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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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.

bests lists where-to-eat