Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 new restaurants to try in May

This month's installment of Where to Eat, CultureMap Dallas' column of new eats and must-try bites, is all about spring openings. There's a good mix of cuisines in this list, from burgers to Asian fusion to Hawaiian — many choices ahead.

Here's where to eat in Dallas this month:

Blues Burger
An old burger from Love Field has returned with a new location in Forney. The burger concept from couple Howard and Catharine Baldwin serves up Angus beef patties topped with homemade sauces and spreads, plus beef tallow fries. In addition to over-the-top burgers like the Double Wide - fried beef bologna, bacon, cheddar, fried egg - they also offer vegetarian patty options, fried pies, and gluten-free baked buns from Local Oven.

Burger Schmurger
Smash burger restaurant that started as a pop-up finally has a brick-and-mortar in East Dallas. Leading the concept is owner Dave Culwell and This & That Hospitality duo Brandon Hays and Phil Schanbaum. Burgers are smashed all around until flat with crispy edges and crowned with American cheese, grilled onions, and other toppings of choice. They also offer special items such as Culwell's take on a patty melt, featuring double smash patties.

Domodomo
Sushi omakase restaurant from New York has made its Texas debut at The Quad in Uptown Dallas. The experience, led by chef Brian Kim, features seven courses such as seasonal bluefin tuna brioche, American Wagyu yukhoe, and Granny Smith yuzu shiso popsicle for dessert. They serve a mix of both hot and cold dishes. Dinner starts at $135 per person.

III Forks Steakhouse Addison
Steakhouse recently opened a new flagship location close to where it first started on Dallas Parkway back in 1998. The new space features two dining rooms and serves elevated dishes such as Snake River Farms American Wagyu and A5 Miyazaki Gyu Japanese Wagyu, paired with diver scallops with bacon jam, chicken fried lobster, and prime double-cut pork chops. Inside the dining room are antique gold light fixtures, custom-designed wallpaper, and a second, private Art Deco-style dining room with lighting and art.

Gas Monkey Ice House
Car garage-themed restaurant is now open at Grandscape in The Colony. The concept comes from automotive icon and DFW native Richard Rawlings, star of Discovery Channel’s Fast N’ Loud. Rawlings partnered with Reach Hospitality on the restaurant, which has ample TVs for entertainment and VIP spaces for private events. The menu features a selection of pizza, burgers, and wings. Stand-out items include The Gorilla pizza, made with San Marzano tomato sauce, pepperoni, Texas taco meat, bacon, mozzarella, ricotta, and spicy honey; Smash’d Burger featuring double smash’d patties; and Flying Monkey Wings, bone-In chicken wings with choice of sauce.

Nouveau Noir
Southern restaurant with a Cajun flair from Atlanta opened in Addison on April 26. The concept comes from restaurateur Ebony Austin; this is the third location to open outside of Georgia. The menu offers brunch, lunch, and dinner options such as chicken wings coated in a honey sauce, fried lobster tails, steak & eggs, and pineapple rum French toast. They also have seafood dishes such as BBQ salmon and seafood and grits with chargrilled shrimp, salmon, and crab meat. They're open for lunch and dinner daily, except Monday, and serve Sunday brunch.

Palma
Tex-Asian fusion restaurant opened May 5 in Deep Ellum. The concept is one of the two new restaurants from Flagship Restaurant Group to open in the neighborhood, joining neon restaurant-bar Ghost Donkey. There are intriguing dishes such as sushi nachos, Nam Nam noodle salad with lo mein noodles, and banh mi cheesesteak. They also do weekend brunch with barbacoa hash, breakfast tacos, and kimchi fried rice omelets.

Pine Isle
Hawaiian-inspired restaurant in East Dallas is now open on Fitzhugh Avenue in a former Tom N Toms coffee space. The eatery is from restaurateur Kevin Singharaj, whose family owns the Zaap Kitchen chain. There are Hawaiian plate lunches with rice and two sides and a protein, such as Kalua pork or chicken katsu. The menu also features spam musubi, pork lumpia spring rolls, and marinated tuna poke in a bowl or as nachos.

Pizza Ella
Pizza shop with a Middle Eastern flair recently opened in Richardson. It comes from couple Yehuda and Lital Alila, owners of a steakhouse called Meat Point in the same shopping center, which they opened in 2013. Pizza Ella offers kosher pizzas, and most are vegetarian-friendly. Options include 12- and 24-inch White Pizza with alfredo sauce, mozzarella, zucchini, sweet potato, eggplant, and caramelized onion; and Tunisian Pizza, a cheeseless pizza with harissa, tomato sauce, tuna, olives, bell pepper, and preserved lemon. They also serve salads, pastas, and a few breakfast items.

Radici
Italian pasta and grill restaurant recently debuted a second location at EpicCentral in Grand Prairie, following the success of the first in Farmers Branch in 2024. Celebrity chef Tiffany Derry owns the restaurant alongside business partner Tom Foley. Derry lends her early experience making Italian food to dishes such as Bolognese, featuring Mafaldini pasta, 6-hour braised beef, veal, and pork; and Lasagna Bianca, with white Bolognese, sage, spinach pasta, Parmigiano Reggiano, and nutmeg. They also have weekend brunch.