Where to Eat

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

Branzino and sushi roll from Soy Cowboy

Soy Cowboy

This July installment of the CultureMap Where to Eat column returns with 10 restaurants that have opened recently around Dallas. The majority of these are exactly the kind of small, family-owned places we all love to support: from a family-owned Indonesian restaurant to a burger startup to a local Thai restaurant trying something new.

Here are 10 new restaurants you should try in July:

AG Sushi Grill
Sushi concept from chef Gabriel Reyes and Alejandra Murillo, owner of El Atoron Mexican Restaurant, is now open in the former Snookies at 3604 Oak Lawn Ave. The dishes are a blend of Mexican and Japanese influences, such as gyoza, stuffed jalapeños, and sushi rolls. For the early-bird crowd, there's weekend brunch featuring omelets, eggs benedict, and bento boxes.

Bali Street Cafe
Family-owned restaurant preaches the gospel of Indonesian food, which incorporates Chinese, Indian, and European influences. Their menu of authentic dishes includes Rendang, a beef stew; and Ayam Kalasan, a unique Indonesian twist on fried chicken. Check out the martabak manis, dessert, a stuffed pancake filled with chocolate, cheese, peanuts, and condensed milk.

Beef-A-Roo
Family-owned chain from Illinois specializing in roast beef sandwiches opened its first location in Texas in DeSoto. Sandwiches include the classic roast beef, beef & cheese, Wild West (bbq sauce and onion rings), and mushroom and Swiss cheese. There are also burgers, salads, soups, wraps, and breakfast items, such as the croissant sandwich and a roast beef breakfast sandwich.

Cap’t Loui
Franchise from Massachusetts specializing in seafood boils made its Texas debut in Carrollton thanks to husband-and-wife franchisees Danny and Hanna Rhee. The signature item is the broiler, which includes a choice of crab, lobster, shrimp, crawfish, clams, or mussels, by the pound or half-pound, and served in a bag with potatoes and corn. They also have oysters and fried seafood baskets.

Ka Thai - Midtown
Thai restaurant first founded on McKinney Avenue has expanded, with two new locations: at The Hill shopping center and in North Dallas at Hillcrest Village. Both serve the affordable, well-made Thai food for which founder Jackie Kaewlamduan is known, but the location at The Hill also has a special esan menu with spicy-hot tapas-style food including Laos style papaya salad, Thai style corn ceviche, Thai grilled pork salad, and esan pork ribs soup.

Ookuma Burger
Japanese burger pop-up from Ka-Tip Thai street food owners YuYee Sakpanichkul Kaiho and George Kaiho opened in July in the former Sandwich Hag space (which closed in May for hiatus) at 1902 Botham Jean Blvd, where it will reside for the summer and beyond. Burgers include the teriyaki burger with choice of beef or pork, karaage (deep fried breaded chicken), korokke (deep fried potato and meat croquettes), and a veggie burger with a pea protein patty.

Paparazzi Chophouse
Upscale steakhouse with a Southern twist opened in Deep Ellum from former owners of Harpers, which previously occupied the space. The restaurant serves steaks, chops, and cocktails, with a lounge vibe and DJs. Menu items include boudin egg rolls, seafood platter, fried chicken, lobster roll sliders, and vegan mushroom risotto.

Soy Cowboy
Stylish and flashy pan-Asian restaurant opened at Loews Arlington Hotel and Convention Center at 888 Nolan Ryan Expwy. from charismatic Houston restaurateur and founder of Berg Hospitality Group, Benjamin Berg. The menu brings Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Thai, and Japanese influences in dishes such as sushi, A5 Kobe beef, Wagyu Beef Tsukune, lobster wontons, and omakase.

Tacos Chacon
Family-owned taco spot inside the Oak Cliff Tower features the flavors of Veracruz, the hometown of husband-and-wife Jaime and Aurora Tacon, who run it with their kids and family members. They serve breakfast and lunch, including chicken tortilla soup, Ceasar and cobb salads, a breakfast burrito, chilaquiles, and a torta with sausage, chicken, and ham.

Taqueria El Arquito
Local family-run taqueria chain has eight locations, many in gas stations or convenience stores. Now they have arrived at Preston Center, serving tacos de trompo, plus Cubana and Hawaiian tortas. They offer tamales and menudo on weekends, and there's also a breakfast menu featuring migas, chilaquiles, breakfast tacos, breakfast burritos, and a breakfast sandwich.

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What Just Opened

Crazy wave of Dallas restaurants and bars have all just opened

Courtesy

1519 Main St.

The Dallas hospitality scene almost never sleeps and right now it's pulling an all-nighter, with a big slate of fresh openings, all of which have debuted within the past days, give or take.

Everyone's hustling to get their doors open in time for the holidays, and these establishments have all made it happen: From a cosmopolitan new lounge in downtown Dallas to a modern Asian restaurant in Plano to a bountiful AYCE Chinese seafood spot in Richardson, there's something here to pique everyone's interest and appetite.

1519 Main
Spectacular lounge is now open in downtown Dallas at 1519 Main St., in a nearly century-old building across from the Joule Dallas hotel where it's serving up stellar drinks in a space that's both cosmopolitan and low-key. The bar is from Hospitality Alliance, the company led by restaurant wunderkind Kevin Lillis, who helped create the original AT&T Discovery District. It's a stunning space with many original features like the rose-and-cream marble floors from the 1920s and the brick walls with signage from prior businesses in the space that dating back decades. The menu has cocktails from Brian Van Flandern, who oversaw the program at Per Se, The Carlyle Hotel, The Plaza Hotel, and Palm Court restaurant, and also has a homage menu featuring recipes from some of the most impactful but now closed cocktail lounges in the country. They're open Thursday-Saturday from 5 pm-12 am.

Centrale Italia
New concept from veteran restaurateur Patrick Colombo (Cru Wine Bar, Princi Italia) opened in November at Preston Hollow Village at Walnut Hill Lane and US-75 with a menu of wood-fired dishes, Neapolitan style pizza, pastas, and gelato made in-house. They're debuting brunch on Sunday December 7 and lunch on Monday December 8, with a menu that includes spicy meatball sub, chicken parm on toasted ciabatta, and a parmesan garlic cheeseburger with Wagyu beef and arugula. Salads include Little Gem Caesar, chopped salad with salami, prosciutto, and soppressata, and an Italian Cobb salad with chicken, Romaine, radicchio, avocado, beets, prosciutto, eggs, and Campari tomato in a creamy gorgonzola.

Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Restaurant in Richardson which just opened in the former Maxim's space is an all-you-can-eat sushi/seafood buffet featuring a daily rotating menu with 300-plus items from various Asian cuisines. There are oysters, crab legs, lobster, sushi bar, ramen bar, dumplings bar, skewers bar, noodles, stir-fries, and Chinese dishes both Cantonese and Sichuan, such as spicy boiled beef and kung pao chicken. Plus dim sum and desserts such as precision-cut layer cakes and a chocolate fondue station where you can dip strawberries and other fruit. (The lobster and crab are available at dinner and weekends only, not at lunch.) The price is $20 at lunch, $30 at dinner on weeknighs, and $35 all weekend long.

Jashan
Indian ambitious new Indian restaurant with a one-of-a-kind menu offering has opened at Plano's Legacy North with a chef team who are bringing flavors from cities and regions across India, from Dehli's fried potato tikkis to pepper chicken from the south. For those seeking something truly unique, Jahsan also offer a Dil Se menu — an omakase-style tasting, available in 7- or 13-course versions, featuring a procession of these flavors, letting guests discover the stories of these cities in one visit.

La Stella Italian Steakhouse
Stupendous Italian restaurant just opened at a storied North Dallas address at 14655 Dallas Pkwy. in the former Lawry's space, where it stands as a bigger, grander spinoff of its sibling La Stella Cucina, the Italian restaurant in Dallas' Design District. The menu is an expanded version of the original: combining Italian seafood and a chophouse, plus an accompanying music lounge for live entertainment.

LuLu Modern Chinese
Glamorous new Asian restaurant just opened in Plano at 3310 Dallas Pkwy. #121, with a goal is to bring an authentic and modern Chinese American dining experience. The menu features classics like Peking duck, xiao long bao (soup dumplings), and seafood executed with spices and recipes from various regions of China — from Shanghai to the Pan Asian continent. The 4,300-square-foot space features a subtle lounge theme — a place you can dine or grab tequila shots over a soundtrack of '90s hip-hop and pop, plus craft cocktails, and a serious collection of sake and wine — but not what you'd typically find at a Chinese restaurant.

Mendocino Farms
California chain known for creative sandwiches, salads, soups, and other healthy fare, has opened its newest DFW-area location — the sixth — at NorthPark Center, joining Addison, downtown Dallas, Plano, Preston Hollow, and Dallas' West Village. With its casual but upscale menu, featuring staples such as the Chicken & Hummus Crunch Wrap — as well as seasonal offerings like the November to Remember sandwich with turkey, mozzarella, mushroom & turkey sausage stuffing, spicy cranberry chutney, and Romaine on toasted cranberry walnut wheat bread — NorthPark seems like a perfect fit.

Old Ferry Donut
Doughnut shop chain from Korea entered the U.S. in 2023, with five locations in California. Now they've made their Texas debut in Carrollton at 2225 Old Denton Rd. #215, Their doughnuts are unique: They have a slightly chewier, more bready texture than the fluffy texture of a Krispy Kreme, and are a little less sweet than traditional American doughnuts. Many of their doughnuts have fillings, made from premium ingredients. The menu includes old-school flavors such as Boston Cream, Original Glaze, and Cinnamon Sugar — but also new-school flavors like White Chocolate Sesame, Earl Gray, and Matcha Cream.

Roots Chicken Shak
Fried chicken restaurant concept from celebrity chef Tiffany Derry, just opened a location at 3748 Belt Line Rd. #118, in a former Einstein's Bagels on the southeast corner of Marsh Lane. There are chicken wings, tenders, nuggets, and sandwiches on sweet potato buns. Derry opened the first Roots Chicken Shack at Plano's Legacy Food Hall in 2017, but the Addison location is owned by franchisees.

Yearby’s Barbecue & Waterice
Halal BBQ spot which originated in Pilot Point is in soft opening mode at a new second location in Plano at 3201 Alma Dr., just west of US-75, where they'll be open from 11 am–3 pm or sell out. There's likely to be a line, because BBQ places like to have a line, but the Yearby's in Pilot Point also earned a slot on Texas Monthly’s 50 Best list for 2025.

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