Tastemaker Awards News

16 best new restaurants in Dallas compete for top Tastemaker title

Spread from Quarter Acre

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In the 2023 edition of our annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, we're honoring the best in Dallas food & beverage, from best chefs to best bars to the best restaurant in Fort Worth.

Those bests are chosen by a panel of judges consisting of former CultureMap Tastemaker Award winners and local F&B experts. (The full list of nominees is here.)

But one category — Best New Restaurant — is chosen by our readers, in a bracket-style competition where eight new restaurants go head to head. You can vote for your favorite in our bracket-style elimination challenge, until two finalists emerge.

The winners will be revealed at our party and awards ceremony on May 4 at Fashion Industry Gallery (F.I.G.). Tickets are on sale now.

To vote, click here. Don't delay: The first bracket ends on April 17.

Here are our nominees for Best New Restaurant in Dallas:

A-T Bistro
Chic restaurant in Preston Center from a high-flying caterer has quietly captivated Park Cities and beyond with its globally-influenced menu - steak frites, Cuban sandwich, bang bang shrimp - and impeccable service.

The Finch
Well-appointed restaurant in the former Cafe Express at Mockingbird Station is the most ambitious venture yet from Milkshake Concepts (Vidorra, Harper's) with pricey steaks but also approachable pastas and sandwiches.

Brass Ram
Latest entry from inimitable chef Nick Badovinus is an old-school prime rib joint with classic recipes (and high prices) in the cool vintage Magnolia Building downtown, one floor above sibling National Anthem.

STK
Steakhouse in Uptown is part of an international chain from One Group Hospitality (Kona Grill). The formula is part steakhouse, part after-party. You come first for the dry-aged steak and raw bar, then stay for the live DJ.

Carbone
Fine-dining Italian-American from New York serves well-refined versions of classics like spicy rigatoni and tableside Caesar salad. They're known as much for their old-school service as their food.

Pizzana
Knox Street lands its own Neapolitan-style pizzeria, from the owners of Sprinkles Cupcakes. Their "neo" take on pizza entails a crust that's crispier than traditional Neapolitan, a better fit for Dallas tastes.

El Carlos Elegante
Newest concept from ultra-hot Duro Hospitality (The Charles, Sister) boasts an incredibly inventive Latin-American menu - lots of seafood and veggie dishes - in a stunning hacienda-like setting.

Escondido
Tex-Mex at geographically desirable intersection of Preston and Royal is from the owner of TJ’s Seafood Market, and serves up fajitas, margaritas, and a sprawling street-facing patio.

Isla & Co.
Bishop Arts brasserie open all day is from a New York-based group founded by Australian natives; you can see their influence on the international menu and in their elevated coffee program.

Kinzo
Sushi restaurant from a former Nobu chef brings the omakase experience to Frisco, along with temaki AKA hand rolls, grilled yakitori skewers, craft cocktails, and a big selection of sake.Tickets go live 1st of the month at 10am on Resy. Omakase tasting by @leokekoa two seatings 5:45 & 8:15

District
West Coast concept is all about pairing dishes such as sweet potato pakoras and Moroccan-spiced lamb meatballs with wine and whiskey. This Addison location, rustic yet refined, is their first outside California.

The Mexican
Luxe Mexican in the Design District with Monterrey-style food - grilled meats, queso fundido - is a grand, no-expense-spared palace with custom Mexican tile, velvet upholstery, and stylish capacious patios.

La Bodega
Upscale takeout operates out of a tiny Bishop Arts home storefront where it serves the neighborhood a quick lunch and dinner menu of rotisserie chicken and French fries, salads, and sandwiches.

Tatsu
Tatsuya (Tatsu) Sekiguchi is a fourth-generation sushi master who relocated to Dallas from New York to open this intimate sushi restaurant - with room for 20 diners max - in the Continental Gin Building in Deep Ellum.

Quarter Acre
Solo outing from chef Toby Archibald (Georgie by Curtis Stone) has a global-themed menu with lots of seafood and veggie dishes such as roasted celeriac with raisins, hazelnuts, and celery salad.

Restaurant Beatrice
Oak Cliff restaurant from chef Michelle Carpenter (Zen Sushi) does contemporary Cajun such as duck & Andouille gumbo, and fried chicken with pepper jelly. They also sell house-made pickles, jams, and rubs.

awards bests tastemakers

Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

restaurants bars peruvian flavors west dallas oak cliff kent rathbun