Love is on the plate

Where to wine and dine in Dallas on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day might have been the creation of greeting card companies, but it's hard to deny the importance of February 14, even if your romance has only just begun to blossom. That is why we are here to help, so you are not relegated to the doghouse just three weeks — or even 30 years — into the romance.

Here is a list of Dallas restaurants preparing a special Valentine's Day menu. Just know this list will grow, so check back often.

Abacus
The highlights: A combo of small and large plates with soup and salads on the side. Includes Kobe beef carpaccio with toasted amaranth “pops,” wild arugula, blood orange and cacao al tartufo as well as duo of duck fennel pollen dusted breast and leg confit with ricotta cavatelli and fava bean puree.
Cost per person: $125
Reservations: 214-559-3111

Asador
The highlights: Chef Brad Phillips' menu includes Gulf of Mexico oysters or Rocky's green salad, tuna tempura or grilled flatiron steak, and warm chocolate cake or crème brûlée. Dinner will be accompanied by the romantic sounds of a solo violinist.
Cost per person: $40 per person
Reservations: Call 214-267-4815

Aventino’s Italian Restaurant
The highlights: Dishes from their special menu include focaccia mozzarella, veal scaloppini sautéed in a white wine, lemon butter sauce with mushrooms, onions and capers; served on a bed of linguine as well as salmon fettuccini with sautéed filets, onions with marinara and Alfredo served on a bed of fettuccine.
Cost per person: A la carte
Reservations: Call 817-570-7940

The Blue Goose Cantina
The highlights: Their sweetheart deal with fajitas for two with $3 house margaritas, beers and wells.
Cost per person: A la carte
Reservations: Not required

Bolsa
The highlights: Valentine’s specialties like duck egg custard, Diamond H Ranch quail and butter poached Maine lobster complement Bolsa’s regular menu.
Cost per person: A la carte
Reservations: 214-367-9367 or contact@bolsadallas.com

Boulevardier
The highlights: In addition to the regular dishes, they also have George Bank scallops, lobster pappardelle and Ox heart tartar.
Cost per person: A la carte
Reservations: 214-942-1828

Buttons Restaurant
The highlights: Enjoy classic Southern dishes like fried green tomatoes, flash fried shrimp, porterhouse pork chop, tenderloin Oscar and peach cobbler in a three-course meal prepared by executive chef Keith “Button” Hicks.
Cost per person: $50
Reservations: Online at their website or 972-503-2888 for their Addison location and 817-735-4900 for their Fort Worth spot.

Canary by Gorji
The highlights: Dishes include grilled chilled avocado with poached shrimp, traditional Caesar salad, Colorado lamb and quail with tabbouleh and tzatziki, and four-berry sorbet.
Cost per person: $69
Reservations: 972-503-7080

Chocolate Secrets
The highlights: Treat your sweetie and your sweet tooth (we’re so sorry for that line) to four desserts, live jazz, a bottle of champagne and a gift.
Cost per person: $100 per couple
Reservations: Call 214-252-9801

Cook Hall
The highlights: Enjoy a menu that includes shared plates of fresh oysters with passion fruit mignonette, cheddar jalapeno fritters and roasted Brussels sprouts accented by apple wood smoked bacon and grilled red snapper with citrus fennel salad. They’re also serving a Valentine’s cocktail kit with chilled champagne and cherry yuzu and elderflower ginger mixers as well as a basket of accouterments.
Cost per person: $52 for dinner; $15 for cocktail kit plus cost of champagne
Reservations: Call 214-397-4111 or their website

Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House
The highlights: Chef David Holben has created a special Valentine's Day menu that includes an 8-ounce filet and 8-ounce lobster tail. Sides include spinach supreme and potato au gratin.
Cost per person: A la carte
Reservations: 972-490-9000 or visit OpenTable

Dish
The highlights: Specialties include oven roasted mountain trout, spatchcock game hen and bleu cheese mussels.
Cost per person: A la carte
Reservations: 214-522-3474

Fearing’s Restaurant
The highlights: Chef Fearing is offering a fixed-price menu February 14-17, with dishes such as butternut squash agnolotti pasta with ricotta in sage brown butter, Georges Bank lemon sole, Wagyu strip loin, and dessert duo of chocolate cherry ice cream "heart" sandwich with mallow fluff and a vanilla custard shooter with passion fruit orange sauce and heart-shaped sugar cookies.
Cost per person: $95
Reservations: 214-922-4848 or visit OpenTable

The Front Room
The highlights: Four-course meal includes oysters on the half shell with pomegranate horseradish mignonette, white asparagus salad with black truffles, citrus cured salmon, blood orange and sabayon and a filet of beef with seared foie gras, blue cheese potato gratin, baby leeks and port shallot demi glace.
Cost per person: $55 with $20 additional for wine pairings.
Reservations: 214-219-8282 or their website

FT33
The highlights: Matt McCallister is serving four- and five-course menus for diners at his Design District hot spot. Customers for the five-course menu receive a glass of Champagne.
Cost per person: $75; $115 with wine pairings at 6, 6:30 and 7 pm (four courses). $90; $140 with wine pairings at 8, 8:30 and 9 pm (five courses).
Reservations: 214-741-2629 or info@ft33dallas.com

The Gin Mill
The highlights: Sip on Dallas beers like Peticolas and Deep Ellum Brewery or samples from Times Ten Cellars while enjoying a four-course meal. Dishes include ratatouille bruschetta, orange and fennel salad, pork with celery root and pear puree, and chocolate cherry torte.
Cost per person: $60
Reservations: 214-824-3343

Goodfriend Beer and Burger Garden
The highlights: Beer and dessert event featuring Brewery Ommegang will offer flights of 3 Philosophers, Art of Darkness and Chocolate Indulgence, each paired with a dessert. Local rock band Dead Flowers performs. Doors open at 5 pm; the band plays at 10:30 pm.
Cost per person: $25
Reservations: 214-324-3335

Highland Park Cafeteria
The highlights: Enjoy a special menu with plates including beef tenderloin with spinach and mushroom sauce and loaded mashed potatoes and grilled salmon with pineapple salsa and honey glazed carrots. Enjoy live piano music and a free glass of Merlot.
Cost per person: $15.99
Reservations: None

Hotel St. Germain
The highlights: On February 9, celebrate early with a five-course wine dinner. On February 12, enjoy a Valentine's Day dinner with a Mardi Gras flair, including oysters Rockefeller and king cake. February 13-15, it's a multi-course Valentine's menu.
Cost per person: $95 on February 9, 12, and 15; $125 February 13-14
Reservations: Call 214-871-2516

Jack Mac’s Swill & Grill
The highlights: Enjoy a four-course meal that features pairings with Texas spirits infusions. Several of the dishes will use the Texas spirits in their recipes.
Cost per person: $50
Reservations: Call 972-267-2782 or their eventbrite site.

Jasper’s
The highlights: Four-course dinner includes dishes like wild mushroom-black truffle risotto with broccolini and shaved young pecorino and Atlantic lobster with forbidden black rice, stir fried vegetables and lemongrass miso butter.
Cost per person: $125 per couple.
Reservations: 469-229-9111

La Hacienda Ranch
The highlights: Three-course meal for two begins with table-side guacamole, followed by filet steaks, with salad, potatoes and Texas Toast. For dessert, share hot apple pie on a sizzlin' platter with brandy butter sauce and cinnamon ice cream..
Cost per person: $60 for two
Reservations: 972-248-2424

Landmark Restaurant at the Warwick Melrose
The highlights: Enjoy a four-course meal with dishes including Thai bouillabaisse with clams and mussels, lobster & prawn risotto with smoked gouda, fava beans, charred cauliflower and lemon oil as well as filet mignon with block-cut potatoes, broccoli rabe and hunter sauce.
Cost per person: $75, including one-half bottle of sparkling wine
Reservations: Call 214-224-3152 or their website

Mariano's Hacienda
The highlights: Three-course meal for two begins with table-side guacamole, followed by filet steaks, with salad, potatoes and Texas Toast. For dessert, share hot apple pie on a sizzlin' platter with brandy butter sauce and cinnamon ice cream..
Cost per person: $60 for two
Reservations: 214-691-3888

Mariano's Mexican Cuisine
The highlights: Begin with margaritas and queso Mariano – queso with spicy taco beef, guacamole and sour cream – followed by fajitas for two with steak, chicken and shrimp.
Cost per person: $50 for two
Reservations: 817-640-5118

NYLO Dallas South Side
The highlights: Chef Jerry de la Riva is preparing a three-course meal with dishes such as potato rosti, lamb osso buco, honey-soy glaze quails, and hot chocolate bourbon with meringue. Includes a complimentary glass of champagne.
Cost per person: $60; $80 with wine pairings
Reservations: 214-421-1080 or visit the website

Oak
The highlights: Four-course meal with options including diver scallop carpaccio, beet fetuccini and venison.
Cost per person: $80 with $40 additional for wine pairing.
Reservations: 214-712-9700 or info@oakdallas.com

Ocean Prime
The highlights: Their ‘berries and bubbles’ concoction with Belvedere citrus, Crème de Cassis, housemade sour, Domaine Chandon brut and dry ice. Feast on their lobster-stuffed Gulf flounder with roasted Brussels sprouts, warm fingerling salad and champagne beurre blanc.
Cost per person: A la carte.
Reservations: Here or 214-965-0440

People's Last Stand
The highlights: Valentine's Day craft cocktail class invites couples and singles to join head bartender Alex Fletcher to learn the art and craft behind some of PLS' favorite drinks, plus complimentary bites.
Cost per person: $40
Reservations: 214-370-8755 or plsdallas@gmail.com

Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen
The highlights: Four-course dinner with dishes including hickory-grilled organic pork tenderloin with crispy pork belly, house spaetzel and cherry gastrique as well as oysters on the half with blood orange sorbet, champagne mignonette and house yuzu.
Cost per person: $55
Reservations: 214-890-1103

Samar by Stephan Pyles
The highlights: Four-course menu, with multiple shared dishes per course, from 5-11 pm
Cost per person: $50; $75 with wine pairings
Reservations: 214-922-9922

Second Floor
The highlights: Three-course menu, with dishes such as shrimp bisque, George’s bank scallops, lamb loin and strawberry shortcake with chantilly cream. Each table gets a complimentary rose at the end of dinner. February 14-16 from 5:30-10:30 pm
Cost per person: $55; $85 with wine pairings
Reservations: 214-450-2978

Shinsei
The highlights: Oysters on the half shell, jumbo prawns with forbidden rice and yellow curry, Australian Wagyu strip loin with Japanese sweet potatoes and red velvet donut holes with cream cheese dipping sauce.
Cost per person: A la carte
Reservations: 214-352-0005

Sissy's Southern Kitchen
The highlights: "Bottle & Bucket" special features 10-piece bucket of fried chicken and bottle of Moët for $75 (or Moët 2002 Vintage Rosé for $155). Also, a six-course tasting menu with Louisiana boudin balls, fried green tomato with shrimp remoulade, oysters Rockefeller, lobster over Creole risotto, pork belly with butternut squash and red cabbage. Desserts include chocolate custard with red velvet shortbread, strawberry Frangipane tart and a "candy box" with gingersnap, nutty goodness bar, salted caramel truffle and mint julep truffle.
Cost per person: $80, or $150 with wine pairings
Reservations: 214-827-9900

Stampede 66
The highlights: Four-course menu, with multiple shared dishes per course, from 6-11 pm
Cost per person: $60; $85 with wine pairings
Reservations: 214-550-6966

Stephan Pyles
The highlights: Four courses, with choices, from 5-11 pm
Cost per person: $75; $125 with wine pairings
Reservations: 214-580-7000

Urban Taco
The highlights: Half-off all desserts throughout February; from February 11-17, frozen margaritas will be $10 for two.
Cost per person: $10 and up
Reservations: 214-922-7080

Wild Salsa
The highlights: Three-course with choices like lump crab stuffed avocado salad with chipotle vinaigrette and pan-roasted half chicken with a poblano tamale pudding and cumin roasted baby carrots.
Cost per person: $35
Reservations: Their website or 214-741-9453

Zen Sushi
The highlights: Four-course menu, curried-kabocha squash soup, Kumamoto oysters, steamed pork buns, sushi, and lobster tails with Angus New York strip and roasted vegetables. For dessert, a passionfruit crème brulee. Two seatings at 6 and 8:30 pm.
Cost per person: $169 for two, with floral arrangement and choice of margaritas, sangria or bottle of wine
Reservations: 214-946-9699

Chef Matt McCallister and crew are doing four- and five-course meals for Valentine's Day at FT33.

Smoked potatoes at FT33 restaurant in Dallas

Photo by Kevin Marple

Chef Matt McCallister and crew are doing four- and five-course meals for Valentine's Day at FT33.

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Food trends

Dallas-Fort Worth pitmasters lead Texas’ growing halal BBQ boom

Levant BBQ

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FORT WORTH, Texas (RNS) — At 9 am on a scorching Saturday in June, nearly 100 people were already lined up outside Goldee’s BBQ, a small, wooden-shack restaurant.

First in line was 30-year-old Thanh Huynh, who had been sitting in a lawn chair on the joint’s rustic porch since 6:30 am.

“I have, like, a whole list, and I’m going to spend lots of money here. It’ll be worth it,” he said, laughing while rattling off a long order of meats and sides from his phone’s Notes app as a sweet, smoky scent from nearby pits hung in the air.

Opened in 2020 by a group of his friends, the restaurant was named the No. 1 barbecue spot in the state by Texas Monthly a year later, and then won a Bib Gourmand award from the prestigious Michelin Guide, given for “great food at a great value.”

The restaurant serves classic Texas barbecue like craft pork belly, sausage, and ribs. But it also offers halal brisket, turkey, and lamb.

"Halal" means meat raised and butchered in accordance with Islamic guidelines. It refers to the method in which the animals are slaughtered, one that focuses on humane treatment, cleanliness, and acknowledging the value of life — similar in concept to kosher food in Judaism.

A growing number of halal places have opened around Fort Worth in recent years, and there are also non-halal restaurants that use halal beef, such as burger institution Kincaid's, the new Burger Vault in Keller, and the forthcoming Tick Tock Taco in Colleyville.

Growing Texas trend
At a time when Republican leaders are increasingly targeting the state’s growing Muslim communities, halal barbecue joints like Goldee’s are thriving in Texas. Across the state, Muslim pitmasters are gaining recognition for putting their own spin on one of Texas’ most iconic culinary traditions.

Goldee's Barbecue is an acclaimed BBQ joint in Fort Worth. Goldee's Barbecue/ Facebook

At least a dozen barbecue spots now serve halal meats, including Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice, run by Black Muslim couple CJ and Sabrina Henley, soon-to-be in Plano; and Levant Mediterranean BBQ, a restaurant with locations in Houston and Frisco and whose all-beef menu includes a brisket shawarma sandwich.

“Now there are so many options, and for us to have highly rated barbecue, it’s a blessing,” said Haris Ghaffar, who drove an hour from Celina and stood in 90-degree weather for nearly two hours with a friend for the halal options at Goldee’s.

Growing up in the 1990s, Ghaffar said a McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish sandwich was one of the few halal meals he could eat while dining out. Back then, halal food was seen as serving a small community. Today, it’s a multibillion-dollar industry that’s part of the American culinary mainstream, said James Beard Award‑winning food writer Farhan Mustafa, who wrote about the rise of American halal barbecue for Bon Appétit magazine in 2025.

“Halal food is American food,” said Mustafa, who is based in Seattle. “It belongs on your plate. It belongs in the casual chat. It belongs in hip hop tracks. It’s the most American thing there is.”

Mustafa said Muslims are part of a growing list of communities putting their stamp on Texas barbecue. “Whether they’re first, second or third-generation Muslims or Muslim Americans or just Americans, they’re bringing what they know and what excites them,” he said.

More than salt and pepper
Texas barbecue is typically defined by salt-and-pepper brisket and pork ribs, but this new crop of halal pitmasters are adding inventive twists, often based on their own family heritages.

Zain Shafi, a pitmaster and co-owner of Goldee’s, previously ran Sabar Barbecue, a food truck that offered Pakistani-infused halal dishes, such as brisket with rub that included spices like bay leaf and coriander.

Sabar was nominated for Best BBQ in CultureMap's 2025 Tastemaker Awards, and made the list of Texas Monthly's Top 50 Barbecue Restaurants of 2025. The restaurant was also featured in a recently published BBQ book Texas BBQ: The Art of Low and Slow. He closed Sabar in December 2025 after two years.

Sabar BBQ Sabar Barbecue offered a Pakistani twist on BBQ. Sabar Barbecue

Shafi brought tandoori smoked turkey to Goldee’s menu. And sourcing halal cuts, he said, was a natural choice because they are “the highest quality” meats.

Goldee’s chef and part owner Nupohn Inthanousay also blends his Laotian heritage, serving a smoked Lao “sai oua” sausage with sticky rice and a fiery, tangy dipping sauce.

At Kafi BBQ in Irving, owner Salahodeen Abdul-Kafi brings halal Wagyu beef and Iraqi spices to classic Texas barbecue, challenging what he said is the “traditional old guard of Texas barbecue.”

“My goal at Kafi BBQ is to make the best barbecue in Texas,” Abdul-Kafi said. “I have not been shy about that at all, and making the best barbecue in Texas does not necessarily have to include pork.”

A former Silicon Valley tech worker, he moved to Texas six years ago in search of a Muslim community. On weekends in his backyard, he smoked brisket for friends. By 2024, he bought a smoker and opened Kafi BBQ.

He said he spent months testing and perfecting recipes and finding local producers. Abdul-Kafi attributes his obsession with crafting a stand-out menu to the Islamic concept of “Ihsan”— an Arabic term meaning doing something with excellence for the sake of God.

On a Sunday afternoon this summer, the restaurant’s red booths were packed with diners, drawn to menu items like the 13-spice Wagyu brisket, pomegranate-glazed beef belly burnt ends and Iraqi-inspired spicy beef sausage.

“That sausage, I’d probably put it at the top sausage I’ve ever had, and we eat barbecue a lot. This place is unique,” said Jonathan Tate, a Fort Worth resident who came to Kafi BBQ with a friend after reading about it on a Facebook foodie group.

“I don’t necessarily have to have it halal, but it’s nice to know they took good care of the food, the meat,” his friend Jon Sklar said, before going back in line to order oxtail.

Meat at Kafi BBQ in Irving. Kafi BBQ

'We love barbecue'
Although political rhetoric against Muslims in Texas has become increasingly hostile — some GOP lawmakers even discussed a ban on halal food at a conference this month — pitmasters like Abdul-Kafi see the rise of halal barbecue as an effective counterargument.

“It’s an example of exactly the opposite of what the Islamophobes talk about, right?” he said. “They say, ‘oh, Muslims don’t integrate, they stay alone, they don’t help society and all this stuff.’ And it’s like, I’m sitting here contributing to the most well-known cuisine of Texas.”

One of the diners at Kafi BBQ, Houston native Muhammad Sohail, 23, said the restaurant reflects who he is — a proud Texan and Muslim. “This place is super important because I can see halal within the culture of Texas, which is my culture at this point,” Sohail said. “We love the food. We love meat. We’re Muslims and we love barbecue.”

After finishing a big lunch with 10 relatives, Areeba Ali, a Dallas native of Indian heritage, said the restaurant’s appeal cuts across communities, which she said is evidence that halal barbecue isn’t a niche but resonates broadly with Texans. “If you look around in the restaurant, you see everybody in there — it’s not just one demographic in there,” Ali said.

For Mustafa, that success is ultimately a testament to the resilience of Muslim American communities.

“No matter how much they try to erase us, our food is here to stay,” he said. “You will see the power of just good food and the fact that most people really seem to understand that this is just as American as anything else.”

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This story was written and produced by Religion News Service and distributed by The Associated Press. It also includes information from the CultureMap archives.

halal halal barbecue muslim communities pitmasters religion texas texas barbecue trends culinary traditions goldee's barbecue

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Food trends

Dallas-Fort Worth pitmasters lead Texas’ growing halal BBQ boom