Where to Eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 5 cool new restaurant discoveries

Veal osso bucco with polenta from Cathedral Italian Bistro.

Cathedral Italian Bistro

The arrival of August means a new edition of Where to Eat, CultureMap's monthly feature on best restaurants to try. The theme is new openings, but not just any run-of-the-mill newbie. These are new restaurants with a little twist.

Here's where to eat in Dallas right now:

Atipico
The name means "atypical" and it's an accurate description of this independently owned restaurant from Mexico City that just opened at the Union building near downtown. It boasts a sprawling, ever-changing menu including bowls, salads, and entrees, catering to a variety of dietary preferences, plus juice, coffee, wine, and cocktails. For breakfast, there's the Atípico Bowl, with fruit and granola. At lunch, it's a sirloin burger stuffed with cream cheese, cheese fondue, arugula, and dried tomato. Dinner is fettuccine with a three-cheese blend of Roquefort, gouda, and parmesan served on artisan bread.

Autonomous Society Brewpub
New craft beer spot just opened in a charming little brick building in the Cedars District outside downtown. Autonomous is the brainchild of Dean Weaver, a home brewer for more than 30 years who has earned accolades and awards for his brand, called Deanitude, which makes European-inspired beers such as pilsners, saisons, IPAs, and porters. The brewpub is an outgrowth of that venture and will create a place where beer fans can enjoy his beers as well as those from other craft brewers, along with some bites.

Brentwood
New concept from Dallas-based Vandelay Hospitality Group is in the former Houston's location near Addison at 5318 Belt Line Rd. and picks right up where Houston's left off, with dishes such as a brown rice veggie burger, French dip, Prime rib, San Francisco ribeye, filet with tomato gorgonzola salad, and Durango chicken topped with salsa verde. They're aspiring for a "sophisticated lounge" vibe and that includes a dress code of sorts: collared shirts and pants for men, no hats, no tank tops, no overly provocative clothing, athletic wear, and flip-flops as too informal.

Cathedral Italian Bistro
New restaurant in Plano is from chef Luke Rogers, an energetic enthusiast who appeared on Food Network's Chopped. featuring housemade pasta, pizza, Italian entrees, steaks, and desserts. Signature dishes include Bistecca Fiorintina, a 38-ounce Prime porterhouse steak, veal osso bucco with creamy mascarpone polenta, vegan roasted cauliflower with garbanzo beans medley, and whole branzino, roasted in their stone hearth oven with succotash, caper butter, and charred lemons. There are cool garlic knots by pastry chef Daniel Rosales, served with wagyu beef tallow "candles," which Rogers calls just a different highly creative take on bread and butter.

LimeHoney Modern Mexican Restaurant and Bar
New fast-casual Mexican restaurant from a pair of industry veterans just opened at The Shire at CityLine, the mixed-use retail and office property in Richardson, where it's doing a lighter menu than your run-of-the-mill Tex-Mex or Mexican establishment. Dishes include Elote Ribs, Chicken Skewers, Mexican Shrimp Cocktail, Ceviche, Tuna Crudo, and Brisket Enchiladas featuring brisket from sister restaurant 42 BBQ Smokehouse + Market.

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Sudden shutdown

Eno's Pizza Tavern suddenly closes one of its 3 Dallas-area restaurants

Eno's Pizza Tavern/Facebook

Eno's closed its most recently opened location, at The Sound in Cypress Hill.

An iconic name in Dallas pizza is closing one of its restaurants: Eno's Pizza Tavern at Cypress Waters at The Sound announced on social media that its last day was Sunday, November 1.

The closure of this Eno's in Coppell — which opened in 2019 — came as a surprise to customers, judging by the reaction on social media. Several Facebook and Instagram users expressed shock, saying they had just been there and couldn't believe the news. As one commenter put it, "Nooooooo."

As recently as Halloween, the restaurant hosted a costume contest and pizza giveaways — those gift cards can be used at the other two locations.

The notice, posted on Facebook and Instagram, read:

"A note from our table to yours. Eno's Cypress Waters served its final guests on Sunday, November 1. Thank you for the birthdays, date nights, game days, and weeknight pizzas you shared with us there. It was an honor to be your neighborhood spot. Eno's is still here for you at Bishop Arts and Forney, and your Cypress Waters gift cards and loyalty points are good at every Eno's location."

Eno's opened its original restaurant in the Bishop Arts District of Dallas in 2008. The pizzeria developed a following for its thin-crust pizzas and pioneering selection of craft beer. Signature pies include the Pig Smiley with Benton's ham, Eno's sausage, honey, and pepperoni; and The Original with tomatoes, garlic mushrooms, Genoa salami, and sport peppers.

The restaurant was one of the first businesses to open in Bishop Arts, which over the next decade began booming, and now bursts at the seams with all manner of eateries, coffee shops, bars, and boutiques.

The restaurant expanded beyond Oak Cliff in 2017, opening a second location in downtown Forney. That restaurant serves the familiar pizzas, pastas, and sandwiches, along with appetizers, salads, soups, desserts, and a daily lunch special.

The Cypress Waters restaurant came two years , bringing Eno's to The Sound, a lakeside entertainment and dining destination. Its location featured an 1,800-square-foot rooftop patio overlooking the water. The Sound's official Instagram account responded to the closure announcement: "Thank you for being a part of our community at The Sound. The Cypress Waters Eno’s storefront will be missed."

Partnerships with local organizations and independent businesses have also been part of Eno's history. The restaurant was an early supporter of North Texas craft beer, established Brew Riot, a Dallas-area homebrew competition, and partnered with a local elementary school on the iBike Rosemont initiative to encourage students to stay active. It has also been involved with the Bishop Arts District Merchants Association and VisitDallas.

With Cypress Waters now closed, Eno's continues to operate its original restaurant at 407 N. Bishop Ave. in Bishop Arts, Dallas, and in Forney, at 215 S. Bois D'Arc St.

CultureMap has reached out to Eno's for further comment and will update this story if more details become available.

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