Opening soon

Italian restaurant from TV chef to debut at Dallas' Victory Park

A celebrity chef-led restaurant that's been in the works for nearly three years is finally opening its doors in Dallas' Victory Park: Urban Italia, from chef Carla Pellegrino, will debut on Friday, January 9 in the former WFAA studio at 3030 Nowitzki Way.

According to a release, Urban Italia will be a "modern interpretation of Italian-American cuisine ... blending Old World technique with New-World flair."

Photo courtesy of Urban Italia

Award-winning mixologist Yangdup Lama oversees cocktails.

Led by TV-famous chef Pellegrino in partnership with Dallas-based Tivona Group, Urban Italia will feature what they're calling "Italia-Merica" food.

“Italia-Merica food, as we call it, started in these tiny kitchens where immigrants were just trying to bring a piece of home to their new life,” says Pellegrino in the release. “They made do with what they had — more meat, more garlic, whatever was fresh — and out came dishes like spaghetti and meatballs, chicken parmesan, steak pizzaiola. At Urban Italia, we’re serving nostalgia, making sure these classics are made with care, with great ingredients, and with the kind of love that started it all.”

Crispy Calamari & Zucchini.Photo courtesy of Urban Italia

The menu features hand-tossed Neapolitan-style pizzas, as well as housemade pastas such as Fettuccine al Ragù Bolognese, Shrimp Fra Diavolo, and Cappelletti Carciofi & Prosciutto.

Appetizers include jumbo lump crab meat cocktail and baked clams. Entrees include Chicken Milanese, Chilean Sea Bass Mediterranea, Salmon Harissa, and American Wagyu Sirloin Au Poivre.

Cocktails and mocktails promise to come with an Italian accent. Developed by award-winning mixologist Yangdup Lama, the beverage program pairs classic Italian flavors with contemporary mixology. Signature sips include: Milano Bianco (gin, dry vermouth, bitter bianco, grapefruit, Campari air); Amalfi Highball (vodka, Italicus, limoncello, cranberry, lime, milk-clarified and carbonated); and Sicilia Espresso Martini (mezcal, fig-infused Marsala, hazelnut, espresso.)

Pellegrino was born in Rio de Janeiro, lived in Italy, attended the French Culinary Institute in New York, and with Frank Pellegrino Jr opened Baldoria Restaurant in New York's theater district. She has starred on TV cooking shows such as Top Chef and Throwdown with Bobby Flay.

In 2023, she partnered with restaurateur Sanjay Joshi on a restaurant in Grapevine called Teatro Bistro and Cocktail Lounge. Joshi is also partnered on this restaurant and previously said in a statement that he was excited to partner with Pellegrino to bring an Italian experience to Victory Park.

"When I heard the old WFAA space was becoming available I immediately knew that it was the perfect home for our new restaurant," Joshi said. "With its high visibility in the bustling heart of Victory Park, it’s truly one of the most desirable locations in Dallas.”

The restaurant includes a private dining room.Photo courtesy of Urban Italia

Urban Italia spans 5,500 square feet and seats 250 guests across an indoor dining room, indoor-outdoor bar, and spacious patio. The design, by Fusion AE, draws inspiration from coastal Italy, combining warm natural woods, bright accents, and a relaxed yet refined aesthetic, according to the release.

Urban Italia will open for dinner on January 9; lunch service will debut at a later date.

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Teresa Gubbins contributed to this story.

celebrities chefs victory park italian openings

RIP Murph

Dallas restaurateur Ed Murph, owner of Norma's Cafe, dies at 78

GDRA

Edward "Ed" Murph III, RIP

Dallas restaurateur Edward "Ed" L. Murph III, owner of Dallas' treasured home-cooking chain Norma's Cafe, passed away on Monday, February 23; he was 78.

A statement from the Dallas chapter of the Texas Restaurant Association called him "a respected leader and cherished member of our restaurant community" who'd served as a former GDTRA President, Texas Restaurant Association State Board Member, and was a Hall of Honor Inductee.

Murph was also the first-ever Texas recipient of the National Restaurant Association Restaurant Neighbor Award, reflecting his unwavering commitment to community service and leadership through Norma's Cafe.

"His impact on our industry and the countless lives he touched will not be forgotten," the association said. "He was truly a great man who will be greatly missed."

One of Dallas' oldest restaurants, Norma’s Cafe was originally opened in Oak Cliff in 1956 by namesake Norma Manis. Murph was a Dallas native who grew up in Oak Cliff and ate at the original location even into his days as a student at Adamson High School.

He'd been in the hospitality industry since 1970, owning a series of clubs, bars, and restaurants, including Café Cancun in the early 1980s.

When he learned Norma's was up for sale, he acquired it in 1986, seeing an opportunity to buy a restaurant that was not only a Dallas icon, but a place he enjoyed as a child. It became his legacy.

"As a kid, my parents took me [to Norma’s Cafe] to eat, and in high school it was the place to go to have French fries and a Coke, because that’s all the money you had,” Murph recalls on the restaurant's website. “It’s been around for so long that [it seems like] everybody in the world has eaten there."

Norma's is the ultimate everyman restaurant, open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, with signature dishes such as the “eNORMAus” chicken fried steak, fried chicken, fluffy biscuits & gravy, cornbread, and housemade "Mile-High Pies."

Murph went on to open four more locations — in Plano, Frisco, North Dallas, and Park Lane — as well as takeout operations in Garland and Fairview. Each location became a destination for its neighborhood.

He also exhibited an uncommon sense of philanthropy, stepping up with many charitable overtures during the pandemic, and continuing its epic annual tradition of serving a free turkey dinner on Thanksgiving Day to those in need.

“Working people like to have breakfast and lunch,” Murph told D Magazine in a 2017 story about his passion for outfitting each location with period-era antiques that would match the profile of the food: lowkey, homestyle, and friendly.

"It gives a feeling of comfort," he said.

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