like gyros, shawarma, kebabs, hummus, falafel, and pita wraps.

The restaurant, which opened in mid-May in a center on the newer west side of McKinney, is from a pair of restauraunt veterans, Anas Abu-Ziad, nicknamed "Ziad," and Talal Hammad, who owned a similarly-themed and similarly-named concept in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Managing the front of the house is Ziad's affable wife Jessica Gardener, whose doting customer service has quickly made her a diner favorite.

"The idea with combining Greek and Lebanese was to make the restaurant inviting to everyone," Gardener says.

Baton Rouge has a reputation for good Greek and Lebanese food, even boasting a few restaurants that feature "Greek & Lebanese" as part of their name. Those two cuisines are slightly less common in Dallas, where the Middle-Eastern restaurant scene has been dominated mostly by Turkish and Syrian places.

Ilio's, which was the ancient Greek name for the city of Troy and is a popular moniker for Greek restaurants across the U.S., specializes in sizzling grilled kebobs, which are available in chicken, beef, shrimp, and kafta, the Lebanese favorite consisting of ground meat — often a combination of beef and lamb, with spices, onions, and herbs — molded into a long cylinder.

Greek dishes include dolmas (stuffed grape leaves with rice), spinach pie, and lamb shank — all dishes that can appear on many Middle Eastern menus but are most closely allied with Greek cuisine. That includes moussaka, the homey casserole dish made with eggplant, meat sauce, and bechamel — although Ilio's version is deconstructed, which is easier for restaurants to execute than the traditional layered version favored by home cooks.

Hummus comes in three options: traditional, Mediterranean, and Sultan, topped with chunks of meat. Other Mediterranean classic dishes include chicken shawarma, gyro plates, falafel, and fried halloumi cheese.

Most dishes come in under $15 and the restaurant is also BYOB.

There are extra-healthy dishes including salads, lentil soup, and pita wraps, made with pita that's a little softer and less doughy than many pitas in town. And there's also a fusion twist that's very Texas: a "Greek quesadilla" with your choice of grilled meat stacked between pita bread.

greek cuisine lebanese cuisine mckinney mediterranean restaurant middle eastern favorites openings