New on Resy: Carbone, Sassetta Main St, Sfuzzi, and More

If anyone’s brought old-school red-sauce Italian cooking into modern times, it’s the team behind New York’s Major Food Group, and you’ll definitely want a seat at the eagerly awaited Design District outpost of their flagship Carbone. One-word Pro tip: meatballs.

Now here’s a tasty comeback story: The well-loved Italian classic Sassetta closed in the Design District during the pandemic (flashy new Carbone took over the site), but now it’s back, bringing its littleneck clam pizza, black pepper bucatini, and more to the Joule Hotel downtown, and Dallas is delighted.

You can’t keep a great Italian place down. Sfuzzi has had many lives, at one point growing to a 20-unit chain across the Dallas metro area, but the last version of the place closed in 2015. Now it’s back, and crushing it in East Dallas with its famous pizzas and its irresistible seafood-leaning menu of Italian classics.

There’s nothing like a first-class saloon and steakhouse, and Billy Can Can is as special as they come in that department. From a bowl of red and hot fried quail to an array of Texas-size steaks, chef Matt Ford knows how Dallas loves to eat. Pro tip: Definitely try a glass or three of some of the hard-to-find Texas wines on the list.

Expect a light, cool interior full of marble, wood, and soft colors at this bustling brasserie in downtown’s Renaissance Saint Elm Hotel — and a menu of no-nonsense French specialties (tuna niçoise, boeuf bourguignon) brightened with Asian accents.

Now here’s a serious tribute to upscale Mexican food: a 15,000-square-foot culinary paradise in the Design District, featuring multiple patios, original tilework and ceramics, a Tequila tasting table, and a cliché-free menu focused on Monterrey-style grilled meats.

CBD in this case stands for Central Business District — which is where you’ll find this versatile three-meals-a-day Texas brasserie (in the Joule Hotel), serving everything from pecan pie French toast in the a.m. to a 32-ounce rib eye at night. Pro tip: Go all out for dinner and order the crispy pig’s head carnitas, served family-style for the table — 24 hours notice required.

Its name might mean “breathless,” but all is calm and right as executive chef Kylil Henson (Flora Street Cafe, Oak) displays his impeccable Italian accent at this laid-back West Village trattoria, where the pastas are homemade and trout saltimbocca is a signature dish.

Next door to the eagerly anticipated Dallas outpost of New York’s celebrated Carbone, this high-style wine bar and restaurant is as special as they come — with a thousand-bottle wine list, 30 wines by the quartino (a third of a bottle), a deftly focused pizza, pasta, and steak menu, alongside a gelato cart to end things on a sweet note.

The team behind the Carbone restaurants that are now dazzling Dallas isn’t just about Italian. Their sparkling Sadelle’s in Highland Park Village is a New York deli — but hardly your typical one, which is why it stands out. Smoked salmon and sturgeon and deli sandwiches? Sure. But breakfast tacos, caviar, and Asian skirt steak, too.

Mooyah Burgers founder Rich Hicks’ industrial-chic pizzeria-plus is creating a buzz in the lively Design District restaurant scene for its naturally fermented pizza crust, its 35 or so beers on tap, and its knockout brunch menu — complete with breakfast pizzas.

The first offshoot of the original Design District Pie Tap brings the restaurant’s famous pizzas (that crust!) to East Dallas. You’ll want everything on the menu — not only the justly acclaimed pies (the signature has prosciutto, dates, and pistachios) but the snacks, pastas, sandwiches, and roasted farm chicken with lemon-chardonnay sauce.

Bring a hungry crowd to this brick-walled Addison outpost of the acclaimed Pie Tap mini-chain of artisanal pizzerias. The menu is packed with things you’ll want to try, from wings to carbonara to a roast half-chicken, not to mention the landmark pizzas made with naturally fermented dough — and a few dozen beers on tap.