Hospitality group to open Italian restaurant & all-day cafe in Dallas

Two new restaurants are coming to an Uptown Dallas office building under development — one serving Italian, the other serving Australian cafe culture.

The restaurants are from Wish You Were Here Group, a globe-trotting hospitality group founded by Australian native Nick Mathers, and will open at 23Springs, an office tower at Cedar Springs Road and Maple Avenue being developed by Granite Properties.

The two restaurants will open in fall 2025, as follows:

Élephante
Coastal Italian restaurant will occupy an 11,000-square-foot standalone, two-story restaurant building facing Maple Avenue. This will be Élephante’s third location, following the original in Los Angeles and a second opening in Scottsdale, Arizona this fall.

Élephante will serve wood-fired pizzas, pasta, its "famed" whipped eggplant dip, family-style dishes, and craft cocktails. (You can tell it's a serious restaurant because of the accent over the first É.)

The interior will be designed by Wish You Were Here Group founder Mathers in collaboration with Alter Studio. That is some hands-on involvement. Features will include exterior walls composed of sliding glass panels creating a seamless blend of indoor and outdoor space for the ground level patio and second floor decks overlooking Maple Avenue.

Little Ruby’s
Founded 20 years ago in New York, Little Ruby's is about Australian café culture, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with approachable fare, specialty drinks, and a full coffee program. The menu will feature its burgers, pastas, salads, bowls and brunch.

This will be Little Ruby’s fifth location and first outside of New York. It'll occupy a 3,000-square-foot space at the one-story restaurant building facing 23Springs’ park.

Nick Mathers, Founder of Wish You Were Here Group, has things to say about coming to Dallas:

“We're excited to bring Little Ruby’s, our Australian café with roots in New York City for the last 20 years, and Élephante, our elevated coastal Italian restaurant, to Dallas’ lively culinary scene. We hope to captivate Dallas’ genuine appetite for new and creative restaurant experiences," Mathers says. "All of our Wish You Were Here Group restaurants intend to transport you for a moment in time to somewhere else through great food, design, aesthetic and overall experience. It has been our ethos since day one for people to feel like they’re on vacation when they come to our spaces, and we always want to make sure we offer an inclusive style of service. As we grow into new markets, we remain focused on the local character and comfort of each restaurant while still offering the escape our guests seek."

Wish You Were Here Group's other restaurants, bars, and lounges in Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and New York include Kassi Beach House, Belles Beach House, Eveleigh, The Happiest Hour, and Dudleys.

Construction began on 23Springs in June 2022. Located at 2323 Cedar Springs Rd., it's designed to be an innovative work environment offering more than just office space with an emphasis on green space that includes a half-acre street level park made possible by placing six stories of parking underground. Planned amenities include a two-story lobby with coffee and wine bar, indoor lounge with golf simulator, fitness center, floor-to-ceiling windows, rainwater harvesting system, and low-flow water fixtures.