Hotel News

Peek at the menu of Virgin Hotels Dallas restaurant, opening in December

The dining room has kind of a sage thing going on.

Photo courtesy of Virgin

There's an opening date for Commons Club, the in-house restaurant at Virgin Hotels Dallas. According to a release, the eatery is accepting reservations starting December 15.

Virgin Hotels Dallas is the third property from Virgin Hotels, the lifestyle hospitality brand pioneered by Sir Richard Branson's global Virgin Group. The property is in the Dallas Design District at 1445 Turtle Creek Blvd, with 268 Chambers (rooms) and two penthouse suites.

In addition to the Commons Club, other dining and drinking outlets include the Funny Library Coffee Shop and The Pool Club.

Commons Club is the hotel's all-day restaurant, bar, and lounge, which also incorporates a concept called The Kitchen by Matt McCallister, which will serve a seasonally driven menu with French influence.

Collaborating in The Kitchen and leading the hotel's culinary team is Executive Chef Nick Walker.

It's a "French meets Texan" theme, with large-format dishes cooked via live fire in a charcoal-burning oven and wood-fired rotisserie. Dishes include:

grilled grouper with sauce bourride and root vegetables
rotisserie roasted chicken with stewed onion crème fraiche
A Bar N Ranch black pepper-crusted wagyu ribeye roast, sold by the bone, and served family-style with pumpernickel rolls

Additionally, the menu will feature several chilled dishes:

Texas farm radishes with seaweed butter and bottarga
tuna and beet crudo with pickled and raw golden beets and tapioca crisps
scallops roasted in the half shell dressed with citrus brown butter and hazelnut crumble

"The menus at Commons Club showcase an updated, French-inspired fare that is refined yet approachable," McCallister says in a statement. "We're celebrating French technique and local ingredients with a creative and playful approach."

The restaurant will feature a charcuterie display case featuring cured meats that sourced from artisanal producers, alongside pâtés, potted meats, and fermented vegetables made in-house.

Starting in spring 2020, there'll also be an on-site raised garden to supplement the restaurant's garnish and petite vegetables.

The Bar, which will feature some live entertainment, has a cocktail program rooted in classics, ranging from celebrated cocktails from famous hotel bars around the world to signature cocktails with a Virgin twist.

Beers will be Texas craft and draught focused, plus imports and local specialties in bottles and cans.

The wine and champagne list will specialize in producers committed to organic and sustainable viticulture.

The restaurant is located on ground level, with an open kitchen, community chef's table, wrap-around dog-friendly patio, and The Shag Room, a ‘70s-inspired space ideal for cocktails or an intimate reception.

Commons Club is open for breakfast from 7-11 am; lunch 11:30 am-2 pm; and dinner 5:30-10 pm; with a limited menu from 2-5:30 pm.

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STARS STRUCK

Texas Monthly’s handy new restaurant guide crowns 95 Dallas spots

Courtesy of Cafe Momentum

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After half a century, Texas Monthly is ditching its revered Dining Guide. But before hangry locals start storming the magazine’s offices, know it has replaced the massive list with the Texas Grand — an honor roll of the “thousand-ish” best restaurants in the state, including 95 in Dallas proper.

And each Dallas suburb you add to the search increases the number of local honorees. Addison and Garland each boast two restaurants on the roll, and together Plano and Arlington add 14. Once you include Farmers Branch, Grapevine, and Irving in the search, the Dallas metro area has some 128 restaurants on the list.

The Dining Guide has been a fixture of the magazine since its 1973 launch. It was synonymous with Texas Monthly’s former restaurant critic Pat Sharpe, who began her storied career proofreading the entries as an editorial assistant, then added hundreds of restaurants until her retirement in 2025.

The new guide scraps the guide’s star system. Sharpe originally used the ratings under a three-star system, which she described as good/better/best in a 2001 column. In 2017, that scale grew to five. The new Texas Grand describes its entries as “restaurants in the state that are wholeheartedly recommended by [Texas Monthly’s] dining team.”

“Excellent food, service, and overall atmosphere are musts — and that excellence can exist at all price points, whether at a taco truck, a diner, or an upscale steakhouse,” explained the magazine in a FAQ section. “We don’t pay much attention to big chains …Our reviewers focus largely on restaurants with local roots that offer something genuinely special.”

Where once readers had to pour over pages of the magazine to discover new restaurant picks, Texas Grand now allows them to sort by city, type of cuisine, and price point. There are some quirky filters, too, like checkboxes for pet-friendly spots, “fancy” eateries, or those that offer Favor delivery. A map feature lets road-trippers easily plan road-trip dinners.

Dallas picks include an eclectic mix: There's the humble 1-year-old Oak Cliff diner Donde Los Tacos and its 15-year-old neighbor down the street Lockhart Smokehouse. Also on the list, the nonprofit Cafe Momentum downtown and the backyard-born One90 Smoked Meats in Lake Highlands. Slightly up the scale, budgetarily speaking, are spots such as Highland Park soufflé specialists Rise No 1, Design District darling The Charles, and posh Pappas Bros. Steakhouse with its rooftop helipad.

Each eatery is described in one sentence. Frisco's Bharat Bhavan is “an impressively large, sensory, and satisfying destination for vegetarian Indian fare" and Smokey Joe's is a “a gas-station-turned-barbecue-joint with some of the city’s best brisket.” For the publication's full thoughts, readers can pony up for a subscription.

Texas foodies can peruse the full list here.

dining guides restaurants lists rankings texas monthly best texas restaurants

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STARS STRUCK

Texas Monthly’s handy new restaurant guide crowns 95 Dallas spots