Downtown Restaurant News

Big opening balances a sad closing on downtown Dallas restaurant front

One of chef Stephan Pyles' restaurants in downtown Dallas has closed for good.

Photo by Jonathan Zizzo

If you're considering eating in downtown Dallas this weekend, there are changes underfoot. There's one big, though not unexpected, restaurant closure, and a restaurant opening in The Joule hotel. Bad news first:

Pyles' restaurant closes
The other shoe drops, as San Salvaje, the Latin-Peruvian restaurant from chef Stephan Pyles, has now officially closed. It doesn't come as much of a surprise, following as it does the restaurant's odd decision, made barely a month ago, to be open for lunch hours only. When a restaurant that prominent shuts down dinner service, it's like a white surrender flag.

A lock-out notice was posted on the front door, stating that the restaurant was in default for failing to pay rent. Pyles told Nancy Nichols that the space at 2100 Ross Ave. was "a horrible location for dinner and the numbers didn't work for just lunch," and that the restaurant would be closed permanently.

San Salvaje opened in May 2014, in what was previously Samar, a global-cuisine restaurant with interesting food and good specials.

Joule restaurant opens
Americano, the new restaurant at The Joule, had a soft opening on October 8. Blogger Oh So Cynthia summed it up with, "All the cool kids are here." Huh, Cynthia, really? Because we weren't there.

Americano is a vibrant, casual Italian restaurant with an atmosphere inspired by 1950s and 1960s Italian cinema and a menu comprising contemporary takes on nostalgic comfort classics.

Eater has the menu by chef Matt Ford, which includes pastas, charcuterie, pizza, and Italian drinks including Negronis on tap. Small plates run from $5 to $12 and include fried chickpeas; fried olives stuffed with Calabrian sausage; house-made meatballs; tuna crudo; "Jewish-style" artichoke with garlic and lemon aioli; and wedding soup with white beans, escarole, and tiny meatballs.

Salads include an unusual shaved cauliflower salad with pistachios and raisins. Pizza toppings range from pepperoni to guanciale to broccoli rabe, as well as a Margherita and a four-mushroom.

Pastas are $11 to $16 and include pappardelle Bolognese, butternut squash tortellini, kale and mushroom lasagna, and spaghetti with meatballs. Entrees include quail, chicken, swordfish, osso bucco, a whole branzino, and a $75 32-ounce porterhouse steak with white-bean ragu.

The shocker is what they've done to the space: The previously luxe atmosphere — patterned carpet, plush seating, handsome wood paneling — has been replaced by a minimalist decor. It's now plywood-looking tables, a marble-topped bar, pale green walls, and a neon sign that reads, "It's all in your head."

openings closings

Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its U.S. debut, right here in Texas: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's a ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.