Tropical Shrimp Paradise

Palapas Seafood Bar will make shrimp divine at historic Greenville Avenue site

Mexican shrimp cocktail will be on the menu at Palapas, opening on GreenvilleAvenue in November.
Courtesy photo
Palapas Seafood Bar takes over the former Dallas Tamale Factory space.
Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Palapas Seafood Bar will incorporate palapas into its patio design. Tropicalbeach not included.
Photo courtesy of Trip Advisor
Courtyard in front of building is where the palapas will go.
Photo by Teresa Gubbins
Palapas Seafood Bar will incorporate the original tile into its design.
Photo by Teresa Gubbins

More exciting Greenville Avenue momentum comes in the form of Palapas Seafood Bar, a new restaurant set to open in a historic location: the former home of Dallas Tortilla and Tamale Factory. A local institution, Dallas Tortilla and Tamale Factory had been in that space at 1418 Greenville Ave. for more than 50 years.

As Palapas, it will have seafood, a patio and the eponymous palapas – those tropical-looking open dwellings topped with thatched dried palm leaves, facing right onto Greenville Avenue.

The restaurant comes from Tim Goza, who owns a furniture company, and will feature former Komali chef Luis Medina. The menu has not been finalized, but you can expect shrimp, snapper and ceviche, plus cocktails and beer.

"The idea for the restaurant was born on the coast of the Sinaloa state in Mexico, the world's capital of shrimp," says spokeswoman Elizabeth Ruiz. "Mr. Goza wanted to bring the flavors and aromas from the northwestern part of Mexico to Dallas."

The space is still in the middle of a careful overhaul by partner Marcelino Beltran, who is working conscientiously to utilize the great bones of this historic building. He and his crew are painstakingly pulling away walls and paint to reveal beautiful original brick and tile, which they're enhancing with galvanized metal panels and boardwalk-style light fixtures.

Everything is being done by hand, including the construction of an inlaid cedar panel over the sweeping wooden bar.

Overall, the space is less than 2,000 square feet, so Beltran has plotted the floor plan judiciously, by incorporating the patio into the basic design. Although the construction is still in process, they're planning a mid-November opening.

"We're going to get a lot done over the next two weeks," Ruiz says.

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list news

Only one Dallas eatery makes OpenTable's top 100 restaurants for 2024

Courtesy of Hudson House

Hudson House on Lover's Lane is the only Dallas restaurant named on OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants list in 2024.

Restaurant reservation website OpenTable has just issued its new list of the top 100 restaurants in America for 2024, and only one eatery in Dallas made the list: Hudson House, the oyster-centric restaurant in Dallas' upscale Park Cities neighborhood.

The "2024's Top 100 Restaurants" is a compilation of the most sought-after and top-ranked restaurants in the U.S. based on 14 million verified reviews on OpenTable from October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024. Restaurants are not ranked, but arranged in alphabetical order by state.

Hudson House, which opened in 2017, prides itself on its East Coast comfort food, with seafood dishes, cheeseburgers, and martinis.

"Oysters are flown in daily and are best paired with their legendary 'World’s Coldest Martinis,'" says the restaurant's OpenTable profile.

The fast-expanding chain was co-founded by East Hampton Sandwich Company honchos Hunter Pond and Kyle Brooks. The Lovers Lane location is one of six operating in Dallas-Fort Worth, most recently one that opened in Preston Hollow in April. There is also a location in Houston and another in Beverly Hills.

Pond, who is also the founder and CEO of the restaurant's parent company Vandelay Hospitality, shared his praise for Hudson House in a statement.

"To represent Dallas-Fort Worth and be part of such an esteemed group of restaurants is a testament to our team’s passion and dedication," Pond said. "We’re grateful to our loyal guests who have made this recognition possible."

Hudson House was one of 10 total Texas restaurants to receive recognition in OpenTable's list. In numbers that seem to reflect the recent Michelin Guide awards, Austin ruled with the highest number of restaurants. On the OpenTable list, Austin scored with seven total establishments, while San Antonio and Houston each had one.

The full list of Texas restaurants named on OpenTable's Top 100 Restaurants for 2024, organized alphabetically, are:

Aba, Austin
Hudson House - Lover's Lane, Dallas
J Carver's Oyster Bar & Chophouse, Austin
Jeffrey's Restaurant, Austin
Red Ash Italia, Austin
Sammie's Italian, Austin
Steak 48, Houston
Signature, San Antonio
Uchi Austin
Uchiko Austin

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