• Home
  • popular
  • Events
  • Submit New Event
  • Subscribe
  • About
  • News
  • Restaurants + Bars
  • City Life
  • Entertainment
  • Travel
  • Real Estate
  • Arts
  • Society
  • Home + Design
  • Fashion + Beauty
  • Innovation
  • Sports
  • Charity Guide
  • children
  • education
  • health
  • veterans
  • SOCIAL SERVICES
  • ARTS + CULTURE
  • animals
  • lgbtq
  • New Charity
  • Series
  • Delivery Limited
  • DTX Giveaway 2012
  • DTX Ski Magic
  • dtx woodford reserve manhattans
  • Your Home in the Sky
  • DTX Best of 2013
  • DTX Trailblazers
  • Tastemakers Dallas 2017
  • Healthy Perspectives
  • Neighborhood Eats 2015
  • The Art of Making Whiskey
  • DTX International Film Festival
  • DTX Tatum Brown
  • Tastemaker Awards 2016 Dallas
  • DTX McCurley 2014
  • DTX Cars in Lifestyle
  • DTX Beyond presents Party Perfect
  • DTX Texas Health Resources
  • DART 2018
  • Alexan Central
  • State Fair 2018
  • Formula 1 Giveaway
  • Zatar
  • CityLine
  • Vision Veritas
  • Okay to Say
  • Hearts on the Trinity
  • DFW Auto Show 2015
  • Northpark 50
  • Anteks Curated
  • Red Bull Cliff Diving
  • Maggie Louise Confections Dallas
  • Gaia
  • Red Bull Global Rally Cross
  • NorthPark Holiday 2015
  • Ethan's View Dallas
  • DTX City Centre 2013
  • Galleria Dallas
  • Briggs Freeman Sotheby's International Realty Luxury Homes in Dallas Texas
  • DTX Island Time
  • Simpson Property Group SkyHouse
  • DIFFA
  • Lotus Shop
  • Holiday Pop Up Shop Dallas
  • Clothes Circuit
  • DTX Tastemakers 2014
  • Elite Dental
  • Elan City Lights
  • Dallas Charity Guide
  • DTX Music Scene 2013
  • One Arts Party at the Plaza
  • J.R. Ewing
  • AMLI Design District Vibrant Living
  • Crest at Oak Park
  • Braun Enterprises Dallas
  • NorthPark 2016
  • Victory Park
  • DTX Common Desk
  • DTX Osborne Advisors
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2012
  • DFW Showcase Tour of Homes
  • DTX Neighborhood Eats
  • DTX Comforts of Home 2013
  • DTX Auto Awards
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2017
  • Nasher Store
  • Guardian of The Glenlivet
  • Zyn22
  • Dallas Rx
  • Yellow Rose Gala
  • Opendoor
  • DTX Sun and Ski
  • Crow Collection
  • DTX Tastes of the Season
  • Skye of Turtle Creek Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival
  • DTX Charity Challenge
  • DTX Culture Motive
  • DTX Good Eats 2012
  • DTX_15Winks
  • St. Bernard Sports
  • Jose
  • DTX SMU 2014
  • DTX Up to Speed
  • st bernard
  • Ardan West Village
  • DTX New York Fashion Week spring 2016
  • Taste the Difference
  • Parktoberfest 2016
  • Bob's Steak and Chop House
  • DTX Smart Luxury
  • DTX Earth Day
  • DTX_Gaylord_Promoted_Series
  • IIDA Lavish
  • Huffhines Art Trails 2017
  • Red Bull Flying Bach Dallas
  • Y+A Real Estate
  • Beauty Basics
  • DTX Pet of the Week
  • Long Cove
  • Charity Challenge 2014
  • Legacy West
  • Wildflower
  • Stillwater Capital
  • Tulum
  • DTX Texas Traveler
  • Dallas DART
  • Soldiers' Angels
  • Alexan Riveredge
  • Ebby Halliday Realtors
  • Zephyr Gin
  • Sixty Five Hundred Scene
  • Christy Berry
  • Entertainment Destination
  • Dallas Art Fair 2015
  • St. Bernard Sports Duck Head
  • Jameson DTX
  • Alara Uptown Dallas
  • Cottonwood Art Festival fall 2017
  • DTX Tastemakers 2015
  • Cottonwood Arts Festival
  • The Taylor
  • Decks in the Park
  • Alexan Henderson
  • Gallery at Turtle Creek
  • Omni Hotel DTX
  • Red on the Runway
  • Whole Foods Dallas 2018
  • Artizone Essential Eats
  • Galleria Dallas Runway Revue
  • State Fair 2016 Promoted
  • Trigger's Toys Ultimate Cocktail Experience
  • Dean's Texas Cuisine
  • Real Weddings Dallas
  • Real Housewives of Dallas
  • Jan Barboglio
  • Wildflower Arts and Music Festival
  • Hearts for Hounds
  • Okay to Say Dallas
  • Indochino Dallas
  • Old Forester Dallas
  • Dallas Apartment Locators
  • Dallas Summer Musicals
  • PSW Real Estate Dallas
  • Paintzen
  • DTX Dave Perry-Miller
  • DTX Reliant
  • Get in the Spirit
  • Bachendorf's
  • Holiday Wonder
  • Village on the Parkway
  • City Lifestyle
  • opportunity knox villa-o restaurant
  • Nasher Summer Sale
  • Simpson Property Group
  • Holiday Gift Guide 2017 Dallas
  • Carlisle & Vine
  • DTX New Beginnings
  • Get in the Game
  • Red Bull Air Race
  • Dallas DanceFest
  • 2015 Dallas Stylemaker
  • Youth With Faces
  • Energy Ogre
  • DTX Renewable You
  • Galleria Dallas Decadence
  • Bella MD
  • Tractorbeam
  • Young Texans Against Cancer
  • Fresh Start Dallas
  • Dallas Farmers Market
  • Soldier's Angels Dallas
  • Shipt
  • Elite Dental
  • Texas Restaurant Association 2017
  • State Fair 2017
  • Scottish Rite
  • Brooklyn Brewery
  • DTX_Stylemakers
  • Alexan Crossings
  • Ascent Victory Park
  • Top Texans Under 30 Dallas
  • Discover Downtown Dallas
  • San Luis Resort Dallas
  • Greystar The Collection
  • FIG Finale
  • Greystar M Line Tower
  • Lincoln Motor Company
  • The Shelby
  • Jonathan Goldwater Events
  • Windrose Tower
  • Gift Guide 2016
  • State Fair of Texas 2016
  • Choctaw Dallas
  • TodayTix Dallas promoted
  • Whole Foods
  • Unbranded 2014
  • Frisco Square
  • Unbranded 2016
  • Circuit of the Americas 2018
  • The Katy
  • Snap Kitchen
  • Partners Card
  • Omni Hotels Dallas
  • Landmark on Lovers
  • Harwood Herd
  • Galveston.com Dallas
  • Holiday Happenings Dallas 2018
  • TenantBase
  • Cottonwood Art Festival 2018
  • Hawkins-Welwood Homes
  • The Inner Circle Dallas
  • Eating in Season Dallas
  • ATTPAC Behind the Curtain
  • TodayTix Dallas
  • The Alexan
  • Toyota Music Factory
  • Nosh Box Eatery
  • Wildflower 2018
  • Society Style Dallas 2018
  • Texas Scottish Rite Hospital 2018
  • 5 Mockingbird
  • 4110 Fairmount
  • Visit Taos
  • Allegro Addison
  • Dallas Tastemakers 2018
  • The Village apartments
  • City of Burleson Dallas

Where to eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 11 hot new restaurants for March

Raven Jordan
Mar 11, 2025 | 4:47 pm
Ocean Ranch lobster roll

Lobster roll at Ocean Ranch

Ocean Ranch

This month's edition of Where to Eat, CultureMap Dallas' column highlighting the best spots to eat, is focused on new openings, and there've been plenty: from a department store boutique to an Italian kitchen in an old converted gas station in Celina, this list covers lots of concepts and lots of mileage.

Here's where to eat in Dallas right now:

Cafe Dior
Upscale restaurant inside the new Dior shop in Highland Park Village recently opened at the end of February. Leading the concept is Michelin star chef Dominique Crenn and partner chef Juan Contreras. Blending both dining and fashion, the menu offers dishes like chicken with Tuscan kale, marbella prawns, and sandwich petit fleurs. Reservations are already booked until April.

Cleaver & Co.
There'a new burger in town from the owners of Roti Grill with this new spot that recently opened in Uptown. There are burgers with avocado, blue cheese, and bacon-jalapeno jam, as well as a smashburger with American cheese. There are also chicken sandwiches, a falafel burger, milkshakes, and floats. This is a kind of test-run for the concept. The restaurant will operate from this location for a limited time since the lease is short-term.

Crazy King Burrito
Restaurant concept founded in Cozumel, Mexico opened a location in Dallas, at a storefront near the Galleria Dallas mall. They're obsessed with burritos — offering 14 options ranging from surf & turf to spicy to veggie to breakfast burritos. Sides includes queso and bean dip, and there are two desserts: churros and a tempting offering called Mexican ice box cake.

Malabar Kitchen
Takeout-only Indian restaurant now open in Richardson spotlights the flavors of Malabar, located on the southwestern coast of India. There are curry stews, vegetable fried rice, and flaky, layered flatbreads, and everything is under $20. Although there is no dining room, the restaurant is a pleasant space lined with shelves of imported Kerala dried goods like banana chips and rice crackers.

Mangiamo's Italian Market and Deli
Italian restaurant using family recipes is now open in an old Celina gas station. The concept comes from Jason Algiere and his dad, Robert, who previously worked in restaurant renovation. The menu features pizza, pasta, sandwiches, meatballs, salads, and Italian desserts. Customers have compared the pizza to what you'd find in New York.

Mr Habanero
Mexican restaurant just opened in February at Webb Chapel Village in northwest Dallas. It's a spinoff of Grand Prairie restaurant, Habaneros, and like the original, it offers quesadillas, flautas, and other staples people expect at a Mexican restaurant — but it does a whole lot more: upscale entrees like rib eye steak in a mushroom cream sauce; or tropical salmon salad with mixed greens and fruit. Prices are reasonable: The $25 rib eye is the most expensive dish

Ocean Ranch
Swanky new Italian chophouse just opened on Greenville Avenue, in the former Carte Blanche space, where it's doing a crowd-pleasing combination of seafood and steak with an Italian influence, featuring dishes like fish & chips, Wagyu meatballs, lobster roll, seafood risotto, penne a la vodka, and trendy steak frites. Founder Nando Silvestri and chef Enrico Glaudo are both savvy veterans of California's Italian restaurant scene.

Pan Asian Kitchen and Noodle
The Lake Highlands neighborhood got a new Asian restaurant from Jarren Wang, son of Dallas Chinese restaurant legend Howard Wang, which opened in the Lakeridge Village shopping center former Hei Hei spot in January. The restaurant offers dishes in three Asian cuisines: Chinese, Japanese, and Korean including yakisoba, fried rice, bibimbap bowls, ramen, salads, and soups.

The Quay McKinney
Upscale global fusion restaurant opened in February at McKinney's Adriatica Village in the former Waterfront Restaurant space. The concept comes from chef Saicharan Shankar, who also opened the Indian restaurant Tantra Modern Indian Bistro in the same center. The menu features a seven-course tasting menu with items like hotstone A5 Wagyu, Ruby Beet Chèvre, and risotto with prawns and truffle aioli. Unique vegetarian options include the botanica schnitzel made with king oyster mushroom.

Soulard Gyro
Fast-casual restaurant serving halal gyros made its Texas debut in Plano in February. The concept was started in St. Louis in 2009. This is the only location of the chain's five locations that is halal, using no pork and a beef substitute for bacon instead. There are a dozen gyro options, including doner kebab, Philly cheesesteak, and veggie. The menu also includes, wraps, salads, Greek fries, and hummus.

Soul Shack
Buzzy soul food restaurant made its way into Cedar Hill in January. The concept, which started in Chicago, was founded by restaurateur Erik "Rico" Nance and is led by his business partners Theous Griffin and Ronald Edwards III. Unlike the Chicago express location, the Dallas restaurant is full-service with a 1920's jazz lounge vibe. The menu features soul rolls— filed with jerk chicken, collared greens, sweet potatoes, and mac and cheese— oxtails, lamb chops, and grilled blackened salmon.

bests lists where-to-eat
news/restaurants-bars
series
popular
series/where-to-eat

most read posts

Dallas' 10 Best Dressed celebrate in final downtown Neiman Marcus fete

Free Dallas job fair connects workers with over 3,000 'high-paying' jobs

Art-filled Dallas gala gathers $1.2 million for local children

Tex-Mex News

Get Tex-Mex and bargain margs at Alexander's Cantina in North Dallas

Teresa Gubbins
Oct 2, 2026 | 3:45 pm
.
.
.

A Mexican restaurant with a killer happy hour has debuted in North Dallas: Alexander's Cantina & Cocina, a family-owned restaurant and bar, has opened at 4805 Frankford Rd. #105, a space most recently occupied by Casa Don Luis Tex-Mex and before that, a Corner Bakery.

Alexander's is a bigger-and-better spinoff of Alexander's Mex Cuisine, a restaurant opened in Plano in 2023 by Bernardo Garduño and his family, featuring Tex-Mex and street food from his hometown Mexico City.

Garduño worked for many years in the service industry before coming to Dallas in 2015. He crafted Alexander's menu by drawing on his restaurant experience, along with recipes from his mom.

Signature dishes include:

  • Pambazo — Mexican bread dipped in chili sauce, filled with potatoes, chorizo, and queso, then fried
  • Alambre — steak, ham, and bacon with onion, peppers, and cheese
  • Bistek a la Mexicana — steak tips, onion, and bell pepper simmered in a spicy tomato sauce until it turns into a stew

Other crowd-pleasers include chicken mole, brisket tacos, birria, fajitas, enchiladas, and more. They have a big selection of seafood including tacos with salmon and coconut shrimp, plus vegetarian options such as veggie fajitas and spinach enchiladas. One favorite extra: Their chips come not only with salsa but also black bean dip.

The new location has given them room to grow in a way they were unable to do in Plano, Garduño says.

"Plano is doing very well but that location is small, and there was no room to expand," he says. "We did extensive renovations at the Dallas location that included the addition of a bar, as well as room for parties and entertainment, like salsa on Fridays and Saturdays."

The menu at the two locations is basically the same but Dallas has a few new dishes such as mojarra frita, a whole tilapia fried and served with rice, plus carnitas, and a few more tacos, he says.

One item they recently dropped: soft-serve margaritas. Garduño was quick to jump on that early 2026 trend, and Alexander's made many a "soft-serve margarita" list, but the trend turned out to be short-lived.

"It did well for a month, but people went right back to regular margaritas," he says. "Those drinks are fun but they're very sweet. The mix has to be highly sugared in order to get the texture correct. The ingredients and equipment to make it were expensive, which meant we had to charge more for it — $16 as opposed to $10 for our regular margaritas."

Garduño has kept an eye on the trend. "We're not the only place no longer doing it," he says.

Besides, it was not a good fit with Alexander's generous happy hour, featuring $5.50 house margaritas, $6 flavored margaritas, and $4 beer, available from 11 am-6 pm every day at the Plano location, and Sunday-Thursday at Dallas.

"Our happy hour has become one of our trademarks," he says.

tex-mex openings
news/restaurants-bars
series
popular
series/where-to-eat
CULTUREMAP EMAILS ARE AWESOME
Get Dallas intel delivered daily.
Loading...