Where to Eat Now

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 brand new restaurants for fall

Tupelo Honey just opened at The Star in Frisco.

Photo courtesy of Tupelo Honey

With more than 50 restaurants slated to open around the Dallas area (listed here), it's crucial for diners to stay on top of what's coming and what's already arrived. Openings are happening fast and furious. This list, for example, includes two restaurants opening this very day, September 25. There's no rest for the wicked on this. Must keep up.

For this edition of Where to Eat, we look at 10 of the latest, newest openings:

City Works Eatery & Pour House
One of the many openings at The Star in Frisco, City Works is a growing sports bar chain with craft beer and bar food such as burgers and "handhelds," the annoying new word for "sandwiches." Newly opened in September, it's already featuring a limited-time menu celebrating Oktoberfest, with a chicken schnitzel sandwich with bacon sauerkraut, served with potato pancakes and apple onion jam; spätzle stroganoff with short rib; and smoked potato croquettes with sauerkraut.

Ferris Wheelers Backyard & BBQ
Over-the-top restaurant lands in Dallas' Design District with barbecue on the menu and a functional Ferris wheel on site. The restaurant comes from This & That Concepts, the group that also owns Parlay, High Fives, Tiny Victories, and Whipper Snapper. Pitmaster is Doug Pickering, who previously worked with NL Group (Dish, Dakota’s Steakhouse, Front Room Tavern), and before that, opened his own restaurant Work Bar & Grill in Deep Ellum. This one opens September 25.

Fusion Kitchen
Former Fuddrucker's space off US 75 near Park Boulevard is now home to Fusion Kitchen, whose fusion includes Korean BBQ, hot pot, Chinese food, and sushi (at lunch only). That's a lot to carve out, but they're making waves thanks to a generous buffet, with cooked dishes such as sweet and sour fish, fried rice, noodles, plus the ingredients for cook-your-own Korean BBQ and hot pot. Locally, buffets are always a hit, as are the words "all you can eat." The service here is also good, and there's a full bar.

Harlowe MXM
Just-opened restaurant in Deep Ellum is part of the well-oiled machine that owns the Bread Winners chain as well as Henry's Majestic on McKinney, and it's already a smooth operator, with a great location that boasts lots of windows and seating areas, including three bars. The menu is more ambitious than Henry's, and with prices to match: from a $20 lobster roll to a $48 Akaushi rib eye. Cocktails include a Singapore sling on tap, and you can order donut holes as a side dish.

The Keeper
Stunning new seafood restaurant at the Shops at Legacy comes from Frontburner, who own The Ranch at Las Colinas, Whiskey Cake, Velvet Taco, Sixty Vines, and Mexican Sugar, across from which The Keeper sits. The menu combines an obsession with seafood with global fusion influences - think crab fried rice - smartly executed by chef Colleen O'Hare. A display kitchen is enclosed in glass for the ultimate transparency. The bar is, of all things, tiki-centric. Much rum.

Meso Maya
Plano branch of this growing Mexican restaurant chain opens at 4800 W. Park Blvd., in a former Chili's. Firebird Restaurant Group has been savvy in its location scouting, and there's no reason to think that this branch won't be see the same mobs of customers that have greeted its recently opened sibling in Lakewood, eager to try the signature budin casserole and avocado margaritas. This opens September 25.

Neighborhood Services
Chef-owner Nick Badovinus extends his empire to Frisco, where he's launched a branch of his signature concept at the newly-opened location at the Omni Frisco, with former CBD Provisions chef Richard Blankenship running theshow. This being a hotel, brunch is important, with dishes such as avocado toast, pulled pork toast, and churro French toast.

Oni Ramen
Fort Worth ramen shop from Jesús García made its Dallas debut in September in Deep Ellum, with a neighborhood-friendly goal of staying open late at night: from 5 pm-4 am on Fridays, and from 12 pm-3 am on Saturdays. The menu includes dumplings, steamed buns, and an array of ramen options that includes a super-spicy ramen called the Oni Reaper. Oh, and there's poke, too.

Sachet
New eatery from Gemma chef/owner Stephen Rogers and his wife, Allison Yoder, at the Shops of Highland Park is inspired by the flavors of the Mediterranean coast, drawing from a broad array of countries such as Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, Turkey, Tunisia, and Morocco. It's one of Dallas' biggest restaurant debuts of the fall.

Tommy Bahama Restaurant, Bar & Store
Once known as Tommy Bahama's Tropical Cafe, the first Tommy Bahama restaurant opened in Naples, Florida in 1996. There are now 18 branches, including this one in Plano's Legacy West. The cafe boasts a tropical theme, island atmosphere and menu. Their best known dish is coconut shrimp served with mango chutney. Other trademark items include crab cakes, tacos, sliders, roast pork sandwich, baby back ribs, and their island slaw dressed in a refreshing lime vinaigrette.

Tupelo Honey Southern Kitchen & Bar
First Texas location of this North Carolina-based chain opens at The Star in Frisco, featuring Southern dishes such as honey-dusted fried chicken, Tex-Mex dishes such as huevos rancheros, and steaks from Akashi and Black Angus. Executive chef Thomas Robey, formerly of Commander’s Palace, worked with corporate executive chef Eric Gabrynowicz to develop the Frisco menu.

openings where-to-eat

Chocolate News

Richardson dessert shop Chocolate Drip lays out eye-catching treats

Chocolate Drip

Chocolate bear with pistachio sauce at Chocolate Drip

A dessert shop in Richardson has become the toast of the sweets world: Called Chocolate Drip, it opened in August at 1057 S. Sherman St., in a center east of US-75 near Spring Valley Road, where it's rolling out some eye-catching chocolate treats.

Chocolate Drip is a passion project from Mohammad Quzmar, a Palestinian-born owner who moved to Dallas four years ago and taught himself to cook through tinkering. That experimentation has translated into a constantly evolving menu, with new creations appearing whenever inspiration strikes — earning him a growing reputation as something of a modern-day Willy Wonka.

"Chocolate is my passion. I just love being in the kitchen and creating,” he says.

The cafe's offerings are extensive, from sweet breakfast staples like pancakes and waffles to off-menu items teased on the café’s Instagram, such as the Dubai Drip platter — an interactive fondue plate with fruit, brownies, waffles, marshmallows, to be dipped into melted chocolate and pistachio cream.

Many of his items have the kind of eye-catching twists and table-side presentations that draw attention on Instagram, such as the cruffle (a waffle made from a croissant) topped with spaghetti-like strands of gelato, which a server extrudes through a potato ricer right before your eyes.

Other signatures include a teddy bear made of chocolate mousse and kanafa, finished with pistachio sauce for $13.30, and crepes filled with a brownie, with pistachio and chocolate sauce for $15.

Prices are not cheap but these are ultra-decadent items with generous portions, often meant for sharing.

The drink list is ambitious, spanning coffee, matcha, smoothies, milkshakes, and nonalcoholic mocktails. It's obvious Quzmar is having fun, rolling out his versions of viral items like the famous s'mores hot chocolate pioneered by New York dessert shop Glace, which features a cap made of marshmallow meringue that’s torched.

There are also a few savory offerings like egg-and-cheese crepes, a salmon croissant, and a turkey waffle. Those in the know also come to order Middle Eastern treats like salab, a creamy milk drink topped with cinnamon; and Om Ali, a sugary pudding with nuts, dried fruit, and coconut.

Named after the Gen Z slang for “cool” or “stylish,” Drip is meant to be a hangout spot more than a quick dessert stop, Quzmar says — a place to linger over brunch, then return late night to a place that feels buzzy and fun sans alcohol.

“Everyone who works here is either family or treated like family and everything is homemade with love," he says.

desserts openings