Food News
Surprising surfeit of openings boost this roundup of Dallas restaurant news
This roundup of dining news around Dallas has multiple openings and a few closings. There's a new coffee shop, a new branch of a popular healthy fast-casual chain, a kolache restaurant from Houston, and a toast place from DC. There are also numerous seasonal menu offerings available for a limited time.
Here's what's happening in Dallas restaurant news:
Jinghe Japanese Restaurant, a new Japanese barbecue eatery, has opened at 5321 E. Mockingbird Ln. #105 in the former Urban Taco space at Mockingbird Station. The menu includes ramen, rice, and noodle dishes, plus sake, beer, and cocktails.
Isla & Co., the New York concept that opened in October 2022 in the former Lucia space at 287 N. Bishop Ave. in Bishop Arts, has closed. They sent an email stating that they were unable to make the economics of the location work. Isla & Co. was founded by two Australian natives, and it was ambitious but hard to peg: a specialty coffee shop that did brunch all day as well as dinner, with a menu featuring influences from Australia, Europe, and SouthEast Asia.
Urbano Cafe, the East Dallas cafe that was threatening to close, will stay open after all but with new owners: Pasha and Sina Heidari, who also own Mike’s Gemini Twin in the Cedars, Bowen House, and Las Palmas Tex-Mex in Uptown. They will operate Urbano Cafe with the same team in place. They're also re-opening St. Martin's Wine Bistro, founded by their father Mohsen Heidari, which they'll reopen with their uncle Omid Haftlang on Bryan Street.
La La Land Kind Cafe, the coffee shop chain known for its bright yellow color scheme and charitable mission to employ foster youth, has opened a new cafe in Plano across the street from Trader Joe’s at 2301 Preston Road #B. The cafe is the company’s ninth in Texas and first in Plano. The menu features espresso and coffee drinks, plus toasts and grab-and-go options.
Flower Child, the healthy fast-casual restaurant chain, opened a new location in Plano at 2101 Preston Rd. #A. The restaurant is the company’s 12th in Texas and sixth in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Flower Child is known for salads, bowls, and wraps with mix-and-match combinations of seasonal vegetables, fruits, grains, and proteins, as well as lemonades and kombucha on tap, along with wine and beer.
Toastique, the Washington DC-based gourmet toast and juice bar, made its Texas debut with the opening of a location on the border of Dallas and Addison at 5455 Belt Line Rd. on Feb. 10. Founded in 2018 by entrepreneur and former college athlete Brianna Keefe, the restaurant concept has locations in Washington DC, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia. The menu includes toasts, acai bowls, juice, smoothies and lattes as well as grab-and-go options.
Brass Tap, the Tampa-based craft beer bar chain, opened a location at 4925 Greenville Ave. taking over the former Grub Burger space in Energy Square. Brass Tap is famous for having 50-plus beers on tap, plus full bar and kitchen. They have a dozen locations already in DFW.
Kyodai Handroll & Seafood Bar has closed down its Carrollton location at 2626 N. Josey Ln. #107. The Japanese sushi restaurant did not share a reason for the closure but thanked patrons on Facebook for "unwavering support throughout the years." The company still has a location in Frisco.
Kolache Shoppe, a family-owned bakery from Houston that serves Texas-Czech kolaches and coffee, opened a new location in Celina at 605 S. Preston Rd. #100. It is the company’s first Dallas-area location and fourth overall. The bakery offers two dozen flavors such as apricot, poppy seed, apple, sausage, egg and cheese, brisket, and venison sausage, plus monthly specials on weekends, and a full-service espresso bar with beans from Houston roaster Geva Coffee.
Léonie, one of the restaurants housed in Hotel Swexan in Dallas’ Harwood District, has added a weekend afternoon tea service on Saturday-Sunday from 2-4 pm. The restaurant is typically reserved for hotel guests only but will open to the public for the tea service. The menu features black leaf teas like English Breakfast, Earl Grey, and Jardins de Darjeeling; specialty green leaf teas such as Jardin des Merveilles, Thé Vert au Jasmin, and Thé Vert à la Menthe; and a Rêves Enfantines herbal tisane. In addition to teas, the menu features sweets like pistachio cakes, lemon meringue pie, seasonal scones, and tea sandwiches.
Kenny’s Restaurants, the Dallas-area restaurant group, will offer lunch and dinner specials at three of its restaurants — Kenny’s Wood Fired Grill, Kenny’s Italian Kitchen, and Kenny’s East Coast Pizza — through March 4. New dishes include fish filet tacos with crab and bearnaise sauce, lamb chops, and chicken scallopine in champagne cream sauce.
Royal Yum, a Thai restaurant in Denton, has added a new menu item that fuses Thai and Mexican flavors. Called the Thai Ginger Dilla, the item includes chicken breast, ginger, mushrooms, cheese and carrots inside a toasted tortilla with a spicy, garlicky sauce for dipping.
Tacodeli, the Austin-based taco chain, is bringing a seasonal favorite back to its menu: the Borracho Taco, with sherry and tequila-braised pork seared with basil, chile, and lime and topped with onion, cilantro, and avocado. They’re also adding a seasonal agua fresca with blood orange and basil. Available through March 25.
Dive Coastal Cuisine has new seasonal menu items. Appetizers include a white bean and kale soup or charcuterie salad with prosciutto, grapes, burrata, microgreens, hot honey, and a balsamic sauce. The main courses are clam chowder made without cream, and a salmon burger on a brioche bun with cucumber, radish microgreens, wasabi aioli, cilantro sweet chili, and ponzu. Available through February 29.
Firebirds Wood Fired Grill, the steak and seafood restaurant chain, has launched a new seasonal menu, including an appetizer, five entrees, dessert, and a cocktail. In addition to the wedge salad with bleu cheese appetizer, entrees include a crab cake salad, shaved roast beef grilled cheese served with tomato soup, honey garlic glazed grilled salmon with a seasonal grains pilaf, filet and tempura lobster tail, and grilled scallops with a grain salad and champagne butter sauce. Top it off with a caramel pecan bread pudding for dessert and strawberry cotton candy vodka cocktail. Available through February 29.
SusieCakes, the home-style bakery concept from California, is adding a new boozy cupcake to its menu in honor of Black History Month. It's a vanilla cupcake topped with blonde whiskey buttercream made with whiskey from Black-owned liquor company Uncle Nearest. SusieCakes will donate a portion of the proceeds to Uncle Nearest as the company raises money for its HBCU Old Fashioned Challenge. Available through February 29.
Snooze A.M. Eatery, the Denver-based breakfast chain, has begun accepting reservations for the first time. Parties of four or less can book reservations via the Snooze website or mobile app, Yelp, or Google; parties of larger than four must call the restaurant directly to book. They also have new dishes: a crispy garlic and avocado miso rice bowl, soft scrambled eggs with ricotta and chives, chilaquiles and bread pudding French toast with vanilla crème and caramel sauce.
Loop 9 BBQ in Grand Prairie has introduced two BBQ sauces available for purchase in bottles to take home. Flavors include the company’s original BBQ sauce and the “Fire” sauce with chipotle and ancho peppers. The sauces are available for purchase at the restaurant at 2951 S. State Hwy. 161.
The Mitchell in downtown Dallas has a tres fancy new menu that's heavy on French classics: steak frites, escargot, duck terrine, frog legs, scallops, veal chop, bone marrow with toast points, and caviar. Plus oysters, elk chop, steak tartare, baked Brie, and beet salad.
McCormick — yes, the seasoning company — has announced its 2024 Flavor of the Year, Tamarind and Pasilla Chile, along with a new collaboration with Black Tap Craft Burgers & Beer. Through the collaboration, chefs from McCormick and Black Tap built a limited-edition menu that infuses the tangy, Mexican-inspired seasoning blend into several menu items, including a ground chicken burger basted with a sweet and tangy tamarind chile jam, fries tossed in house-made chili oil and Tamarind seasoning, and a chocolate churro shake topped with a light dusting of the spice. Available through February 29. Black Tap has seven restaurants across five states, with the sole Texas location at 2475 Victory Park Ln. in Dallas.
Freddy’s Frozen Custard & Steakburgers opened a new location February 6 at 3715 South Hwy 75 in Sherman. The drive-thru restaurant features 91 indoor seats plus outdoor patio seating. The fast-casual chain is known for its made-to-order steakburgers, hot dogs, shoestring fries, and frozen custard.
Tiff’s Treatshas opened a new, delivery-only outpost in Forney, the first of its kind in the Dallas area. Tiff's is known for its fresh-baked cookies, with flavors like chocolate chip, lemon sugar, and peanut butter. Delivery can be ordered through the Tiff’s Treats website and mobile app, as well as DoorDash and Uber Eats.
Chick-fil-A is opening a location on the border of east Dallas and Garland at 11875 E. Northwest Hwy. Owned and operated by franchisee Michael Walkup from Grapevine, the location will join more than 140 other Chick-fil-A restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth.
Church’s Texas Chicken has added limited-run fish and shrimp options to its menu available through Easter: fried Pacific pollock in panko breading; a fish sandwich with the aforementioned filet on a brioche bun with tartar sauce; six- and 20-piece shrimp coated in a crunchy Southern breading; and a lemon cheesecake fried pie.
Shipley Do-Nuts has opened a location in east Frisco at 8155 Custer Rd. #100. It joins more than 350 locations across 12 states.
McDonald’s has brought back its fan-favorite Shamrock Shake, a Saint Patrick’s Day-themed milkshake made with vanilla soft serve and mint syrup. Its Oreo Shamrock McFlurry — which is the same thing as the shake but with crushed oreos blended in — is also available. The annual menu items are typically available until Saint Patrick’s Day on March 17.