Opening news

6 new restaurants now open in Dallas dish up Thai, Cajun, & sweet cakes

Duck from Sakhuu Thai.

Sakhuu Thai

It's a busy time for restaurant openings around Dallas, with many in the works, some coming this year, others in 2023.

But this list is more immediate. It's for those who live in the here and now. These restaurants have either just opened or are about to any day. (Two are opening this very weekend.)

There's a coffee shop, a bakery, a Greenville Avenue bar, a doner place, a Loatian-Thai restaurant, and a seafood spot. Something for all tastes.

Here's the 6 newest restaurant openings in Dallas going down:

La La Land Kind Cafe
Dallas coffee shop chain known for its bright yellow color scheme and charitable mission to employ foster youth just opened a location in Richardson. Taking up a former Great Outdoors Sub Shop at 242 W. Campbell Rd., this is the seventh La La in Texas since the concept debuted off Lowest Greenville in 2017. They have a fun menu of drinks such as the Butterfly Latte with a Fruity Pebbles flavor, featuring matcha and butterfly pea blossom tea, and The Cookies n’ Dream Latte with Oreo crumble, la la cloud foam, honey, vanilla, and espresso. Their food menu comprises light bites such as Truffle & Burrata Avocado Toast and Cacao Banana Chia Seed Pudding. This location is unique for the chain in that it's their first drive-thru, which has as of late become an essential amenity for coffee places.

Lubellas Patisserie
The much-anticipated bakery from acclaimed pastry chef Maria Becerra (she was nominated for a CultureMap Tastemaker Award in 2022 for Pastry Chef of the Year) and her husband Ismael Trejo Gonzalez opens on September 25 at 10323 Ferguson Rd. The couple share many years in the restaurant industry, but this is their first shop which they opened in the newly renovated '50s Casa View Center (also home to a buzzy new Starbucks community store). Lubellas is named for their two daughters, and will serve desserts including croissants, cakes to order and cake by the slice, pan dulce, and tres leches cakes, similar to the ones Becerra bakes for Jose Restaurant in the Park Cities.

Meyboom Brasserie
At long last, it's opening day on September 23 for this cool bar-restaurant at 2100 Greenville Ave., serving Belgian bites and beverages. Named for a parade that takes place in Brussels, Meyboom had a lengthy journey: Owners Jeff and April Karetnick initially set their sights on the former San Francisco Rose space, but between the pandemic and parking issues, they pivoted to this new-and-improved location. Two years later, it's a happy ending, with a fine lineup of beers and food, such as mussels which you can get done four ways, and stick-to-your-ribs dishes like potato and beer cheese soup, leek & mashed potatoes, and roasted cauliflower with beer cheese sauce. A dedicated brunch menu includes Belgian street fries, poutine, Liege waffles, build-your-own omelets, and chocolate-raspberry French toast.

Sakhuu Thai
Lao and Thai restaurant founded in Dallas in 2012 has opened its third location, this one in Plano at The Shops at Legacy North, at 7300 Lone Star Dr. #C128. Signature dishes include duck with rice, sizzling Bangkok beef, salmon pa-nang, noodles, fried rice, curries, and stuffed chicken wings. Beyond their usual Lao and Thai fusion staples, this location has some Plano-exclusive items including sea bass, chicken with yuzu citrus sauce, and garlic stir fry. They're open for dinner nightly and weekday lunch, when they feature a daily special with fried veggie egg roll or soup of the day, entrée, and beverage. They also have a full-service bar with exotic cocktails such as Sakhuu jungle fever and Thai tea paradise.

Spitz Frisco
Fast-casual restaurant concept from California is opening in Frisco at 6851 Warren Pkwy. #201 on September 29. They specialize in doner kebabs: thin slices of meat shaved from a vertical spit roast, then wrapped in flatbread with tomato, onion, lettuce, and sauce. They also do veggie wraps such as the one with hummus, lemon-herb tahini, olives, green pepper, tomato, cucumber, roasted corn, pickled onions, crispy garbanzos, romaine, cabbage, falafel, or quinoa. There's a big commitment to fries such as Berliner fries topped with berliner red sauce, tzatziki sauce, cabbage, carrot slaw, cucumber, tomato, feta, olives, corn, and pepperoncinis. Other options include salads, bowls, and gyros, and a full bar with cocktails, wine, beer, and sangria.

Tricky Fish
Local seafood concept founded in 2017 by Chris Degan, former president of Razzoo’s Brands, has opened its fourth Dallas-area location in Frisco, at 1305 Cowboys Way in The Star District. Tricky Fish is known for its coastal Cajun-inspired seafood dishes, with highlights such as Fried Green Tomatoes served with Remoulade and blackened shrimp; The D.G.D Darn Good Salad; and the Fried Shrimp Po’Boy. Today’s Catch is a daily seafood offering with a variety of preparations from which to choose such as the signature “Tricky Fish” style with crawfish etouffee, dirty rice, and okra. A full bar serves craft cocktails, beer on tap, a daily happy hour, and rotating drink specials. Weekend brunch with a DIY mimosa bar is served Saturday-Sunday, 10 am–2 pm.

openings

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