Downtown News

Steakhouse in AT&T District in downtown Dallas closes for a reworking

Tuna tower at Hawthorn in downtown Dallas.

Hawthorn

A flagship restaurant at the AT&T Discovery District in downtown Dallas has closed: Hawthorn, the upscale steakhouse from Apheleia Restaurant Group (El Bolero, Wits Steakhouse), packed up over the March 5-6 weekend and cleared the space out.

The restaurant had been closed since mid-February, blaming its closure on a plumbing problem.

But owner Richard Ellman says it's just a temporary closure, and that he's changing up the concept.

"We are temporarily closed, as we have something else in the works," Ellman says. What that something is, he does not say.

He says he's executing a similar reconcepting on Wits Steakhouse, the restaurant he opened in the Design District in 2022, in the former Oak space. It is also now temporarily closed.

The AT&T District has suffered a number of closures, most notably Rise + Thyme, the restaurant from celebrity chef Amanda Freitag, which closed in fall 2022. But most of the turnover has involved kiosk-style tenants, located inside the venue's food hall.

Hawthorn was a stand-alone restaurant (one of two in the District, along with Jaxon Texas Kitchen) — occupying a separate storefront facing Commerce Street.

It boasted an elegant clubby atmosphere, with caviar, Wagyu beef, and Prime steaks from Allen Bros., plus a separate full menu of sushi, sashimi, and raw-bar specials such as oysters and poke — earning it a CultureMap Tastemaker Awards nomination in 2021 for Best New Restaurant.

But unlike the food hall operators, it has a more traditional 10-year lease.

AT&T also called for Hawthorn to be open for lunch as well as dinner. But the built-in lunch business from AT&T's headquarters employees has evaporated in the wake of the work-from-home trend.

In its last few months, Hawthorn was open only for dinner, Thursday-Saturday.

In a 2022 story about ongoing issues at the AT&T Discovery District, Hawthorn owner Richard Ellman told the Dallas Morning News that business was being hurt by scaffolding, lack of marketing support from AT&T, and parking problems, including an inability to offer valet.

Ellman's restaurant group has, like every food & beverage entity, suffered hits through the pandemic, with closures that include El Bolero on Fitzhugh Avenue, and Pakpao Thai at Preston Hollow Village.

However, the original Pakpao Thai in the Design District is still open, as is El Bolero, which was just nominated for Best Neighborhood Restaurant in CultureMap's 2023 Tastemaker Awards.

downtown closings

Now open

Taiwanese restaurant in Frisco brings soup dumplings to 2nd DFW location

Photo courtesy of Kitchen Master

Kitchen Master's menu spans traditional dumplings, fresh sashimi, prime cuts, and house noodles.

A Taiwanese restaurant known for its handmade soup dumplings has debuted in Southlake: Kitchen Master is now open at 3311 E. State Hwy. 114, in the space previously occupied by Mughlai Fine Indian Cuisine, which closed in 2024.

The first restaurant opened in Frisco in 2020, followed by locations in Tamsui, Taiwan, and Suwanee, Georgia.

Kitchen Master is owned by Ian Peng, a Taiwanese entrepreneur who moved to the U.S. when he was 8 years old. He comes from a family of restaurant owners in Taipei and grew up working in the kitchen before moving on to Japanese restaurants and eventually launching his own concept.

While the original Frisco location focused on authentic Taiwanese cuisine, the Southlake restaurant expands into broader Pan-Asian influences, along with a deep selection of Japanese dishes inspired by Peng’s background.

Highlights of the Southlake menu include:

Mala Berkshire pork house soup dumplings
Szechuan Berkshire pork wontons infused with Chinese spices
Lamb chops with homemade chimichurri and lemongrass aioli
Hamachi crudo with strawberry vinaigrette and yuzu juice

There’s also a nigiri tasting sampler, described as a mini omakase experience featuring chef-selected fish and toppings.

Most entrees are priced under $30, while noodle and rice dishes stay under $20. The restaurant also features a raw bar with traditional sushi rolls starting at $10 and signature rolls at $16. For lunch during the week, an assortment of stir-fry options is available for around $15, each served with soup and a rice bowl.

“Our focus is on the best ingredients we can use," Peng says. "We elevated our menu with prime cuts and better meats that result in a more flavorful and delicate dish."

A full bar serves cocktails made with premium spirits, with an emphasis on artful presentation. A happy hour menu will launch soon, they say.

Craft cocktails at Kitchen Master feature house-made syrups, fresh garnishes, and premium spirits.Photo courtesy of Kitchen Master

Spanning 9,000 square feet, the Southlake location includes a raw bar, dedicated cocktail bar, spacious main dining room, and patio.

“For our new restaurants in Georgia and Taiwan, we introduced a more modern look and a relaxed eating environment, and we’ve brought that same vision to Southlake,” Peng says.

Hours are 11am-9 pm Tuesday-Thursday and 11 am-11 pm Friday-Saturday. It is closed Sunday and Monday.

While the restaurant is already open for service, they are planning a grand opening event in September, they say.

asian cuisine openings southlake