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Downtown News

Dallas' iconic underground downtown restaurant Dakota's rises again

Teresa Gubbins
Aug 17, 2021 | 10:40 am
Dakota's Steakhouse Dallas
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
news/restaurants-bars

Fair Everywhere

Dallas restaurants get into State Fair spirit with fun and funky fare

Christina Hughes Babb
Sep 25, 2026 | 5:13 pm
Big Tex burger from Rodeo Goat
Photo is courtesy of Rodeo Goat.
Rodeo Goat's Big Tex Burger is one of of myriad State Fair-style plates found around town in October.

The State Fair of Texas this year introduced the Butter-Dipped Toffee Crunch Nutty Bar, Deep Fried Bourbon Banana Bread, and nearly 40 other wild foods, and plenty of its 2 million-plus visitors will gleefully gobble them up.

Inspired by the annual extravaganza, which runs September 25-October 18, restaurants across Dallas are getting in on the action, offering their own State Fair-themed dishes and specials, from Frito Chili Soufflé and Hot Cheeto elote to funnel cake fries and deep fried churros.

Check out these Dallas restaurants offering State Fair-inspired specials, all of which are available during the run of the fair:

Crown Block
The two-time Michelin recommended restaurant atop Reunion Tower is celebrating The State Fair with a seasonal menu featuring Elote Wagyu Dogs — that’s an ultra-tender beef hot dog fried in Fletcher’s signature batter beneath firm cotija cheese, corn, and cilantro. Crown Block State Fair specials also include the sweet Crown Fair, a dessert made from cotton candy, cinnamon churros, caramel sauce, and deep-fried Oreos topped with powdered sugar, and chocolate sauce. The Cotton Candy Cowboy craft cocktail features Texas whiskey, blackberry, citrus, and, obviously, cotton candy, which you can sip on some 560 feet above the fair, which is about four miles southeast of the dining room.

Lochland's Irish Pub
Irish pub in northeast Dallas is going all out with a list of fair-inspired fare that includes Shepherd’s Balls — Lochland’s signature shepherd's pie rolled into balls and fried — plus foot-long corn dogs, smoked turkey legs, breakfast dogs (breakfast sausage dipped in pancake batter), funnel cake fries, and deep fried churros.

Rodeo Goat
The Texas-born burger chain is bringing back its oversized BIG TEX Burger throughout the fair, featuring an all-beef patty topped with a chicken-fried mashed potato cake, crispy bacon, a fried onion ring, and chorizo gravy for $13.99. It’s going head-to-head with the Honey Bacon Blue burger, an all-beef patty stuffed with blue cheese butter and topped with honey bacon bits, fried kale, and curry mayo. There’s also a seasonal Pumpkin Spice Goat Balls dessert: deep-fried, cheesecake-filled bites coated in pumpkin spice and served with mascarpone dip. Rodeo Goat has 10 locations across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Lucky’s
As one of Oak Lawn's longest-lasting diners, Lucky’s tips its cowboy hat to the Big Tex Award winners of the world, but claims a closer kinship to enduring classics. And the State Fair’s arguably most enduring classic has to be the Corny Dog. Thus the restaurant will offer two State Fair Corn Dogs with fries for $10.99, along with Funnel Cake Ale from Community Brewing for $5.50. Specials run throughout the fair days.

Maple Leaf Diner
North Dallas’ Canadian-themed diner is leaning into the fried-food spirit with a lineup of State Fair-inspired specials. Options include a Buffalo fried cheese curd five-cheese grilled cheese, fried pickles, fried Oreos, and the Carnival Burger — a beef burger topped with a fried block of cheddar and a corn dog skewer. Cotton Candy Mimosa, Churros and Cream Soda, and the returning Maple Bacon Iced Latte round out the cocktail and beverage menu.

Rise No. 1
Of course it's a soufflé. Anything else would be silly here at Dallas’ favorite French restaurant. And Rise's Frito Chili Soufflé is serious, with Texas chili, crunchy Fritos, cheddar, and fresh toppings baked into Rise’s signature airy soufflé. Viva this France and Texas collab. The seasonal special is a returning fair-time favorite.

Flying Fish
This North Texas seafood staple's State Fair-inspired specials include Grits-on-a-Stick and Gumbo — grits deep-fried on skewers and served with seafood gumbo — plus fried alligator nuggets with Papous Comeback Sauce and a Nashville Hot Catfish Sandwich topped with sweet-heat sauce, coleslaw, and pickles.

Bluebonnet and Thyme
After her Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders won Most Creative at last year's State Fair of Texas Big Tex Awards, Chef Kendall Williams opened her own Victory Park restaurant. The award-winning dish is on the menu along with charcuterie nachos, Cajun cream pastas, and more crave-worthy, if heartburn-inducing, dishes. The restaurant, which only opened in August, is in the former Dirty Bones space across from American Airlines Center.

The Stix Icehouse
The sprawling indoor-outdoor entertainment venue in McKinney tends to go Big in the name of Tex, turning its 14-acre property into a mini State Fair, September 25-October 18. Festivities include live entertainment, family activities, and a full menu of fair-inspired food — deep-fried footlong corny dog with queso and BBQ sauce, Frito pie, Hot Cheeto elote, a mac stack burger topped with a fried mac-and-cheese ball, deep-fried Oreos, and funnel cake fries with chocolate and caramel syrup. Bartenders will serve Texas cherry limeade, a cotton candy margarita, and a zero-proof cotton candy lemonade. The month-long celebration culminates October 18 with the fifth annual Good Ol’ Days Fest, featuring pony rides, a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, vendor market, field-day games, and a celebrity dunk tank for a cause.

fried food desserts dining state fair of texas funnel cakes corny dogs state fair food
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