Where to Eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 7 most inviting new restaurants

A pasta dish from Petra and the Beast.

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The August edition of Where to Eat, our monthly feature of restaurant recommendations, is a fun and fabulously diverse mixed bag. There's fancy Chinese, cozy Italian, a Mexican hidden gem, top chef fare, an indie Asian coffee shop, and an authentic French bakery.

Here's where to eat for August:

Cafe Hana
New shop gives the usual coffeehouse a Japanese twist, including unique pastries and specially sourced coffee beans. It's from Sara Nam, owner of Edoko Omakase in Irving, and it just opened at 1030 W. John Carpenter Fwy. #150, in a former State Farm Insurance office next door to Edoko. Nam has partnered with pastry chef Maiko Hagiuda, founder of Oh Mai Goodness, a pastry shop located inside of Mitsuwa Marketplace, the Japanese grocery store in Plano. The menu includes subtly sweet breads in flavors such as chocolate and melon; matcha macadamia cookies; and sakura panna cotta, a custard infused with the leaves of sakura, aka cherry blossom, green tea. They're also doing a small selection of "entree" items such as sandos with house-made milk bread, avocado toast, and katsu curry, a pork cutlet over rice with curry sauce.

Lyla
New restaurant took over the former Primo's space at 3309 McKinney Ave., forever known as one of Uptown’s most recognizable patios, but boy does Lyla blow them all away with a jaw-dropping space outfitted with gorgeous blue-&-white colored tiles, beachy lighting fixtures, and McKinney-Avenue-facing space that extends seemingly for miles. It's a coastal Italian restaurant inspired by destinations like Capri, Santorini, Mallorca, and St. Barth's with a menu of Italian coastal classics, featuring salads, house-made pasta, pizza, and wood-fired entrées. There are many hipster foodie dishes: burrata, hamachi crudo, charcuterie board, crispy Brussels, whole branzino, and all the right cocktails, from AF to a skinny margarita to a French 75.

Maison Chinoise
Newest restaurant in the Lombardi Family Concepts (Bistro 31/Lounge 31, Taverna Pizzeria & Risotteria, Toulouse Cafe & Bar, Kai, and Penne Pomodoro) is at 4152 Cole Ave. #106, in the space next to Salum. Lombardi has nearly every cuisine covered with his Lombardi Family Concepts and now he adds Chinese. The menu includes traditional Chinese dishes, including crab wontons, pork soup dumplings, and kung pao chicken, but also anomalies like wok-baked green mussels. Shared dishes are a theme, and the restaurant also features a dumpling station center stage, allowing diners to see dumplings made by hand.

Panadería y Taqueria Mi Morelia
This hidden gem in Mesquite comes as a tip from the Visit Mesquite team, and while they may be biased, there's no disputing the tacos, tortas, Mexican breads, and more. Their top pick: The Regia Torta - stacked with Milanesa, chorizo, and queso on a fresh bun. One more tip: Save room for dessert because their conchas are, to quote the team, "amazing."

Petra and the Beast
One of Dallas' most highly rated restaurants left its cute-funky location at 601 N. Haskell Ave. and moved to the center of Lakewood, in the space at 1901 Abrams Rd., previously occupied by Lakewood Smokehouse, which closed in July 2021. This relocation is a significant big step up in terms of size: At 5,400 square feet, the Lakewood Smokehouse space is more than triple Petra's original location of 1,540 square feet. Chef Misti Norris is known for her enlightened take on cooking, using the whole animal, pickling, and uber-crafted dishes with descriptions such as this pasta: "Texas yukon and fermented eggplant agnolotti, pickled Comeback Creek Farm spigarello, potato skin crumb, pickled potato emulsion, and potato 'botarga'."

Salut Paris Bakery
If you're going the dessert-for-dinner route, then this new sweet spot at Galleria Dallas is where you need to be. Located on Level 1, this bakery specializes in French pastries based on traditional baking techniques. There are croissants, brioche, financiers, eclairs, raspberry macaron cakes, mille-feuilles (in traditional or chocolate), and cool departures such as raspberry macaron cakes and yuzu tarts. Galleria Dallas is the first shopping-center location for this locally owned bakery.

Via Triozzi
New Italian restaurant is from hometown gal Leigh Hutchinson, who got the Italia bug when she spent a semester there during college. She built a following for her lasagnas which she sold to friends, and now that lasagna is one of many dishes at this charming spot at 1806 Greenville Ave., along with quash blossoms, tagliatelle Bolognese, chicken cacciatore, and cannoli. Dallas loves style and the space is Hollywood-perfect, with black-&-white checkered floors, a marble bar, and photos of relatives on the wall. The wine program is great featuring natural wines, with lots of by-the-glass options.

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Deep Ellum News

Mexican 'vibe' restaurant from California to open in Deep Ellum Dallas

Mama Por Dios

A buzzy concept from California is coming to Dallas: Mama Por Dios, a Mexican restaurant chain known for its vibe, will open its first location in Texas in Deep Ellum in the Epic development at 2525 Elm St., taking over the former La Neta space, which shuttered in May.

According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will open in early to mid-January.

Mama Por Dios was founded in Southern California in 2020 by chef Misael Guerrero, who famously got his start selling Mexican sushi out of his garage.

Since those early days, he's gone on to form a restaurant empire called Emme Group, with concepts that include Los Amores de Julia, El Rincon de Los Dolidos, and Culichi Town, a lower-priced chain known for Sinaloa-style Mexican sushi & seafood, which has a local presence: It opened a location in Mesquite in 2022.

Mama Por Dios — which translates to "Mother of God" — describes itself as modern Mexican, offering a unique blend of steakhouse, sushi bar, and seafood. The menu includes favorites like tacos and enchiladas, alongside luxe dishes like lobster with spaghetti, lobster enchiladas, and a surf & turf featuring a lobster tail balanced atop a skirt steak. Prices range from $18 for birria tacos to $48 for a bacon-wrapped filet mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

But they also have a showy side that includes flamboyant presentations such as the bacon-wrapped shrimp which come strung on clothespins; or the trompito al pastor, served on a personal spit, as well as servers who walk around with shots while dancing with patrons.

There's a Gold Burger for $65 featuring Prime beef on a brioche bun garnished with 24k gold leaf, and a similarly gilded tomahawk steak for $400 that brings to mind the good old days of Salt Bae. Decor is swanky with low lighting, and there'll be a serious brunch offering on weekends.

Cocktails such as the Al Agua Pato — served in a mini bathtub with a rubber ducky — are made for Instagram. They offer margarita and mezcalita flights with flavors such as mango, tamarindo, and strawberry, and intriguing sips like Carajillo, a Spanish cocktail with Licor 43, espresso, and 43 different fruit, citrus, aromatic, and herbal ingredients.

There’s also a $20 per-person minimum spend, and the menu comes with a warning that everything is cooked to order — meaning some dishes may take 30 to 40 minutes. For many diners, waiting will surely be part of the experience.

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