Where To Eat Lunch

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best new lunch spots

Of all the meals out there, lunch is the most flexible. It can be the getaway from work or an interview for work. It can be a rendezvous with your lady or a lunch with the ladies. But however you use your lunch, you'll want to keep up on the newest places to get it. Here's our list:

Best Thai Diner
This unique concept is the newest member of the small, individualistic family-run Best Thai chain. It's the rare Thai food buffet that will go beyond the usual pad Thai by featuring dishes from all regions of Thailand, with different dishes swapped out from day to day.

Carmel
Newly opened restaurant in Coppell is a family-run spot that combines American classics and Mediterranean specialties. The menu ranges from a rib-eye steak to hummus and fattoush salad, a fresh vegetable medley with tomato, onion and cucumber, served with toasted pita bread. A $10 lunch combo gets you soup and sandwich combos such as turkey panino and a mozzarella press.

Clay Pigeon
For the Fort Worth crowd, Clay Pigeon is open for lunch Wednesday through Friday, with soups, salads, sandwiches, specials such as steak frites and a quiche du jour. Salads include beet with goat cheese or spinach with bacon and a sunny-side-up egg; the sandwich pick is the turkey melt with avocado, arugula and Gruyere.

Ivy Kitchen
New restaurant adjacent to the Look Cinemas in Prestonwood fills in the old Nick & Sam's Grill space with a Houston's-like largesse. The menu, which is the same for lunch and dinner, includes steaks, seafood, sandwiches, and salads such as the wedge and Caesar.

Kitchen LTO
With "naughty chef" Blythe Beck in the kitchen at LTO, the menu these days is upscale Southern with signature dishes such as shrimp and grits, chicken-fried rib-eye, and deviled eggs. Her wedge salad is a spectacular version with iceberg lettuce topped with diced tomato, crumbled bacon and a crown of spicy onion rings.

Knife
Critically acclaimed restaurant starring chef John Tesar is now serving lunch daily, 11 am to 2:30 pm. The lunch menu includes some highlights from dinner as well as a selection of sandwiches, including a super-cheesy grilled cheese, a BLT made with Iberico bacon, a pressed Cuban, a tangy Reuben and an upscale banh mi with pork belly.

Paninis Plus
This fast-casual concept seems made for lunch with panini, salads, wraps and green drinks. Selections include a Cuban with pork, ham and Swiss; a muffaletta with salami, ham, mozzarella, provolone and olive salad; and a veggie with portobello mushroom, roasted red peppers and mixed greens.

Proof + Pantry
One Arts Plaza spot, now serving lunch Tuesday through Friday, features dishes from chef Kyle McClelland, including Nanna's meatballs; a $15 pantry burger with caramelized onions and American cheese; a roasted vegetable sandwich with eggplant, squash, zucchini, red pepper and pesto; an $18 lobster roll; and steak frites.

VH
Restaurant from former Lombardi team features American cuisine with reasonable prices. Lunch — which extends to a luxuriant 4 pm — includes burgers; tacos; and a turkey melt with smoked turkey, bacon and avocado. A quintet of salads runs from a chicken salad to one with grilled eggplant, spinach, golden raisins, almonds and goat cheese.

Villa-O
Travis Walk Italian has a daily lunch with specials such as chicken Parmesan and the Villa-O burger. Pizzas include the Diavola (spicy soppressata, salami, pepperoni, San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella and chili flakes) and a breakfast pizza (sunny-side-up eggs and prosciutto), which is served all day.

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Wedge salad at Kitchen LTO.

Photo courtesy of Kitchen LTO

Wedge salad at Kitchen LTO.

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There Goes the Biscuits

Mom-and-pop restaurant chain Biscuit Bar closes all Dallas locations

Photo courtesy of Biscuit Bar

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A Dallas-Fort Worth restaurant chain dedicated to biscuits is shutting down: The Biscuit Bar, a chain with six locations including five in the Dallas area, is closing them all. According to the owners, the closures are effective immediately.

Owners Jake and Janie Burkett say they were poised to sell off the chain to keep it afloat, but the sale fell through at the last minute — forcing them to shutter the business entirely.

The chain has five locations in the DFW area and one in Abilene. All locations are closed including these five in DFW:

Deep Ellum, at The Epic, the mixed-use project at 2550 Pacific Ave.
Plano, at The Boardwalk in Granite Park, at 5880 TX-121 #102B
Arlington, at Champions Park, at 1707 N. Collins St.
Fort Worth Stockyards, at Mule Alley, at 122 E. Exchange Ave.
Coppell, at 104 S Denton Tap Rd. #102

The couple blamed a variety of factors, including "rising costs, supply chain instability, and a commercial environment increasingly shaped by large institutional interests" which "created pressures no small business was prepared to endure."

The concept made its debut in April 2018 at The Boardwalk in Granite Park in Plano, before expanding in 2019 with a bang, targeting five locations all at once — a bold move for a new concept, especially one dedicated entirely to one food group. (They also opened a short-lived location on Hillcrest near SMU which is now home to D.L. Mack's.)

They were open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner seven days a week, offering biscuits, tots, and beer on tap — very ambitious — with a menu featuring both savory and sweet biscuit sandwiches made in house; tots, which could be customized; plus a bar with cocktails, local beer, cold brew coffee, and kombucha, all offered on tap.

Its most popular menu item, The Hoss, featured Southern fried chicken, bacon, Jack cheese, sausage gravy, and honey butter.

Their post says that by early 2025, they entered Chapter 11 — "not to walk away but to rebuild and secure a future for our employees," they say. "And for a time, it looked like that future was within reach. A respect restaurant group stepped forward, committed to acquiring and growing Biscuit Bar. The sale was structured, terms were agreed upon, and the closing was set for December."

Unfortunately, not everyone was on board.

"While many partners supported a workable plan, several key financial stakeholders did not," their post says. "This included a few landlords whose participation was essential. Their refusal to compromise or support a path forward ultimately made the sale impossible, leaving us with no legal or financil ability continue operating. And so just days before Christmas, we were forced into the most painful decision of our lives."

They've launched a GoFundMe for their employees and are encouraging their fans to contribute.

"If The Biscuit Bar ever served you a meal, became part of your routine, or gave you a place to gather with family and friends, we humbly ask you to consider donating or sharing this campaign," they say.

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