A new restaurant and bar named for a famous New Orleans writer and performer is opening in downtown Dallas: Called Toussaint Brasserie, it's a French-inspired restaurant and bar opening at the soon-to-open Renaissance Hotel Saint Elm Dallas Downtown at 1907 Elm St.

According to a release, it'll open on Friday February 25.

This is the Cambria Dallas hotel, located in the historic Tower Petroleum Building, which is undergoing renovations and will reopen as the Renaissance Hotel Saint Elm coinciding with the opening of the restaurant. It's owned by Dallas resident and entrepreneur John Kirtland and will be managed by Azul Hospitality Group.

Named for New Orleans writer, producer and performer Allen Toussaint, it'll be open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily, with a menu that incorporates French and Asian flavors, plus a dose of "New Orleans spice" and hospitality.

The menu will feature French staples such as:

 
• Moules Frites
 
• Steak Tartare served with carrot coulis, shallots, egg yolk, pea tendrils, toast points
 
• Steak Frites with NY Strip, pommes frites and sauce persillade
 
• Poulet Roti with roasted chicken, kabocha squash and vadouvan jus along with savory soups
 
• Asian inspired lobster Thermidor with coconut red curry, glazed lobster, and seasonal vegetables
 
• Halibut with Pommes Anna, haricot vert and sauce vierge
 

The bar will feature New Orleans-steeped cocktails such as the Nola-Groni with Euphrosine #9 Gin, Peychaud’s Apertivo and Plymouth Sloe Gin; and Quarter Bloody with pickled veg-infused Vodka plus housemade bloody mary mix.

A rotating wine list will include wines from France and nearby regions, plus California and the Pacific Northwest.

Toussaint was developed by Kirtland with hospitality consulting firm Woodhouse. It will replace the hotel's current restaurant, Petro Tower Grill, which served Southern food.

There is a New Orleans-inspired restaurant at the Westin Dallas downtown hotel called NOLA Brasserie, but it does American and Creole food, which is not what Toussaint will be serving.

"We've created a modern interpretation of French brasserie cuisine that adorned Paris, New Orleans, and Vietnam at the turn of the century and pays homage to the traditional cooking of these famed culinary destinations," Kirtland says.

The restaurant has 3,200 square feet with seating for 78 indoors and 28 outside, and a full-service bar with seating for 16 to include a 6-seat banquette with intimate bottle service.

Designed by Droese Raney (Jose, Mirador, Park House), the restaurant will feature with a minimalist color scheme: blues, greys, caramel, wood, and marble. Decorative motifs include French typography, colonial illustrations, and the millwork of a traditional brasserie – booths on spindle legs, hand carved tabletops, wooden shelves at the bar.

"It'll offer Dallas, and visitors alike, a spirited downtown destination for French comfort food made with high quality ingredients, a lively soundtrack, and well-crafted cocktails in a comfortable setting," Kirtland says.