Meet The Tastemakers

10 best coffee shops in Dallas for 2026 are all the buzz

See what's brewing at Dallas' 10 best coffee shops.

Photo courtesy of Ascension Coffee

Each year, we bring you the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards to celebrate the best of Dallas' culinary scene, from neighborhood restaurants to the city's best bars, and, now, the top coffee shops in town.

Our 2025 Tastemakers wildcard category of Best Coffee Shop returns in 2026 as an annual awards category, as we honor Dallas' Coffee Shop of the Year.

These nominees are all the buzz around Dallas, from those that have been part of the local craft coffee movement for well over a decade to exciting upstarts that have grown into brick-and-mortars. Most importantly, these shops celebrate coffee culture, create community, and serve sensational sips.

See what's brewing with our 2026 Dallas Coffee Shop of the Year nominees below, then join us on May 7 at Astoria Event Venue for the 2026 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards. We'll celebrate the finalists and crown the winners, while you sample chef-prepared bites, sip crafted cocktails, and mingle with Dallas' culinary stars.

Limited discounted tickets are still available for general admission and VIP access, so get yours today.

Here are the 10 nominees for Coffee Shop of the Year:

Ascension
A stalwart of Dallas-Fort Worth’s craft coffee scene since 2012, Ascension now serves its painstakingly sourced beans at six locations across the Metroplex. It’s committed to ethically and sustainably sourcing beans from the planet’s finest coffee growing locations and roasting them at its roastery in Dallas’ Design District, before brewing them into crema-topped shots of espresso or a perfect pourover. And for those who love a sweet latte, Ascension excels at those, too, as anyone who’s tried the popular horchata latte can attest.

Cafe Ciro
This playful newcomer made its Pleasant Grove debut in 2025, after getting its start as a pop-up in the neighborhood three years earlier. Now, it serves one of the most inventive menus of lattes and other coffee drinks in the region, all heavily influenced by owner Brittany Guereca’s Mexican heritage. If you haven’t yet trekked south to try one of Cafe Ciro’s churro lattes or mango sticky rice matchas, there’s no better time than the present.

Cafe Duro
Taking inspiration from the streetside cafes that are ubiquitous in Europe, Cafe Duro brings a taste of that breezy vibe to Greenville Avenue. The coffee menu here is inspired by a broad range of cultures and culinary influences, from the Italian espresso bar to the Japanese hojicha that makes an appearance in multiple drinks. And, in keeping with the current craze, matcha fans will also find plenty to love here, including a latte spiked with prickly pear.

Cultivar Coffee Roasting Co.
This acclaimed micro-roastery is serious about finding the finest coffee beans on the planet, then brewing them into technically solid beverages. The roastery’s East Dallas cafe is a great spot for coffee purists who want to taste the distinct flavor notes in their pour-over or cortado — and score a bag of beautifully roasted beans to brew at home. If you find that all that caffeine has helped you work up an appetite, the breakfast sandwiches from nearby Goodfriend Package are always a solid choice.

Good Boy Cafe
Located inside Koneko Studio, one of Dallas’ most exciting tattoo shops, Good Boy Cafe is one of the city’s coolest places to grab a coffee — especially if you’re a dog lover. Here, you can bring your pup along to enjoy a biscuit-topped pup cup as you sip an expertly crafted matcha or cappuccino, or get experimental with one of Good Boy’s more creative coffee drinks, like a brand-new white chocolate latte topped with pillowy French apricot foam.

La Reunion
A Bishop Arts staple, this coffee favorite takes its name from the utopian socialist community that settled in the neighborhood before the turn of the 20th century. Now, La Reunion stands as a cozy, communal spot for locals to gather and sip cortados paired with potato breakfast tacos. By day, you can sip cafe au lait or Kyoto cold brew. By night, it transforms into an uber-cool spot for a glass of wine and interesting, funky cocktails soundtracked by live music.

La Souq Coffee
This sleek Richardson coffee shop is as visually stunning as its coffee drinks are delicious. Arab culinary influence is abundant on the menu, evidenced in offerings like the Habibti Latte, which is delicately infused with rose and cardamom. It also boasts a full menu of drinks made with ceremonial-grade matcha, plus teas, and a rose jam and goat cheese topped toast that’s worth the trip.

Palmieri Cafe
Palmieri Cafe is the closest you can get to experiencing a traditional Italian cafe in Dallas. What began as a stall at the Dallas Farmers Market in 2016 has grown into a budding coffee empire, with three locations scattered across the city and its suburbs. Coffee snobs will appreciate the selection of single-origin beans that are roasted to perfection, and anyone can enjoy the way that Palmieri crafts those beans into perfect cappuccinos, macchiatos, and other Italian espresso classics.

palmieri cafe coffee Palmieri Cafe offers the charm of an Italian cafe. Palmieri Cafe

Wayward Coffee Co.
With locations in the Design District and Oak Cliff, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more charming spot for a cup of joe than Wayward Coffee Co. The no-frills menu is simple, relying on the quality of expertly sourced beans from a rotating line-up of roasters to shine in its Americanos and flash-chilled pourovers. But if you are the type of coffee drinker that loves a lavender oat milk latte, Wayward also makes its own flavor-infused syrups in-house.

White Rock Coffee
This Dallas coffee purveyor was born in Lakewood and has been one of the city’s most reliable destinations for a great cup of coffee since 2005. Now, you can find its beloved White Rocker lattes and potent drip coffees at eight locations across the Metroplex, including its “Brew Lab,” which serves as a nationally recognized training facility for coffee pros.

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The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Dallas by Maker's Mark, Shutto, NXT LVL Event, and more to be announced. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Harvest Project Food Rescue.

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new roots

L.A. celebrity favorite The Ivy plants Dallas branch near Katy Trail

Photo courtesy of The Ivy/Facebook

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A Los Angeles restaurant famous for celebrity sightings on its bright floral patios is opening a branch in Dallas: The Ivy will debut in fall 2027 at 4205 Buena Vista St. inside The Terminal at Katy Trail.

“This will be the first Ivy outside of Southern California,” says India Wolfe, the restaurant founders' daughter, in a release. "I felt a strong calling to bring The Ivy somewhere new and to plant roots there with our family.”

India’s parents opened The Ivy on Robertson Boulevard in 1980, followed by Ivy at the Shore in Santa Monica five years later.

While her father, chef Richard Irving, and mother, Lynn von Kersting, remain in LA, Wolfe and her husband, Ernest Wolfe IV, will move to Dallas in February with their two children and dogs, to operate The Ivy. The restaurant will be located inside a luxury apartment tower overlooking the Katy Trail.

India started working as a teen at the family's third branch in Santa Monica and learned everything "from greeting guests and waiting tables to staging events, filming viral social media, and modernizing the business for a new generation," says the release.

Both she and her husband spent time in other professions but were drawn to the dining field. Ernest helped his in-laws so often at The Ivy that they finally employed him full-time.

“I love working with him," India says, "and we complement each other’s skills really well, not unlike my mom and dad.”

The Ivy The family behind The Ivy.Courtesy photo

The Wolfes say they want the Dallas restaurant to retain The Ivy’s familiar cooking, warmth and character, while making it feel like home in a new city.

“I love the idea of people taking a walk on the Katy Trail and then meeting friends for brunch at The Ivy,” India says.

Her parents are assisting with the design and menu; India wants a contemporary vibe but doesn’t plan to change what works so well.

“I don’t want to make it too different because I think the reason that people from Dallas come to The Ivy is because they love The Ivy,” she says. “That said, this new restaurant will certainly stand on its own two feet.”

Unlike the original, the Dallas Ivy will have a bar, an idea India dreamed up. While restaurant bars are nothing unusual, India actually envisioned what her family jokingly calls “the D Bar" (so named for Dallas), where guests can clink glasses and share good energy around a curved, D-shaped counter.

Her interest in art and flowers will result in a space well-appointed with roses, a family tradition, and local blooms like zinnias and snapdragons.

The Ivy serves upscale American comfort food and Californian cuisine with influences from Italian, French, Cajun, and Mexican cooking. Dishes are made with seasonal ingredients, so the menus evolve throughout the year.

While the Dallas menu is being developed, the restaurant's Southern California winter menus, for example, include starters such as crab cakes, Caesar salad, and grilled-vegetable salad. Pasta options include lobster ravioli with Ivy pink sauce and lobster tagliatelle. Wood- or stone-fired pizzas include margherita and Cajun shrimp pies, while house-baked breads, old-fashioned red velvet cake, coconut cake, and chocolate chip cookies round out the menu.

The Ivy has always been at the center of family life, India notes. Now she and Ernest are bringing that way of life to Dallas.

She adds, “I am confident it will be a great home for The Ivy and for our family.”

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