Downtown News

Famous Food Network chef opens sweet cafe in downtown Dallas

The menu will include avocado toast.

Photo by Kathy Tran

A new restaurant is coming to downtown Dallas with coffee, pastries, and avocado toast. Called Rise & Thyme, it's a seasonal American cafe from celebrity chef Amanda Freitag and according to a release, will open in the new AT&T Discovery District on September 18.

Located at 211 S. Akard St., this will be the second restaurant to open in the AT&T Discovery District, following Jaxon, the restaurant and beer garden that opened in March.

Rise & Thyme will open first for breakfast and lunch, and add dinner later with a menu of salads, sandwiches, pastas, and patty melts.

Freitag is the acclaimed chef and Food Network regular who has battled Bobby Flay on Iron Chef America, competed for the title of America's Next Iron Chef, and serves as a judge on Chopped.

The R&T menu will include:

Taco Thyme – scrambled eggs, muenster, bacon, thyme potatoes, griddled onion on a flour tortilla
Smoked Salmon & Everything Toast – cream cheese, pickled red onion, capers, cucumber, tomato, dill, "everything" spice on sourdough or seeded whole-wheat
AF Chicken Salad – thyme- and lemon-roasted chicken breast, tarragon, house mayo, lemon, pickled celery and red onion, on bibb lettuce, tomato, and cucumber
Impossibly Perfect Patty Melt – Impossible patty, secret sauce, muenster, and pickle on sourdough bread
Roasted Chicken French Dip – crispy shredded leg and thigh meat, provolone, caramelized onion, horseradish mayo, arugula on a baguette with a side of chicken jus
Salmon a la Plancha – 6-ounce skin-on Scottish salmon filet, thyme potatoes, tartar sauce

Rise & Thyme will also offer fresh pastries from local favorites La Casita Bakeshop and bread from Village Baking Co.

Located on the corner of Commerce and Akard, Rise & Thyme was designed by The Johnson Studios, with an interior described as both sleek and rustic, plus floor-to-ceiling windows that flood the space with light.

The restaurant will be open for takeout, delivery, limited indoor seating, and a full range of outdoor seating in the Discovery District.

"I can't even begin to say how happy we are to finally be able to open this restaurant with Amanda," says Kevin Lillis, CEO/founder of Hospitality Alliance, with whom Freitag is partnering on the restaurant. "I've been a fan and friend of hers for years, and while this opening may be a little later than we originally planned, we definitely believe it was worth the wait. We're looking forward to bringing something truly special to Downtown Dallas and the Discovery District."

coffee downtown openings

Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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