Tastemaker Awards
10 best restaurants in Dallas for 2024 are at the top of their game
Fruit and yogurt at Georgie
The day draws near for CultureMap Dallas' 2024 Tastemaker Awards, our annual awards event honoring the best in Dallas food and drink.
We've nominated restaurant industry stars for awards in 10 categories, spotlighted in a special editorial series: celebrating candidates for Rising Star Chef, Pastry Chef, Neighborhood Restaurant, Patios, Wine Program, Bars, and Bartender of the Year, as voted by our panel of esteemed judges.
There is also our Best New Restaurants category, the only one where the winner gets decided not by judges but instead by readers, in a bracket-style tournament where nominees go head to head. Voting is still open at this link.
One winner will be announced at the awards ceremony on May 16 at the Fashion Industry Gallery, where we'll toast the nominees while indulging in bites and sips. Tickets are on sale now.
This entry covers the Restaurant of the Year: These are established restaurants, at the top of their game, continuing to draw diners and praise for that trilogy of service, food, and atmosphere.
Here are our nominees for 2024 Restaurant of the Year:
Beatrice
Oak Cliff restaurant pays homage to Cajun family traditions, with duck & Andouille gumbo, fried chicken with pepper jelly, and house-made pickles and jams. They're a returning Tastemaker Awards nominee as well as earning a James Beard nod. Owner Michelle Carpenter and chef Terance Jenkins also offered a tuition-free program to help bolster women chefs.
Beverley's Bistro & Bar
Casual-chic bistro from skilled food & bev professional Greg Katz (Clifton Club, Green Point Seafood) is a return nominee and enduring favorite. Named after Katz' mother, Beverley's is notable for Jewish classics like caviar with latkes, smoked whitefish dip, and matzo ball soup. Smooth service and a buzzy atmosphere round out the package.
Georgie
Originally a collaboration a collaboration with celebrity chef Curtis Stone, Georgie is now a showplace for chef R.J. Yoakum, who previously worked at famed Michelin-starred California restaurant French Laundry. The menu features lots of seafood, duck, steak, and salads, with entrees priced from $34 to $80. There's caviar on the menu as well as a chef's tasting menu, 6 courses for $155.
Kalachandji's
Dallas' longest running vegetarian restaurant serves homey dishes from India, with a menu they post daily. They're also skilled bakers with bread made in-house. Service is sweet, and so is the famous courtyard patio in the center of the restaurant. Their location at a temple in East Dallas adds to the charm, making them a popular destination to take visitors from out of town.
Monarch
Wood-fired Italian concept imagined by Michelin chef Danny Grant and team is famous for its elegant space at the National building and its killer downtown Dallas views as well as its pasta, steaks, and seafood. It's a returning Tastemaker Awards nominee, winning Best Wine List and Best New Restaurant in 2021.
Mr. Max
DFW has enjoyed a population influx in the past few years, and with it an increase in the number of Asian restaurants. Mr. Max predated all of that. This authentic Japanese izakaya-style restaurant opened in 2015, with a low-key atmosphere and Japanese-style seating, plus a sushi bar, tapas & sake offerings. Authenticity is the name of the game, helping to earn them a spot on Yelp's list of "Top 100 Places to Eat in the US" for 2024.
Petra & the Beast
Dallas' most highly rated restaurant is a highly personal project starring acclaimed chef Misti Norris that earns awards left and right, including multiple Tastemaker Awards nominations. Norris is known for her enlightened take on cooking, using the whole animal, pickling, and uber-crafted dishes. It made a big jump in 2023 when it left its cute-funky location at 601 N. Haskell Ave. and moved to Lakewood into a space that's refined and notably not too loud.
Terra / Eataly
Restaurant inside Eataly Dallas os centered around a wood-burning Italian grill, featuring dishes inspired by Italy’s 20 different regions shine, from grilled branzini to pastas to hangar steak. It coms with an expansive terrace that offers surprising sunset views, surprising given that it's tucked in the NorthPark Center shopping mall. The bonus: After you eat, you can shop.
Town Hearth
Chef Nick Badovinus has an entire portfolio of unique and individualistic restaurants, from downtown Dallas to Preston Hollow, including this rambunctious steakhouse in Dallas' Design District. Like all of his restaurants, it has food and atmosphere galore, and is probably the one that serves the "special occasion" niche most capably - the place you go for birthdays and celebrations.
Uchiba
Restaurant perched atop Austin celebrity chef Tyson Cole's restaurant Uchi has become a name in its own right. The menu, featuring some Uchi dishes as well as yakitori grilled items, is overseen by chef de cuisine Rhonda McCullar, and the restaurant regularly hosts chef collaboration dinners.
The chef from SER prepares activated charcoal-crusted Akaushi ribeye cap and Yukon Gold potato fondant.Photo by Guillermo Rosas
Lavender berry and mocha chocolate tartlets from La Reve Gelato & Patisserie.Photo by Guillermo Rosas
Awards ceremony host Cleo Greene, of NBC5's 'Texas Today.'Photo by Guillermo Rosas