3 buzzy new restaurants headed for Dallas' Greenville Avenue

Today's reality is that Dallas restaurants are now at 50 percent capacity and bars are closed. But with a hopeful eye towards the future, three high-profile concepts are coming to Dallas' Greenville Avenue in the next 60 days.

One is a chef-driven restaurant and bakery. Another is a new slider joint taking over an iconic space. A third is a widely acclaimed and unique noodle shop opening in Old Town Center.

Here are 3 hot new restaurants coming soon to Greenville Avenue:

Carte Blanche
New restaurant-bakery from chefs Casey and Amy La Rue will go into the space at 2114 Greenville Ave. previously occupied by Mudsmith, the coffee shop that closed in October 2019.

Carte Blanche started out as a unique pop-up dinner series by the husband-and-wife team, who've worked in some serious restaurants across the U.S., including Michelin-starred Daniel, Per Se, and Joel Robuchon.

They moved to Dallas in 2019 with an eye towards opening a restaurant, and began doing pop-up dinners that were like a 4-star "floating restaurant," featuring a high-end tasting menu focused on native Texas ingredients, prepared in a modern way.

Typical dishes might include fried green tomato with Dungeness crab, chicken Ballotine, smoked hamachi with ratatouille, and 21-day dry-aged duck, plus desserts such as Thai tea creme caramel and Meyer lemon chiffon with lemongrass cremeux and citrus sorbet.

The couple took possession of the old Mudsmith space last week, Amy says.

"We will be opening up under the name of our current pop up experiences we have been doing around Dallas the past year: Carte Blanche, which means 'permission to do something in any way you choose to do it,'" she says.

It'll be a two-pronged concept: Mornings will be an upscale bakery, and evenings will be a tasting menu with a hyper focus on wine.

"It has been a long time coming and lots of renovations to come within the next couple months and opening planned for early 2021," Amy says.

Marugame Udon
This chain based in Tokyo that specializes in handmade Japanese udon noodles opened its first Texas location in Carrollton in August, where it has been wowing locals and drawing lines for its authentic food and lively vibe, even during pandemic times.

Now the day draws closer for its second location, this one in Dallas in the Old Town Shopping Center at 5500 Greenville Ave., in the space previously occupied by Baker Bros. American Deli. According to a spokesperson, the Greenville Avenue location will open in mid-January. FINALLY.

Marugame serves Sanuki-style noodles: a thicker, "bouncy" noodle that is both chewy and tender, whether served in a broth or drizzled with sauce. Marugame also has a theatrical exhibition kitchen, where you can watch all food being prepared and assembled to order. That starts with noodles being made behind the glass at the start of the order line, along with the preparation of tempura, katsu sandos, and char-grilled proteins in full view of diners.

Marugame Udon first came to the U.S. more than 10 years ago when it opened a flagship location in Waikiki, Hawaii. The chain has since expanded to California, and is being brought to Dallas by an experienced team led by President and Chief Strategy Officer Mark H. Brezinski, who co-founded Pei Wei Asian Diner, and was a key player in Velvet Taco, Banh Shop, and other DFW restaurants.

While noodle bowls and tempura-fried items are their signatures, they're not just a noodle shop: With the Dallas launch, they expanded their menu to include robata-style char-grilled skewers and chicken katsu sandwiches.

At their Carrollton location, they're offering a holiday special through December 31: If you purchase $25 in gift cards, you get a coupon for a free bowl of udon. They're also doing a promotion on National Ugly Sweater Day on December 20: Wear a ugly sweater on that day and get a BOGO to be shared with a friend or taken home to-go to enjoy later.

Son of a Butcher
There's no address on Greenville Avenue with a profile more iconic than 2026 Greenville Ave., formerly home to Melios Bros. Char Bar for 40 years. Beyond being a lifer on the Greenville Avenue strip, Char Bar also stood out for its cheery sky-blue-and-white Swiss chalet-style structure. With a hue and cry, they closed in September 2019.

The space was scooped up by Son of a Butcher, the slider concept by Front Burner Restaurants which debuted in Plano at Legacy Hall in 2019.

The star of the menu is Wagyu sliders in luxe combos - to wit, the PBJ with blackberry jam, bacon, crunchy peanut butter, American cheese, and caramelized onion - but they also have chicken sandwiches including chicken-fried chicken and trendy Nashville hot; plus pork meatball, hot links, and a veggie black bean burger. There are a bunch of fries including waffle fries and nachos fries, plus an amazing lineup of shake flavors that includes pistachio mint, lemon meringue, blueberry cobbler, and cookie butter.

This location will be open late and also feature a drive-thru. To their credit, they kept the structure intact, although it's been painted white.

Grand opening is December 14.