Tastemaker News

10 best coffee shops in Dallas keep you jumping for java

Latte art at Merit Coffee.

Merit Coffee

It's time for another chapter in the 2025 edition of our annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, celebrating the people and places that make Dallas such an exciting dining destination.

In this special editorial series, we're highlighting restaurants, bars, and chefs who've been nominated in eight categories by our esteemed judging panel, consisting of last year's winners and local dining experts. We’ll celebrate the nominees and reveal the winners at an awards ceremony and signature tasting event on Thursday, May 1 at the new Astoria Event Venue. (Early Bird tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $60 for general admission and $99 for VIP.)

We've already covered Best Neighborhood Restaurants and Rising Star Chefs. Now we're celebrating the category we care most about first thing in the morning: Best Coffee Shop. These 10 nominees range from indie shops to growing local chains; from shops with coffee and cocktails to shops with coffee and craft beer.

Here are our 10 nominees for Best Coffee Shop:

Arwa Coffee
This Yemeni-style coffee shop that opened in Richardson in 2023 does more than just serve coffee. It was founded to bring awareness to Yemeni culture with its in-shop library and market. Their coffee beans come from Yemen and are roasted in-house. The menu features traditional coffees and teas, Yemeni latte, sand dune latte, refreshers, hot chocolate, and a sampler with four drinks.

Common Good
East Dallas shop opened in January as a two-in-one concept: coffee shop in front and hair salon in back, with vinyl jam tables for late night entertainment. The shop offers a small menu and sources beans from Lemma Coffee with espresso and coffee classics, plus ambitious specialty drinks such as pistachio matcha, cardamon rose latte, and a Mexican mocha.

Civil Pour
Genius concept combining coffee and craft beer draws its excellence from the deep knowledge of husband-and-wife owners Chad and Nellie Ghannadpour Montgomery, who founded the original location in Lake Highlands in 2018 before opening a second location in Richardson in 2024. They keep the menu fresh with rotating coffee roasts and on the beer side, they have 25 varieties on tap, such as Oak Highlands Brewery and Hop and Sting Brewing.

Hola Cafe
Small gem with locations in Oak Cliff and Uptown serves Latin-inspired coffee. The concept comes from influencer Jeniffer Avila, who grew up in Honduras helping her grandmother harvest coffee beans. Signature drinks include Mexican mocha, dulce latte, and horchata cafe. Plus, they have coffee-free drinks, like strawberry milk and matcha.

Kanpai Coffee & Beer Garden
Coffee is but one element at this Deep Ellum spot from acclaimed chef Michael Carranza and partners Bonham White and Harry Huynh. They have a small menu of coffee, featuring caramel, vanilla, and matcha lattes, espresso shots, and drip coffee. Plus, there's a buzzy selection of unique cocktails, like a Wagyu fat washed old fashioned or the coconut fat washed highball.

Killer Joe
East Dallas cafe comes from former New Yorkers Christine Sweet and Christian Napolitano, who envisioned it as a place for "foodies and musicophiles." It's a quirky but cool spot with signature drinks like sea salt caramel de leche, pistachio caramel matcha latte, and masala chai latte.

Merit Coffee
A mainstay that got its start in San Antonio in 2009, Merit has made quite a name for itself. With locations across Dallas since its 2018 debut in Deep Ellum and Highland Park, they use beans from South America and Africa and roast locally. Their trendy drinks include the cereal milk cold brew topped with crushed Fruity Pebbles cereal, strawberry matcha, and hot and iced teas.

Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters
What started as a vendor at local markets in 2011 blossomed into a coffee lab in Exposition Park. Owners Kevin and Marta Sprague take an environmentally friendly approach to coffee, ethically sourcing green coffee beans straight from farmers. It might not be a conventional coffee shop, but they offer traditional coffee, pour over, and a seasonal strawberry oat foam nitro.

Well Grounded Coffee
Nonprofit coffee shop with locations in Oak Cliff and East Dallas helps women coming out of prison or recovering from addiction. It offers coffee classics and seasonal drinks, like s’mores, made from beans sourced from Full City Rooster. Since founder Natalie Huscheck first opened the East Dallas location in 2020, the cafe has helped employees with training, business, and life skills.

White Rhino
What started as a small coffee shop in Cedar Hill in 2007 from founder Chris Parvin has become a local chain with 13 locations across DFW. They're diligent on introducing seasonal flavors, like the salted honey cream cold brew in the spring and spiced Mexican mocha in the fall. Their latest location opened inside their roastery in Oak Cliff in 2024, expanding their offerings beyond coffee to host roasting classes and samples of experimental flavors.
__________________
The Tastemaker Awards program is brought to you by The Yuengling Company, Brioche Gourmet, Still Austin Whiskey, Whataburger, PicMe Events, and more to be announced soon. A portion of the proceeds will benefit our nonprofit partner, Harvest Project Food Rescue.

tastemaker awards coffee awards

new roots

L.A. celebrity favorite The Ivy plants Dallas branch near Katy Trail

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

undefined

A Los Angeles restaurant famous for celebrity sightings on its bright floral patios is opening a branch in Dallas: The Ivy will debut in fall 2027 at 4205 Buena Vista St. inside The Terminal at Katy Trail.

“This will be the first Ivy outside of Southern California,” says India Wolfe, the restaurant founders' daughter, in a release. "I felt a strong calling to bring The Ivy somewhere new and to plant roots there with our family.”

India’s parents opened The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in 1980, followed by Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica five years later.

While her father, chef Richard Irving, and mother, Lynn von Kersting, remain in LA, Wolfe and her husband, Ernest Wolfe IV, will move to Dallas in February with their two children and dogs, to operate The Ivy. The restaurant will be located inside a luxury apartment tower overlooking the Katy Trail.

India started working as a teen at the family's third branch in Santa Monica and learned everything "from greeting guests and waiting tables to staging events, filming viral social media, and modernizing the business for a new generation," says the release.

Both she and her husband spent time in other professions but were drawn to the dining field. Ernest helped his in-laws so often at The Ivy that they finally employed him full-time.

“I love working with him," India says, "and we complement each other’s skills really well, not unlike my mom and dad.”

The Ivy The family behind The Ivy.Courtesy photo

The Wolfes say they want the Dallas restaurant to retain The Ivy’s familiar cooking, warmth and character, while making it feel like home in a new city.

“I love the idea of people taking a walk on the Katy Trail and then meeting friends for brunch at The Ivy,” India says.

Her parents are assisting with the design and menu; India wants a contemporary vibe but doesn’t plan to change what works so well.

“I don’t want to make it too different because I think the reason that people from Dallas come to The Ivy is because they love The Ivy,” she says. “That said, this new restaurant will certainly stand on its own two feet.”

Unlike the original, the Dallas Ivy will have a bar, an idea India dreamed up. While restaurant bars are nothing unusual, India actually envisioned what her family jokingly calls “the D Bar" (so named for Dallas), where guests can clink glasses and share good energy around a curved, D-shaped counter.

Her interest in art and flowers will result in a space well-appointed with roses, a family tradition, and local blooms like zinnias and snapdragons.

The Ivy serves upscale American comfort food and Californian cuisine with influences from Italian, French, Cajun, and Mexican cooking. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients, so the menus evolve throughout the year.

While the Dallas menu is being developed, the restaurant's Southern California winter menus, for example, include starters such as crab cakes, Caesar salad, and grilled-vegetable salad. Pasta options include lobster ravioli with Ivy pink sauce and lobster tagliatelle. Wood- or stone-fired pizzas include margherita and Cajun shrimp pies, while house-baked breads, old-fashioned red velvet cake, coconut cake, and chocolate chip cookies round out the menu.

The Ivy has always been at the center of family life, India notes. Now she and Ernest are bringing that way of life to Dallas.

She adds, “I am confident it will be a great home for The Ivy and for our family.”

openings katy trail