Meet the tastemakers

All the nominees vying for 2025 CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards

Raise a glass to the Dallas Tastemakers on May 1.

Photo by Ashley Gongora

The time has come to celebrate all the people and places who make Dallas such an exciting city to dine in. The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards are back, and we can now reveal the 2025 nominees.

We’ve asked leaders of the city's culinary community to tell us which chefs, restaurants, bars, and more have set the standard in dining for the past year. Our judging panel will pick the winners in eight of the categories, including two exciting new "wildcard" contests: Best Coffee Shop and Best Eatertainment. CultureMap readers will pick the winner of Best New Restaurant in a head-to-head, bracket-style tournament that's sure to get heated.

We’ll celebrate the nominees and reveal the winners at our awards ceremony and signature tasting event on Thursday, May 1 at the new Astoria Event Venue.

More than a dozen of this year’s finalists will be serving bites, and our sponsors will supply all of the drinks necessary to keep the party going. Then we’ll reveal the winners in our short and sweet awards ceremony.

A limited number of Early Bird tickets are on sale now at discounted rates of $60 for general admission and $99 for VIP (includes early access to the event and a dedicated bar). Prices will go up soon, and tickets will sell out. Act fast - you don’t want to miss out.

We’ll dive more deeply into the nominees in a special editorial series that celebrates their accomplishments. But first, a round of applause for all of this year's finalists:

RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Cafe Momentum
El Carlos Elegante
Mirador
Mister Charles
Rye
Starship Bagel
Stillwell's
Tatsu
Written By the Seasons
Zavala's Barbecue

CHEF OF THE YEAR

Jeff Bekevac, Goodwin's
Parker Cantera, Resident Taqueria
Michelle Carpenter, Restaurant Beatrice
Gabriel DeLeon, Mi Dia From Scratch
Mansour Gorji, Gorji
Jeffery Hobbs, Slow Bone
Victor Hugo, Bucket & Rope
Habip Kargin, Selda
Dennis Kelly & Melody Bishop, Written by the Seasons
Masayuki Otaka, Mabo

RISING STAR CHEF OF THE YEAR

Mario Hernandez, Nuri
Minji Kim, JOA Grill
Cristina Lara, Carlos Elegante
Rhonda McCullar, Uchiba
Roman Murphy, Perch Bistro
Jonathan Myrick, Cane Rosso
Anais Paniagua and Iris Rojas, Doña Maria
Fernando Ramirez, Thirsty Lion
Jun Takahashi, Komodo
Jake Yoon, Naminohana

PASTRY CHEF OF THE YEAR

Meriel Bautista, Cafe Momentum
Matt Bresnan, Bresnan Bread and Pastry
Chelsea Gannon, Ruby Baking Co.
Macarena Gomez, LA 57
Bryan Motta, Breadhaus
Dyan Ng, Le Passage
Leen Kim Nunn, Omni Frisco
Sara Saginaw, Swirled Peace
Ryan Stipp, PGA Frisco
Golda Sumpon, Ollio Patisserie

NEIGHBORHOOD RESTAURANT OF THE YEAR

Cafe Madrid
Cedar & Vine
Dee Lincoln Prime
La Familia Irving
Loro
Mayor's House By Selda
Miss Pasta
The Porch
San Marzano
Wabi House

BAR OF THE YEAR

Bar Sardine
Catbird
Clifton Club
Colombian Country Club
Ginger's
Milo's
Patrick Kennedy's Irish Pub
Scarlet Lounge
Saint Valentine
Valle Lounge

BEST NEW RESTAURANT

Be Home Soon
Bucket & Rope
Catch
Claremont Bar & Grill
Elephant Bar & Grill
Even Coast
Feng Shui
Goldie's
Goodwin's
Kati Roll
La Rue Doughnuts
Mabo
Nikki Greek Bistro
Nuri
Seager & Sons
Wagamama

BEST EATERTAINMENT

Chicken N Pickle
Eataly
Happiest Hour
Kanpai Coffee & Beer Garden
Katy Trail Icehouse
Komodo
Punch Bowl Social
Scout
Suburban Yacht Club
Truckyard

BEST COFFEE SHOP

Arwa Coffee
Common Good
Civil Pour
Hola Coffee
Kanpai Coffee & Beer Garden
Killer Joe
Merit Coffee
Noble Coyote Coffee Roasters
Well Grounded Coffee
White Rhino

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The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Dallas by The Yuengling Company, Brioche Gourmet, Still Austin Whiskey, Whataburger, Topo Chico Sparkling Mineral Water, PicMe Events, and more to be announced. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Harvest Project Food Rescue.

chefs nominees restaurants tastemaker awards

Something to Chew On

Craft beer fest tops 6 best food & drink events in Dallas this week

On Rotation Brewery & Kitchen/Facebook

On Rotation Brewery & Kitchen will celebrate 10 years this week with a party.

Mardi Gras officially climaxes this week, and plenty of Dallas spots have Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday-related events — for that list, click here. But the good times do not stop rolling there: There's a noteworthy dinner featuring an Italian winemaker known for putting Barolo on the map, as well as a pricey dinner at a fashionable downtown boutique. End the week with craft beer and crawfish.

Tuesday, March 4

Ratti Wine Dinner at Salum
This five-course wine pairing dinner hosted in collaboration with Jimmy’s Food Store will feature special guest Pietro Ratti, owner and winemaker of Ratti Winery, which has been synonymous with Barolo wines for more than 50 years. Menu highlights include goat cheese flan, duck confit arancini, grilled pork tenderloin, lamb stew, and vanilla saffron panna cotta. Dinner is $149, plus tax and a service fee, and begins at 6 pm.

Wednesday, March 5

An Evening with Pace & Dallas Contemporary at Mirador
Dining destination atop Forty Five Ten downtown will combine culinary and contemporary arts for a dinner benefitting Dallas Contemporary’s upcoming exhibition in collaboration with Pace Gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibit is called You Stretched Diagonally Across It: Contemporary Tapestry by Su Wu. The menu will come from James Beard semi-finalist chef Olivia Lopez of Molino Olōyō and Mirador exec chef Travis Wyatt. Menu highlights include Wagyu picanha, hamachi tostadita, Texas squash con mole, aquachile, and heirloom corn custard with single-origin cacao, crema ice cream, and strawberry jam. Tickets are $1040.90 — you read that right — but include tequila and mezcal pairings plus tax and gratuity. Dinner is at 7 pm.

Saturday, March 8

On Rotation's Festival de Saison 10-Year Anniversary Party
Lemmon Avenue brewery is celebrating 10 years of small batch beers with a tasting party. Tickets include a first taste of the brewery’s anniversary saison, access to festival tents to sample saisons and Belgian brews from more than 10 fellow DFW breweries, and a special teku tasting glass. Tickets are $59 and the party will run from 2–6 pm.

Dallas Crawfish Kickoff Festival
Hundreds will pack Pacific Plaza in downtown Dallas for this all-you-can-eat crawfish festival featuring live music, a full bar, and multiple food vendors. Tickets start at $12 for entry (kids eight and under get in free), or pay $37 for entry and all-you-can-eat crawfish. The event will run from 3–9 pm.

Sunday, March 9

Happy Accidents Masterclass: Biology of Taste at Catbird
In collaboration with acclaimed Albuquerque bar Happy Accidents, Catbird will host a hands-on class exploring how the five senses work together to perceive complex flavors. The class is $25 plus tax and begins at 4 pm. Also visit on Saturday at 7 pm, for bar takeover by Happy Accidents featuring four innovative cocktails with unique flavors like white truffle, marshmallow, tomato water, and rock melon.

Profound Barn-Raising Farm Tour & Dinner
This monthly five-course farm-to-table dinner held at Profound Microfarms in Lucas features a different local guest chef each month. March is Women's History Month, so they'll feature seven female chefs: Lori McLain (World Soup Champion), Rebecka Evans (World Bacon Champion), Donna Collins (World Jam & Jelly Champion), Diane Hill Roark (three-time perfect score World Food Champion), Emma Nguyen (two-time World Live Fire Champion), Sherry Blacketer (two-time Top 10 World Food Champion), and Dallas chef Sharon Van Meter. Dinner includes hors d’oeuvres and cocktails. The $195 ticket price includes a $50 gift certificate for profoundfoods.com. The event begins at 5:30 pm.

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