Buy Me Brunch

Where to chow down among the downtown Dallas brunch bunch

If Dallas is a brunch town, then downtown Dallas is the brunch mecca. Some of the city's best restaurants roll out the mimosas on the weekend, along with mouthwatering entrees and Instagram-worthy atmosphere.

Can't decide where to go? Let this list help you out.

Americano
We have three words for you: Nutella. Filled. Doughnuts. But this sophisticated Italian eatery, which opened at the Joule hotel in 2015, also fills out its inventive brunch menu with dishes such as eggs alla puttanesca and a pappardelle Bolognese with chili oil, pecorino cheese, and a farm egg. Wash it all down with a Rosemary Rickey (blanco tequila, aperol, honey, lime, grapefruit, and rosemary) or a twist on the classic, a basil balsamic Bloody Mary.

Ascension
The cult favorite — there are two others in Dallas, and one is set to open in Houston — specializes in coffee and wine. Aren't those really the main draws of brunch? And at brunch, you can also count on $3 mimosas, with $1 refills. But the farm-to-table menu fulfills visitors too, serving up ricotta hotcakes, smoked salmon hash, Croque Madame eggs benedict, a paleo breakfast bowl, and, of course, avocado toast.

City Hall Bistro
Now open in the Adolphus Hotel, this light and bright restaurant keeps the mimosas flowing (only $5) and has a little something for everyone. The menu runs the gamut from a chia seed bowl with apples, dates, dried fruit, goji berries, and cinnamon to migas, complete with spicy chorizo, morcilla, caramelized peppers, potato crisps, and a fried egg. To put a little pep in your step, start the day with the serrano and manchego flatbread.

Dallas Farmers Market
Take your pick at this modern food hall, where tasty restaurants sit side-by-side vendors selling artisanal goods and fresh food items. At Rex's Seafood, order up a carafe of mimosas to go with some tuna nachos or oysters. Pretend you're European and brunch on cheese and wine at Scardello, or grab a few breakfast tacos and quesadillas at Taqueria La Ventana. Combine brunch with Dallas' second-favorite thing — patios — at Mudhen. After eating, do your weekly shopping in The Shed and load up on fresh, local fruits, veggies, and other treats.

Grayson Social
This Southern hot spot calls its weekend meal "killer brunch," mainly for its killer biscuits but also because its offerings are so stellar. Obviously you should start with an assortment of freshly made biscuits and seasonal jam for the table. If you opt not to go killer quite so early, there is also the chicken-fried quail and waffles, shaved prime rib poutine, or housemade granola parfait to consider.

TorTaco
Once only open on weekdays, this Fort Worth import has debuted its weekend presence in a big way. Chef Nico Sanchez's signature brunch dishes include the True Grit (white cheddar grits, applewood smoked bacon, two eggs over easy, and sourdough toast), the Sweet Ride (brioche bread with strawberry cream cheese, blueberries, maple syrup, and bacon), and the Back Roads (sauteed chicken, cheddar, crispy potatoes, serrano rice, two medium eggs, and creamy poblano sauce). There are also $2 mimosas, Bloody Marys, sangria, and swirls until 3 pm.

Tutta's Pizza
Owner Jeremy Scott made the move from mobile pizza oven to patio-perfect West End restaurant in 2015, meaning you always know where to find dynamite pies. And now brunch too, as Tutta's is branching out to include the weekend meal. But don't expect the usual suspects — instead of French toast and omelettes, there's avocado toast frybread and breakfast wings (bourbon-maple-bacon ones, at that, served atop buttermilk biscuits with spiced cream gravy). Also look for specials on mimosa carafes and house-smoked Bloody Marys.

Wild Salsa
If your weekend includes a taco omelette, you're doing it right. You find that here, in addition to beef barbacoa potato hash and such staples as huevos rancheros and breakfast burritos. Trying to choose between a pitcher of Wild-Ritas (with pineapple and jalapeño-infused tequila) or the Sangria Roja may be the hardest decision you make all day.

Yolk
This Chicago import has been BYOB until recently — now you can count on mimosas and other brunch drinks to complement the yummy breakfast staples such as cinnamon roll French toast, corned beef hash, and four different kinds of Benedicts.

There are obviously too many fantastic restaurants to list, but trust us that when it comes to brunch in downtown Dallas, you are covered for the foreseeable future.

Grayson Social makes a killer brunch.

Photo courtesy of Grayson Social

Grayson Social makes a killer brunch.

Coming attraction

Dallas hospitality pros team up for new restaurant in Inwood Village

Rendering courtesy of

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Dallas restaurateur Bob Sambol, who brought Bob's Steak & Chop House to the city in the 1990s, is partnering with a prolific Dallas hospitality group to open an intimate new eatery called Charlie’s in Inwood Village.

Planned for spring or summer of 2027, Charlie's - a partnership between Sambol and Vandelay Companies - will take over the space at 5450 W. Lovers Ln. #225 formerly occupied by longtime Dallas favorite Adelmo's.

The restaurant will be small, with about 30 tables, and will serve dinner only. It will also take reservations the old-fashioned way: by landline phone in the restaurant.

Specifics about the menu, chef, and exact opening timeline will be announced closer to the restaurant's debut. But a rendering included with the press release shows a white brick exterior with black shutters, and text beneath the restaurant name that suggests the involvement of "steak," "chop," and "seafood."

Sambol describes Charlie's as "low-key" and "quietly sophisticated," with a "warm palette" and calls this a "very personal" project, which will be built in the spirit of small East Coast neighborhood dining rooms of the past, such as a place his father once owned called The Continental in New Jersey.

“After 30 years, I wanted to create something that feels humble and familiar with great hospitality, a beautiful room, people you know and a restaurant you want to return to again and again," Sambol says in the release. "Nothing overly complicated. Just a really special place for the neighborhood.”

Charlie's restaurant owners Vandalay Companies' Hunter Pond and Rick Dunlap flank Bob Sambol.Photo by Samantha Marie Photography

Sambol says he's had a longtime friendship with the Vandelay Companies' Hunter Pond and Rick Dunlap, whose restaurants include Hudson House, Anchor Sushi, Drake’s, and a variety of other brands. He says he’s watched the restaurant development investors grow up and make a name for themselves in Dallas hospitality.

“I’ve known Hunter and Rick since they were in grade school, and seeing what they have built is truly remarkable. It’s a surreal moment to partner with them on such a personal project” Sambol says.

Pond calls the partnership with Sambol a "fun and unique project ... that no one in Dallas has done in quite some time."

Charlie’s will be "deliberately different" from many of the big city's large-scale "highly produced" restaurants, the owners say, adding that it "will embrace an understated, old-school elegance."

“Charlie’s isn’t about trying to make the biggest restaurant or the loudest statement. It’s about creating a timeless one," Pond says. "That restraint is what makes the project so exciting to us.”

As for Charlie's predecessor at the coveted Inwood Village address, Adelmo's — known for its Italian food "with accents" of French and Mediterranean — occupied the space for 10 years before closing in December 2025 and reopening this year in the Preston Valley Shopping Center, at the southwest corner of Preston Road.

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