Where to eat

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

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.

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Where to eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 best new restaurants for July

Frenchie

Natalie salad at Frenchie

The July edition of Where to eat, CultureMap Dallas' monthly column of the hottest restaurants, has an exciting range of cuisines and locations: from a new bistro in McKinney to an impressive Indian restaurant in Coppell to a downtown Dallas cafe to a mom-and-pop taqueria in Oak Cliff.

Here's where to eat in Dallas right now:

Boxed and Brewed
Downtown Dallas cafe from Boxwood Hospitality features boxed lunches, breakfast sandwiches, croissants, and breakfast tacos. They do it gourmet style with offerings such as a curried veggie goat cheese wrap, Mediterranean chicken sandwich, and Greek salad. They're open in the U.S. Post Office at 400 N. Ervay St. during classic downtown worker hours: Monday-Friday for breakfast and lunch.

Centro on the Square
Italian bistro from acclaimed restaurateurs George Stergios (Knife Steakhouse Plano) and Brian Dunne (Mexican Bar Company) has made its long-awaited debut on McKinney’s downtown square in the former Harvest space (which relocated in 2023). The menu features hearty Italian-American dishes like chicken meatballs, mussels, cacio e pepe pasta, short rib ravioli, chicken marsala, soups, and salads. They also served grilled items including salmon, red fish, and chicken.

Donde los Tacos
Small taco shop in Oak Cliff in a former gas station is a mom-and-pop from first-time restaurant owners Martin and Jennifer Reyes who are putting lots of love into this small, cozy spot. Their tacos include trompo marinated pork, chicken, chorizo, fried shrimp, a slow-simmered beef called suadero, a ribeye taco, and a vegetarian taco made with plant-based protein. Appetizers include guacamole & chips, queso, and Mexican street corn. The majority of their tacos are $3 but on Tuesdays, they offer a $2 taco deal.

Ella
American bistro in the old Chido Taco Lounge space brings elevated eats to Preston Hollow Village. The concept is from Chido Taco Lounge founder Blaine McGowan and executive chef Kyle Farr, with Michelin-awarded Julian Shaffer leading the bar program. Their menu features shrimp and masa dumplings, pork cheeks, steak frites, and sides like broccolini and truffle fries.

Flamant
European cocktail bar and bistro that cooks over an open flame is now open at the Boardwalk at Granite Park in Plano. The restaurant is from acclaimed restaurant team Tanner Agar and Taylor Rause, and is a sibling restaurant to award-winning restaurants Rye and Apothecary. The menu features flavors from Portugal, Spain, France, and Italy with dishes such as faux gras, pasta, wood fired Wagyu burger, and pepperoncini chicken. They also offer weekend brunch with frittata and cannoli French toast.

Frenchie
French concept from Travis Street Hospitality (Le PasSage, Georgie) recently opened in the former Corner Bakery at Preston Center Plaza, which closed after 23 years in 2022. The restaurant is a French brasserie, serving casual lunch and dinner. There are dishes such as crepes, quiches, oysters, steak frites, and onion soup.

Silk Road IndianSilk Road

Mas Chingon
Sports bar and restaurant with a lively atmosphere recently opened in Bishop Arts dishing out Latin vibes and a Mexican-Latin menu. Standout dishes include tacos, Mexican burger, al pastor burger with both a beef patty and al pastor, elote coated in Hot Cheetos dust, and ceviche. They also do bar food such as a burger, chicken wings, and an over-the-top $350 Cowboy steak.

The PoBoy Shop
Sandwich shop obsessed with po’boys is a spin-off of Evan’s Meat Market now open in Preston Center. Founder Evan Meagher is drawing on his Louisiana roots on po’boys and sandwiches such as fried shrimp, fried bologna, turkey, and pastrami, available in 4-inch and 8 inch sizes with Cajun sides such as dirty curly fries topped with grilled boudin or Zapp’s Potato Chips.

Ruthie's Cafe
Do-gooder cafe that started out as a food truck is bringing new life to South Dallas. They serve grilled cheese sandwiches — solo or with tomato tomato soup — including one stuffed with brisket. There's also breakfast including sandiwches, a power bowl, and a chicken sausage & bacon wrap. They just added a coffee bar, in response to customer demand, with creative espresso drinks such as Nutella latte, Horchata, and Matcha latte.

Silk Road Indian
Indian concept from a hospitality trio recently opened in Coppell. The restaurant comes from Prinu Prasannan, Sushil Kumar, and Sreekumar Madolil, who have roots in the Kerala state in India but met in Dallas. They serve a range of vegetarian dishes such as vegetable samosas and tikka masala. They also have non vegetarian and Indo Chinese dishes including biryani, butter chicken, fish curry, and egg curry.

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