Tastemaker Awards
The 10 best neighborhood restaurants in Dallas taste like home
Ramen at Wagamama.
You've got your steakhouses, your breakfast spot, your greasy spoon — but no category resonates more brightly than the neighborhood restaurant. It's the place nearby where you can eat without a fuss; the place that speaks to where you live.
Neighborhood restaurants are one of the key categories the annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, our celebration of the best chefs, restaurants, bars, and more who've set the standard in dining for the past year — selected by our judging panel in eight categories, including two new "wildcard" contests for 2025: Best Coffee Shop and Best Eatertainment. (CultureMap readers will pick the winner of Best New Restaurant in a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament.)
We’ll celebrate the nominees and reveal the winners at an awards ceremony and tasting event on Thursday, May 1 at the new Astoria Event Venue. Tickets are on sale now at a discount rate of $60 for general admission and $99 for VIP (includes early access to the event and a dedicated bar).
Leading up to the event is our editorial series honoring all the nominees. And it all begins with Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year. Here are the 2025 candidates:
Cafe Madrid
No neighborhood in Dallas has experienced more devastating churn than Knox Street, a once-sleepy strip now teeming with high-rises (with still more being jammed in) — making it a miracle that this legacy tapas restaurant has survived. Now open more than 35 years, the place has not lost its charm nor its consistently good food, with tapas like Spanish potato omelet and meatballs in almond sauce, and a great wine list, too.
Cedar & Vine
The Lake Highlands neighborhood in northeast Dallas has not always had great luck when it comes to restaurants but they struck gold with Cedar & Vine, a perfect hang with elevated American food, craft cocktails, wines on tap, and draft beers. The menu features delectable dishes like chicken vodka flatbread, tacos, pasta, BBQ, fried chicken, deviled eggs, 5-spice sticky ribs, and seasonal specials like seafood gumbo. There's a nice bar, an even nicer patio, ample parking, and popular special events like mah jong & martinis nights.
Dee's Table Burgers & More
Steakhouse queen Dee Lincoln (Dee Lincoln Prime) opened this little sister at 3685 The Star Blvd., Frisco in mid-2024, and it's won over the locals with its casual dining atmosphere, great food, and great staff. It takes the steakhouse standard of excellence for which Lincoln is known but in a more casual setting with a diverse menu that showcases her Louisiana roots featuring Wagyu burgers, a classic New Orleans shrimp po'boy, steak frites, and fried catfish with skinny fries.
Loro Dallas
Asian smokehouse and bar from two of Austin's biggest restaurant names, Aaron Franklin (Franklin Barbecue) and Tyson Cole (Uchi), is a casual, outdoor-centric hangout that opened in summer 2021 in old East Dallas, where its combination of Southeast Asian flavors with traditional Texas BBQ — rice bowls, French onion brisket melt, and Malaysian-inspired dishes including curry chicken and brisket coconut rice — and casual hipster vibe have made it an instant neighborhood classic. A second DFW location opened in Addison in 2022.
Mayor's House By Selda
"Mayor's House" was a historic home in Oak Cliff that deserved to be saved, and along came husband-and-wife and restaurant veterans Mert and Becky Tezkol, partnered with acclaimed Turkish chef Habip Kargin, who opened this mom-and-pop Turkish restaurant. It's a happy ending for the house and an even happier ending for Oak Cliff locals who get to enjoy serving amazingly authentic and affordable kebabs, veggie dishes, flatbreads, and pistachio desserts.
Miss Pasta
Richardson residents have to be thanking their lucky stars for scoring this sophisticated, relaxed eatery with mix-and-match fresh pasta and sauces by acclaimed chef Giuliano Matarese and his wife, Tiziana Cosentino. A native of Naples, Matarese previously worked on the East Coast at restaurants such as Charlie Palmer's Aureole in New York, and has also appeared on cooking shows such as Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. Pastas range from classics like rigatoni with spicy tomato, basil, Parmesan, and burrata cheese, to original takes such as potato gnocchi with basil pesto and green beans.
The Porch
What a wonderfully long, strange trip it's been for The Porch, starting out more than a decade ago as a trendy place by chef Nick Badovinus before joining the Tim Headington (The Joule Dallas) fold, then morphing into a beloved staple on Henderson Avenue. At The Porch, you can always count on good stick-to-your-ribs food and drink, with intriguing seasonal dishes rotated in, not to mention the cool patio and always busy brunch.
San Martin Bakery
Bakery and restaurant chain from Guatemala made its entry into the U.S. market with a first location in Uptown Dallas on McKinney Avenue where it offers fantastic European-styled baked goods including sourdough breads, croissants, and puff pastries, at a bargain price, along with a cozy cafe open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The bakery is fun because you gather your pastries yourself into a basket, and the selection is amazing. They just opened a second location on the Dallas-Addison border in 2024, allowing North Dallas residents to discover what Uptown has known all along.
Wabi House
Small ramen shop that started out on Greenville Avene in 2015 is a perennial favorite (as well as a repeat Tastemaker Awards nominee) for good reason: The quality has not slacked on their ramen, izakaya-style Japanese dishes, sake, and cocktails. They're so popular that they opened a second location in Fort Worth in 2018 and a third location in Frisco in 2024. Every neighborhood wants a place like this, with reliably good food and drinks.
Wagamama
People in California and other states are begging for their own location of this iconic global restaurant brand offering modern Asian cuisine. Dallas is one of only five cities in the U.S. that has a
location, which opened a little over a year ago at 2425 Harry Hines Blvd. Signature dishes include ginger chicken udon, Yasai katsu curry, and Bang Bang crispy cauliflower with firecracker sauce, plus craft cocktails like the Thai Chili Margarita and a selection of good sake. There's ramen, salads, dumplings, and stirfries with noodles or rice. If you're one of those people who miss the early days of Pei Wei, Wagamama fills the bill. It's good enough to make you consider moving to the neighborhood.
The Tastemaker Awards ceremony is brought to you by The Yuengling Company, Brioche Gourmet, Still Austin Whiskey, Whataburger, PicMe Events, and more to be announced.
Flamin’ Crunch Pizza is a finalist in the Savory category in State Fair of Texas' Big Tex Choice Awards.Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas
Holy Flan! Buñueloco is a finalist in the Sweet category in State Fair of Texas' Big Tex Choice Awards.Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas
Corn Flake Shappé is a finalist in the Sipper category in State Fair of Texas' Big Tex Choice Awards.Photo courtesy of State Fair of Texas