Where to Eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 9 hottest new dessert destinations

Bread pudding is practically a meal in itself.

Photo courtesy of Edith's

There's always room for dessert. It's there if you want to go out but you don't want to splurge for a whole meal. Or maybe you have dinner at home, but you're looking for an excuse to go out. Or maybe you're just craving a magnificent dessert.

As luck would have it, Dallas has seen a big wave of new shops specializing in sweet treats, to fill all those needs and more.

Here are 9 new destinations for dessert:

Beard Papa's
Japanese chain that does cream puffs, with more than 500 locations around the world. Its cream puffs come in flavors like matcha and honey butter. It opened its first DFW location in Plano, at 2301 N. Central Expy. in mid-October, charming the locals with its adorable round cream puffs, boasting icing and fillings in luscious flavors that include creme brulee, honey and butter, green tea, and double chocolate. The idea is to buy a box and mix-and-match flavors. Another is due to open in Frisco in winter 2018.

BlackBall
International dessert chain made its DFW debut with a location in Plano at 100 Legacy Dr. One of the biggest dessert chains in Taiwan, BlackBall has a menu that's a walk on the wild side with dessert "soups" served hot or warm, and seven crushed ices in flavors such as cranberry and taro. You can choose from 18 toppings such as rice balls and kidney beans to add to your dessert. The signature is "grass jelly," or leaf jelly, a dark, sweet Jell-O like item with a slight, though not unpleasant, bitter edge. Many shaved ice options include a matcha-themed delight with matcha shaved ice, matcha jelly, and matcha syrup as a pourover, with a side of two matcha-filled mochi.

Cookie Rack
New bakery specializing in decorated and over-the-top cookies, just opened in Frisco in a new center at 2552 Stonebrook Pkwy. Their thing is decorated and "logo" cookies, but don't look for your typical chocolate chip. Their cookies have icing and other embellishments. The cookies are an over-the-top type cookie — more like a cupcake, but in cookie form. You can have a cup of coffee and work on wifi, and they'll also offer cookie-decorating classes.

Cow Tipping Creamery
Ice cream shop specializing in soft-serve has opened in Carrollton at 1309 S. Broadway St., next door to its sibling Cane Rosso. They serve ice cream and sundae "stackers" such as the Southern charm with rum-caramel sauce, pecans, Southern cracker candy, and blue sugar crystals; or the cinnamon-horchata soft serve with Snickerdoodle cookie bar bits, Snickerdoodle Ritz crumb, and hot fudge. It's open 4-9 pm Thursday, 12-10 pm Friday-Saturday, and 12-9 pm Sunday.

Edith's French Bistro
The original Edith's is located at Mockingbird Station in Dallas, but they recently opened a location at Granite Park, the development near the Dallas North Tollway and SH-121. They do French pastries, custom cakes, high tea, classic French dishes, and all-day breakfast. This location boasts an over-the top decor that includes a wild flower-themed chandelier and walls covered in faux greenery to evoke a garden vibe. It also has a massive 2,782-square-food patio.

Grandmas Bakery
As the name might imply, this North Dallas sweet shop is owned by a couple of grandmas: Ashraf Hosseini is a master cake decorator and baker, and her partner Sherry Ghafar makes unique baklava and cream puffs. They're selling decorated cakes, cupcakes, unique Persian cookies, and a Persian twist on the classic baklava recipe, which features rosewater and saffron.

Philly Pretzel Factory
Pennsylvania-based chain that's colonizing North Texas, including a location newly opened at 5601 W. Lovers Ln. in Dallas, with a branch also in Mansfield and another coming soon to Coit Road in Richardson. Philly Pretzel Factory is "home of the real soft pretzel," as well as the world's largest Philly-style pretzel bakery, with more than 100 franchised locations, clustered mostly in the Northeast. There are bite-sized pretzel nuggets and cinnamon pretzel twists, dusted with cinnamon-sugar and served with a sweet cream cheese dip.

Popbar
Chain famous for its gelato, sorbetto, and yogurt on a stick, has opened a location in Victory Park at 2420 Victory Park Ln. They make small batches, 26 popbars at a time, in 40 rotating flavors, with dippings and toppings, plus unique treats like the newly launched gelatoshake. There are also vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and soy-free options. Popbar currently has 19 stores in the U.S., and 11 stores internationally. Popbar Victory Park is the fifth location to open in 2018.

Tulla Patisserie & Cafe
Frisco bakery is doing first-rate baked goods including croissants and cutting-edge sourdough breads. There are butter croissants, chocolate almond croissants, pistachio raspberry croissants, and croissants with ham and Gruyere cheese. There are cinnamon pull-aparts, French turnovers, chocolate muffins, lemon poundcake, and bacon-cheddar scones. There are macarons, cakes, and pies.

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East Dock development

'Chopped' champion opens Pan-Latin restaurant at Oak Cliff's East Dock

Photo courtesy of Barro y Fuego

Barro y Fuego specializes in parrilladas, or grilled meats.

A Latin American, chef-driven restaurant is one of the newest additions to Oak Cliff's vibrant dining scene: Barro y Fuego is now open in suite 100 of the refurbished historic East Dock, at 900 E. Clarendon Dr., joining Bite Sushi, Elevate Coffee, Kuluntu Bakery, and other neighbors.

The restaurant comes from longtime friends and business partners Robert Ramirez and Eric Spigner.

Spigner formerly was chef at Nova Oak Cliff, which won Restaurant of the Year in the 2018 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards; he was a Tastemakers Rising Star nominee in 2019. He's best known as champion of the Food Network competition show Chopped in 2021.

Ramirez is a 25-year veteran of the restaurant design business who also envisioned, designed, and developed East Dock, the mixed-use development that houses Barro y Fuego and an assortment of dining, retail, gym, and office spaces. The development is near the new five-acre Halperin Park, a bridge park spanning Interstate 35.

The partners named the restaurant Barro y Fuego — translating to “clay and fire”— to reflect their vision for the restaurant. The grill is always afire for parrilladas, or grilled meats, while decorative clay pots by artists from Peru and Mexico line the interior and are available for purchase.

Beyond a market area, the restaurant incorporates elements of a rustic cantina, with natural wood and earthy tones creating a cozy atmosphere. The indoor dining area accommodates up to 80 guests, with a communal table, booths, traditional tables, and bar seating along the open kitchen. An adjacent outdoor grill and patio overlooking a creek is open year-round and seats another 80.

“The open kitchen was important to us,” Ramirez says. “You can sit at the bar and watch the cooking; it's a natural gathering point. We focused on a design that is raw, minimal, and for everybody: dates, families, friends — come casual or come dressed up.”

The Pan-Latin menu draws on Ramirez’s upbringing and travels throughout the region, along with Spigner’s professional experience with Caribbean, Spanish, and Latin American flavors.

“Latin America is vast; my vision is to take it all in and present a concise statement of a broader culture — where you might not pinpoint a specific country, but rather a fusion of many in a single dish,” Spigner says.

This vision yields a unique menu spanning Latin America with subtle Spanish influences. The menu features shareable plates ranging from $20 to $40 and includes:

Gambas al Ajo Negro: Sautéed shrimp in a black garlic emulsion with charred okra and blistered tomatoes.
Costillas de Res Estofadas: Boneless beef ribs served with chimichurri crème fraîche, plantains, and charred zucchini.
Arroz con Pollo: Chicken confit over red rice, served with coconut milk collard greens and sauce africaine.
Panceta de Cerdo Estofada: Braised pork belly accompanied by chipotle-agave sweet potato puree and collard green chimichurri.

On weekdays, the restaurant offers a menu with items under $20, including sandwiches and smaller portions of main dishes. It’s designed for nearby business tenants, residents, and visitors to the Dallas Zoo and surrounding parks.

Brunch with live Latin jazz music takes places on Saturdays and Sundays from 11 am-3 pm. The brunch menu includes clam, chorizo, and avocado tostadas; ropa vieja; torrijas, which are similar to French toast; and a pork belly and pisto manchego Benedict.

The full bar serves specialty cocktails such as a Negroni verde, caipirinha, and espresso martinis using ingredients from neighbor Elevate Coffee. The beer selection celebrates all of Latin America rather than focusing solely on Mexico, the proprietors say. They feature representative brands from nearly every country for $7. They also pour Mexican Lager from nearby, newly opened Smittox Brewery.

Looking ahead, the team says they plan to host ticketed community events, including paella nights, pig roasts, and live music showcasing local cumbia, rock en español bands, and DJs.

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