Where to eat

Where to eat in Dallas right now: 10 must-try new restaurants in March

Sandwich from La Veganeria.

La Veganeria

This edition of Where to Eat, CultureMap's monthly list of top restaurant recommendations, is all about fresh new restaurants that have opened in the past month or so. They're an especially varied lot both in cuisine and location, ranging from a family-run trattoria in Frisco to an upscale Indian restaurant to Las Colinas to a casual-sophisticated Asian concept in the center of Dallas.

Here's our March edition of where to eat:

The Ainsworth
Classy sports bar with New York ties just opened in the Shops at Legacy North. It became famous for its kinda-silly chicken wing dipped in 24K gold, a recipe that chef Jonathan 'Foodgōd' Cheban created for the original location in New York. Other Ainsworth trademarks include the signature Mac burger with an 8-ounce Angus patty and cheddar cheese on top of a fried mac-n-cheese patty with Ainsworth sauce on a brioche bun. There's also pasta in pesto, tuna tacos, and brick chicken.

Dua Trattoria
Italian-Mediterranean fusion restaurant in Frisco comes from the same family that launched Eddie's Napoli, the local pizza chain, and incorporates some of Eddie's Italian classics like lasagna and chicken parmesan. But the menu also features several family recipes from their home country of Kosovo, such as kefalotyri, a baked goat cheese dip, and burek, a Balkan spinach and cheese pastry. Prices are mostly affordable with flatbreads, sandwiches, salads, and pastas, with the occasional celebratory splurge like a cappelletti, a ravioli with short rib, asparagus, and tomato.

La Veganería
Vegan Mexican food is a national trend that began in Dallas-Fort Worth, and here comes this newcomer ghost kitchen at Commerce Cooking Fork Co. in West Dallas. Founded by two natives of Celaya, in Guanajuato, Mexico, La Veganeria stands out with its authentic, upscale, and creative menu with dishes such as Cochinita Pibil tacos featuring citrus-marinated oyster mushrooms and refried black beans in a corn tortilla; "fish tacos" - beer-battered Lion's Mane mushrooms with coleslaw and pineapple pico de gallo; and and seitan Milanesa: Fried seitan "steak" on a bolillo bun with refried beans and guacamole. Everything's made in house, even down to the skin-on French fries.

Miss Pasta
Italian restaurant at the Shire complex in Richardson does handmade pasta in a semi-fast-casual setting at an approachable price. The concept is from chef Giuliano Matarese and his wife Tiziana Cosentino. A native of Naples, Matarese previously worked on the East Coast at restaurants such as Charlie Palmer's Aureole in New York, and has also appeared on cooking shows such as Chopped and Beat Bobby Flay. Pastas range from classics like rigatoni with spicy tomato, basil, Parmesan, and burrata cheese, to original takes such as potato gnocchi with basil pesto and green beans. There are also creative antipasti like fried dough with tomato sauce and a Roman-style rice croquette.

Rakkan Ramen
First Dallas-area location of a ramen chain is now open at 3121 Olympus Blvd. #150, in a cool storefront between The Sound at Cypress Waters and North Lake. Founded in Japan and headquartered in California, Rakkan Ramen is known for doing vegetarian broths, made from vegetables like mushrooms and seaweed, as opposed to the more common meat-based broths made with pork. While the broths are plant-based, the restaurant is not vegetarian; many dishes contain pork and chicken. The menu does feature four vegan ramens such as Garnet Ramen, with noodles, mushrooms, green onion, corn, and tofu in a deep, creamy, savory broth. Beyond ramen, they also serve rice bowls, gyoza, and sushi handrolls.

Sanjh
Upscale Indian restaurant in Las Colinas is from Dallas entrepreneur Sanjay Joshi and Prob Arora, former co-owner of The Saffron House, the Indian restaurant that was in Addison for 14 years. Chef is Balpreet Singh Chadha, who has a lustrous history working at hotels and restaurants around the world including India, United Arab Emirates, and Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain. They have strived to show every part of India on the menu wherever they could. It's not cheap - entrees run from $25 to $40, and there's a menu of craft cocktails to match. But how do you not love a dish like Shakargandi Amrak Chaat, a Delhi street food with sweet potatoes as the star of the dish.

Shivas Bar and Grill
After wowing Dallas diners with its expertly made Indian dishes since 2014, Shivas has spun off a second location at Watters Creek Village in Allen, where they've recreated their authentic Indian food in a pleasant contemporary setting. There are biryani rice dishes, meats cooked in the traditional tandoor oven, and loads of vegetarian options like dal Makhani, featuring lentils with tomato and garlic. It's also fun just to make a meal of the appetizers, with options such as battered cauliflower, chicken on skewers, and samosa dumpling-like pastries, in traditional options like potato & peas as well as variations filled with chicken.

Sigree Grill Indian Restaurant
Addison restaurant has been open since 2013, serving dishes from across India: North Indian, Mughlai, Gujrati, Maharashtrian, Bengali, Continental, inspired by the art of cooking over the slow charcoal fire of the simple iron stove called sigree. What's new is that they're hosting a vegan buffet on Tuesday nights. Called Vegan Tuesdays, it includes choices from sprouts with pomegranate, salad with chickpeas, stir-fried tofu, chutneys, vegetable pakora fritters, cauliflower bites, vegetable noodles, chickpea masala, fried okra, eggplant chaat, veg korma, veg pulav, lentil soup, and roti. And it's a real deal: $20 for adults and $16 for kids.

Taipo
Newly opened restaurant in downtown Arlington features Nepalese food, with the signature dish being the taipo: two jumbo, savory fried dumplings with chicken, pork, beef or potato fillings. They also have skewers in options such as potato, sausage, tofu, or enoki mushroom, served with tomato chutney; plus stir fries with choice of rice or noodles, veggies, and choice of sauces that includes a spicy habanero. BBy day, it's a cute fast-casual spot featuring pan-Asian food and Nepalese food, But it also comes with a hidden speakeasy, perfect for late-night gatherings or romantic dates.

Wagamama
The iconic global restaurant brand offering modern Asian cuisine has made its Texas debut in Dallas with a location at 2425 Harry Hines Blvd. Food is cooked to order and served straight from wok to table. Signature dishes include ginger chicken udon, Yasai katsu curry, and Bang Bang crispy cauliflower with firecracker sauce, plus craft cocktails like the Thai Chili Margarita and a selection of good sake. There are nine ramen options, plus salads, dumplings, and stirfries with noodles or rice, such as Avant Gard’n, featuring BBQ-glazed seitan with coconut and sriracha vegan‘egg’ on sticky white rice. It's not so much what they're doing but how: executing with a level of proficiency and sophistication that is distinctly not-Dallas, and that is a good thing.

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Where to Eat

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

Photo courtesy of Sophia's

Red snapper ceviche at Sophia's Cantina

CultureMap's monthly Where to Eat column highlighting the best restaurants to try returns for October with a theme of new and diverse. Every restaurant on this list is a recent arrival, including at least one that has been open for only a day. If you want hot, fresh, and new, you've come to the right list.

The list represents an exciting array, encompassing a one-of-its-kind test restaurant, a fashionable coffee shop, steakhouse, Mexican cantina, Italian speakeasy, and not one, not two, but three places to get dumplings.

Here's where to eat in Dallas for October 2026:

Coach Coffee Shop
Unique cafe just opened inside the Coach handbag store at Allen Outlet Malls, one of seven locations across the U.S., including Austin, which opened in 2025. The drink menu features coffee, espresso drinks including cappuccinos and lattes, cold brew, matcha lattes with rotating seasonal flavors, and lemonade. There are two signature items: Tabby Cake — an adorable chocolate treat shaped like Coach’s trademark Tabby bag and Lil Miss Jo Cookie — an edible version of the chain's coffee-cup animated mascot used in company ad campaigns. They also serve pastries such as salted chocolate chip cookies, blueberry muffins, vegan carrot cake muffins, cinnamon rolls, savory scones, ham and cheese croissant, and soft-serve in waffle cones.

Curry Tei & Bar
Hip Asian restaurant comes to downtown Plano courtesy of Michelle Vi Pepping, who also owns buzzy Okaeri Cafe in Richardson. Curry Tei gives her the opportunity to focus more deeply on favorite Japanese comfort foods, especially house-made curry and crispy katsu, along with a full bar featuring sake, Japanese whisky, and handcrafted cocktails. The curry can be ordered over rice or udon noodles, then topped with a choice from 10 proteins: tonkatsu fried pork cutlet, katsu fried chicken cutlet, tofu katsu fried tofu cutlet, shrimp katsu, karaage fried chicken, Japanese sausage, fried potato croquette, sliced beef, hamburger patty, or gyoza dumplings. Their bowls and noodles run the gamut from chicken teriyaki over rice to chilled green tea soba noodles with vegetable tempura. Popular starters include edamame, dumplings, and karaage fried chicken.

The chocolate bag is one of a few too-cute-to-eat treats at Coach Coffee Shop. Coach Coffee Shop/Instagram

Docent Steak
After two years in the making, the newest restaurant from Harwood Hospitality Group is open in the Harwood No. 14 development as a steakhouse with a menu centered on HWD Beef, Harwood’s exclusive beef product. Prime cuts include filet mignon, NY strip, ribeye, bone-in strip, Chateaubriand, and porterhouse. Docent also serves Kobe beef, including A5 Wagyu available by the ounce, and a rotating Kobe flight featuring five cuts. Non-steak options include crab cake, Kobe potstickers, steak tartare sliders, tempura lobster, oysters, spicy tuna tartare, and a seafood tower. As befits a steakhouse, there's a grand wine list, but also a big selection of sake. The main dining room has a white-tablecloth fine-dining ambience, while a lower level has a casual atmosphere with TVs. There's lots of art, a Harwood trademark.

L's Dumplings
Chef-owned Asian spot just opened on the Lewisville/Carrollton border, where it's doing dumplings and Hong Kong-style dim sum. There's an expansive menu with dim sum-style dishes, dumplings, and even Chinese-American staples like General Tso's Chicken. While the restaurant does not have room for the cart service that often goes with dim sum, it does have a dim sum menu with a dozen dishes you'd find at a traditional dim sum brunch: beef tripe, black pepper short ribs, siu mai topped with roe, Chinese broccoli in oyster sauce, steamed pork ribs with garlic, sticky rice chicken, wontons, and chicken feet in black bean sauce. Dumplings are offered in more than a dozen varieties including soft steamed dumplings, pan-fried dumplings with a crispy bottom, and soup dumplings, famous for containing broth inside the wrapper, creating an especially juicy filling.

Momo2Go
Well-regarded dumpling chain from Canada has opened a location in the Preston Lebanon Crossing shopping center, taking over a space previously occupied by Lalo's Cocina Mexicana, which closed in July. Momo2Go specializes in momos — the dumpling that's a foundation of Himalayan cuisine — and is a spinoff of a family-owned restaurant called Himalayan Kitchen, which debuted in Toronto in 2012. Their momos were so popular that they launched Momo2Go in 2016. They now have 10 including one in Irving, which franchisees Karma Gurung and Tashi Chetan opened in 2023. Frisco is their second location.

Veggie dumplings are a favorite at L's Dumplings.Photo courtesy of L's Dumplings

Ono Hawaiian BBQ
Fast-casual Hawaiian plate-lunch chain from California just opened a location in McKinney, specializing in island-style plate lunches that combine some form of meat plus white rice and macaroni salad. Meats include BBQ chicken, Kalua pork, kalbi short ribs, fried chicken katsu, and Spam musubi, consisting of a block of rice topped with a slice of Spam and wrapped in seaweed. A slightly healthier option combines the meats with rice and a side salad. McKinney is the second location in Texas, following Plano which opened in July. If all goes according to their plan, they will soon be ubiquitous, with 10 locations plotted for DFW.

Open House
New restaurant concept being tested by KFC has opened its very first location in McKinney, with a goal to put a modern twist on Colonel Sanders' fried chicken concept. The location has tableside service, touchscreen kiosks, breakfast, boba drinks, and more. New and unique menu items including sides such as Southwest corn, fried green beans, spicy pickles, and rainbow slaw, as well as the first breakfast lineup featuring chicken tenders sandwiches, hashbrown sticks, mini cronuts, brewed coffee, and iced lattes. The McKinney restaurant will serve as a testing ground for KFC, giving them a chance to try new food, drinks, service, and design ideas before rolling them out across the country.

Red: Italian
Unusual new restaurant in Denton is a subterranean spot in the basement of Ruby Rodeo, a bar and live music venue on Denton Square, where it's serving Italian food and speakeasy charm. The 58-seat underground space — which includes 10 seats at the bar — serves Italian classics, priced from $25 to $40, such as spicy sausage lasagna with arrabbiata sauce, cacio e pepe bucatini, chicken piccata, shrimp diablo, and espresso-crusted filet mignon with Italian seasoning. Appetizers include fried mozzarella, stuffed mushrooms, grilled artichokes, bruschetta, meatballs, flatbreads, and a classic Caesar. The concept comes from Victor García and Mike Church, who also own Ruby Rodeo, as well as the similarly-red-named Scarlett Lounge in Deep Ellum.

Sophia's Cocina & Cantina
Mexican restaurant in Farmers Branch is the new home of Hugo Miranda, the well-respected hospitality figure who previously helmed Hugo's Invitados, a Mexican concept that he opened in 2018 with entrepreneur Mark Hulme. Highlights from the menu (which has not yet been uploaded to the restaurant's website nor their Facebook page) include oysters, pork belly chicharron, sopa de Cebolla, mixed grill, ribeye black Angus tomahawk sliced tableside, whole Pacific snapper, crudos, and upscale tacos such as blue crab with spinach; and salads such as red beet carpaccio with arugula, goat cheese, avocado, and pumpkin seeds.

Yo-Chi
Aussie fro-yo chain known for self-serve bowls, bountiful topping bars, and lively vibe has made its U.S. debut in Dallas near Inwood Village, at 5710 Lovers Ln. #101, to be followed by a second location at NorthPark Center. Yay us. Founded in Melbourne in 2012, Yo-Chi first expanded outside Australia in 2025 with a location in Singapore, followed by London. They tout their use of "fresh milk" in their yogurt, with flavors such as vanilla, salted butterscotch, tart, acai, coconut, matcha, and cinnamon banana. Plus 40-plus toppings arranged in a communal, self-serve station, including mini mochi, pistachio spread, cookie dough, sauces, brownies, fruit, and more. In its Down Under home turf, Yo-Chi locations are said to have a club ambience, with people going there on dates and bouncers at the door on weekends.

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