Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 restaurants to try in October

The October 2025 edition of where to eat — CultureMap's monthly column on the 10 most meaningful restaurants in Dallas to dine at — is a motley assortment that ranges from a baseball-themed spot to some well-packed bowls to exotic doughnuts.

Here’s where to eat in Dallas for October:

Batbox
This interactive sports bar with batting simulators is now open at Addison's Village at the Parkway, the second location of a concept founded in Mexico. The menu is better than what you'd get at most stadiums, but it’s still in the same ballpark. Featured items include fried pickles, a Tater Tot sandwich, tacos, and a brisket jalapeño dog.

El Molino
Snider Plaza eatery from Vandelay Hospitality Group (Hudson House, East Hampton Sandwich Co., Jack & Harry's) is their ode to Javier's, with fancy “wood-fired" fajitas in varieties such as filet mignon, fried chicken tenders, ribeye, shrimp, and vegetarian oyster mushrooms. Beyond fajitas, there are enchiladas, brisket tacos, and frozen margaritas, one of which served flaming — with an actual fiery flame.

Gelato La Boca
Argentine-inspired gelato shop in Snider Plaza does a gelato that's creamier than Italian style, with more exotic flavors such as sambayon (with egg yolks and marsala) and chocolate la boca (Ecuadorean chocolate with dulce de leche and chocolate flakes). Fruity sorbets — many of them vegan — include mango, pineapple and frutera, a combination of orange, peach and strawberry. The small space features some indoor seating. and the owners plan to add more outside.

Gourmet European Market
This newcomer is more market than restaurant but there's no shortage of things to eat. It features food products from all over Europe, with a special focus on Eastern Europe: dry goods, halal items, cheeses, ice cream, wines and aperitifs, salted and smoked fish products, tea, coffee, grains, pharmacy personal care items, snacks, and candies. There's a deli plus a frozen section with pierogi, vegetables, cakes and prepared meals.

Landmark Bar & Kitchen
New restaurant-bar in Addison is a second location of a successful concept founded in Fort Worth in 2013. The place has a strong party vibe with happy hours, sports on TV, and a mechanical bull. The bar features showy drinks, such as Bubble Gum Daiquiris and the Flamin’ Landmark, a spicy tamarin tequila concoction that’s set ablaze. The food could be described as "better bar food," with trashcan nachos, Southwestern egg rolls, seared tuna tacos, and Cajun chicken Alfredo. There's a separate late-night menu, and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.

Nem Spring Roll Bar
Cool concept near Addison specializing in Vietnamese food has a simple but brilliant menu. You choose from five options: spring rolls, rice bowls, noodle bowls, salad, or banh mi, then customize with fillings such as shredded lettuce, cucumber, shredded carrot, bean sprouts, chicken, steak, shrimp, tofu, mushrooms, and beets. There are also snacks such as wings, nuggets, flat eggrolls, and fried shrimp wraps. It's affordable: Three spring rolls are $11. Banh mi is $9. The bowls are $14.

Packin' Bowls
Bong! Bong! Bong! Ring a bell for this healthy bowl-based place in Sylvan Thirty, featuring eight chef-crafted bowls with inscrutable names such as Dank Steak (steak, fried onions, tomatoes, bacon, bell pepper, jalapeños and blue cheese), Reefer (Shrimp, pico de gallo, black beans, tajin pineapple, guac and tortilla strips), and Vegan Grass (falafel, cuke salad, pickled onions, sweet potato, broccoli, pickled eggplant, and harissa tahini). Munchies include garlic hummus with pita chips, fries, coleslaw, chips & queso, and edamame. Packin’ Bowls will stay open until midnight on weekdays.

The Reserve at the Highland
Here's the replacement for John Tesar's Knife Dallas, at The Highland Hotel at US 75 and Mockingbird Lane. It's an American grill with steak and cocktails — perfect for a hotel — with longtime local chef Andrew Bell running the kitchen. The menu offers classics like Parker House rolls, Dover sole, and steak, including a filet and a 24-ounce dry-aged ribeye. A weekday lunch menu has hanger steak frites and a fried chicken sandwich with carrot daikon slaw and togarashi ranch.

Sandoitchi
Japanese-inspired concept at the Joule Dallas Hotel has expanded beyond "sandos" and now offers Japanese-inspired doughnuts in flavors like matcha, ube, and yuzu curd. The fried treats come courtesy of a new pastry program led by chef Audrey Scheib, the previous director of pastry innovation at The Salty. Flavors rotate daily and are available Wednesday-Sunday. Get there early, because they’ve been selling out by about 1 pm.

Taqueria La Ventana
The closing of one taco space opens the window for another as Taqueria La Ventana takes over the iconic Henderson Avenue space formerly occupied by Velvet Taco. Look for street tacos, burritos, breakfast, and margaritas at a cheap price. This is the fifth location of La Ventana, which started as a small outdoor service window behind El Fenix and Meso Maya on Woodall Rodgers — its siblings, all part of the Local Favorite restaurant group.