The Resy Hit List: Where In Dallas You’ll Want to Eat Right Now

Gemma recently celebrated its 10th birthday with a smart new interior and menu refresh aimed at matching the growth of the neighborhood. It somehow feels even more “classic” now in its new French bistro era, with dishes like veal sweetbreads, trout almondine, and herby fries that come alongside many dishes: moule, poulet, steak, duck, and on Thursdays, shrimp with sauce américaine. The wine list is also a little more worldly. Owners Stephen Rogers and Allison Yoder have worked in the business long enough to know not to change crowd favorites, though. The complimentary fig scones, fried Castelvetrano olives with warm Texas pecans, and yes, rabbit pappardelle can be counted on to be as toothsome as we remember.

As Dallas is currently being flooded with celebrity-endorsed sushi concepts, you might turn to the ‘burbs for less flashy — but stellar — omakase. While everything might taste better with uni, caviar, and truffle shavings, those ingredients are used sparingly at Leo Kekoa’s first restaurant, to subtly embellish seasonal fish from Tokyo’s Toyusu market. Trained by his grandfather in Hawaii before working in restaurants in South Korea and at Nobu Dallas, Kekoa still delivers on showmanship and presentation. But more impressive than the literal smoke and mirrors of other spots is how Kekoa engages the six guests during his his intentionally smaller, intimate omakase service.

With regular appearances on Food Network, PBS Food, and “Top Chef,” Tiffany Derry is Dallas’s most famous TV chef. Her rise to celebrity was propelled by duck-fat fried chicken, served with drop biscuits and pepper jelly at Roots, the second restaurant she dreamed up with business partner Tom Foley. Dining on jerk swordfish and baby turnip greens with potlikker in a fine-ish dining environment is a particular pleasure. And this is the only place in the world where you can order Derry’s mother’s gumbo, a dish she is so passionate about getting right that she takes her sous chefs to Beaumont so they can experience Mama Cookie’s cooking for themselves.

Call 214-346-4441 for more info.

We can’t overstate how fond we are of this new spot from Jennie Kelly, previous leader of the supper club Frank, and Brandon Moore, former executive chef at Ocean Prime. They joined forces (and in matrimony) with pop-ups during the pandemic, and now their first brick-and-mortar is replete with meatballs, deep-dish pizzas, and sandwiches on housemade sourdough — all of which are sublimely capped off by the natural-leaning wine list. Kelly and Moore have recently sweetened the pot even more with Fond A.D. (after dark), a six-course tasting menu with wine pairings inspired by their travels. Key pro tip: Bag a bottle from the mini bottle shop when in for lunch or aperitivo hour. All are 25% off with a food purchase.

Oysters, chilled crudo, fish and chips, and lobster rolls are hard to turn down, especially in a classy-casual setting, even more so when Greg and Nik Katz are involved. Dishing up fare from the brothers’ beachside upbringing in Cape Town, South Africa, Green Point is the Katz brothers’ third Oak Lawn restaurant after Beverley’s Bistro & Bar and Clifton Club. After a brief dinner-only opening period, Green Point is now fully open for lunch and dinner every day of the week, a perfect solution to fill Dallas’ seafood dearth — with on-point cocktails like the Flock of Seagulls, with vodka and grapefruit soda, and the mezcal-based Guava Mama.

For soul food served cafeteria-style, with gravy-smothered pork chops and slices of meat loaf that are bigger — and almost as valuable — as a gold bar, there’s no place like Sweet Georgia Brown, opened around 30 years ago in South Dallas. The restaurant serving turkey wings, hot links, beef tips, and a litany of vegetables has always fallen under IYKYK (If you know, you know) status, but what is even less known is owner Walt Williams’ story: After playing in the NFL in the ’70s and ’80s, and losing an estimated $480 million in a real estate development company, Williams took up hope by going back to one of his original loves: cooking.

Find more info here.

Pitmaster Zain Shafi is proving words like “Pakistani,” “halal,” and “Texas barbecue” were meant to go together. With experience working at Goldee’s (Texas’ No. 1 barbecue joint, as it were), Shafi applies his skill set to seekh kebab sausages, Sichuan lamb ribs, and perfectly textured halal brisket. Rather than goopy potato salad and overdone mac, sides like seasonal fruit chaat and kachumber, a cucumber-tomato-onion salad from India, will make you wonder if barbecue wasn’t actually born for this moment. Shafi calls his daal chawal, or lentils and rice, the ultimate Pakistani comfort food. But it’s all pretty miraculous. Find the cobalt blue food truck next to Shafi’s smoker on Saturdays at South Main Micro Park (corner of South Main and Vickery Boulevard) from 11 a.m to sell-out.

Find more info here.

If sipping a round of hibiscus mezcal margs in the light of a cozy fireplace sounds like an acceptable way to begin an evening, this Design District dazzler has your number. Inspired by Mexico City and built by Duro Hospitality (also known for putting on the ritz at Mister Charles, The Charles, and Sister, El Carlos continues a penchant for elegance with an in-house masa program, which translates to mushroom tetelas and duck confit tlacoyos. Mains are cooked on a wood-fired grill, including wagyu New York strips and Berkshire pork al pastor. And there’s the Elegante Experience, one of the city’s more affordable tasting menus, six family-style courses for $99 per person.

Not much changes at Lucia, Dallas’s longest-running, hardest-to-snag reservation — and that’s a good thing. The bite-sized flavor bombs known as foie gras-stuffed prunes are always available, as is chef David Uyger’s salumi, though selections like spicy soppressata, mortadella with pistachio, and rabbit pâté will vary. Jennifer Uyger’s wine list can be counted on to reflect food-friendly sensibilities, and pastry chef Maggie Huff’s desserts are infallibly jaw-dropping. These are the reasons you’ll want to be on Resy 30 days before your desired dinner date at 9 a.m., when reservations open. Or benefit from one of the few good things brought by 2020 — and grab tickets for Lucia’s family-style dinners, $100 for four people, available for pickup on weekends.

Legends never die if Elias Pope is involved. After growing up in Heath and taking his wife to Culpepper Steakhouse for prom dinner 25 years ago, Pope couldn’t bear to see his childhood steakhouse close. So for the first time, UNCO (creators of HG Sply Co. and Standard Service, among others) restored a concept rather than developing a new one. Not much has changed at the “new” Culpepper Cattle Company, aside from Tex-Mex dishes, more Tequila, and a refreshed paint job. Old-timers can still order a Rockwall Riviera (a very strong hurricane) at one of four bars, including the “Beatle Bar,” said to have originated from a Beatles’ hangout in Liverpool. The East Texas provisions — including USDA prime steaks and chicken-fried lobster — are all blue-ribbon excellent.

Located in the Cultural District, right across the street from some of the finest museums in the country, Emilia’s at The Crescent Hotel currently houses one of the most happening bars in Fort Worth. Named for the first colony of artists to transform Texas art in the 1940s, the Circle Bar is a fine place to hydrate before heading into Emilia’s high-toned dining room for raw bar selections, wood-grilled steaks, and fresh pastas prepared with Texas grains. Executive chef Preston Paine’s affinity for Adriatic cuisine was bolstered by his time as a finalist on Food Network’s “Ciao House,” and at Emilia’s, he’s combining it with his love of Texas.

Stephan Courseau’s third restaurant after Knox Bistro and Le Bilboquet, which he brought to Dallas in 2011 after beginning his hospitality career at the original New York restaurant. Courseau has become one of Dallas’s most reputed restaurateurs, and Georgie maintains the casual sophistication associated with his concepts. With new executive chef, R.J. Yoakum, a Thomas Keller alum, it’s possibly getting more buzz now than when it opened in 2019. Brunch is the latest thing to be updated by Yoakum, and now includes one of the best examples of a French omelet to be found in Dallas, along with smoked trout Benedict and vegan enchiladas rancheros.

This neighborhood bakery by husband-and-wife team Maria Beccera and Ismael Trejo is bringing new life to the Casa View Shopping Center. Becerra previously worked as a baker at several fine-dining restaurants, including the late Bullion. When the pandemic canceled the couple’s hospitality jobs, they began working towards Lubella’s, named for their daughters, which opened in 2022. The heavily layered croissants and danishes sold alongside single-serving cakes and quiches draw a crowd, along with Becerra’s puffy conchas, and seasonal pan de muerto and Rosca de Reyes. If you’ve already been in for a morning pastry run, remember it for lunch, when croissants are sliced into five different types of savory sandwiches.

Reservations aren’t required at Brandon and Henry Cohanim’s new cocktail bar in West Village, next to Namo, but sitting down to a “reserved” table at one of the velvet butterscotch banquettes is a surefire way to impress your date. No boring, throwaway garnishes will be found on the drinks here. Instead, the Cohanim brothers opted for ice and artisan-made, imported glasses as the eye candy. The drinks scientist hired to concoct elixirs like the Eau de Ranch —  with coconut-washed Tequila — and the Muffin Man with miso butter and Calvados, is Ruben Rolon, who previously led the bars of two top restaurants in Miami. Chi-chi snacks include steak tartare, and waffles and caviar, but you can also fill up with dry-aged duck breast and steak au poivre.

There are a few ways to experience the output at Zavala’s Barbecue, one of Texas’ finest barbecue joints. Zavala’s spice rubs are now in many grocery stores (Central Market and Texas Walmarts), and their ‘cue is also sold in Section 121 at Dallas Mavericks’ and Dallas Stars’ home games. But when you’re not at those places and still want a solid plate of spicy South Texas barbecue, head to Brisket Lane in Grand Prairie. Here is the only place you’ll find cheesy jalapeño hominy, sloppy Juans on tortillas, and picante pizza pepper sausage links. They’ve also recently added an uncommonly sweet deal, especially with the increase in meat prices: A two-meat, two-side plate with a can of Coke for $25.

Find more info here.

2022 was the year Mexican restaurants joined steakhouses and French restaurants in the Dallas-Fort Worth fine dining leagues. The most nationally heralded example is Don Artemio, led by Juan Ramón Cárdenas of “Taco Chronicle” fame and his son, Rodrigo Cárdenas. Along with partner Adrian Burciaga, the team showcases the roasted cabrito of their homeland in Saltillo. Indeed, nearly everything in the restaurant radiates Mexican artisanship, with talavera plates from Puebla, corn for in-house nixtamalized tortillas from Tlaxcala, terra cotta bricks and planters from Saltillo, and wines from Coahuila’s Casa Madero, putatively the oldest winery in the Western Hemipshere. Pro tip: Don’t miss lunch, with tacos filled with housemade chorizo and panela, and of course that cabrito.

At one point in Dallas history, private club memberships were key to nightlife. One such establishment was Columbian Country Club, which endured for nearly 120 years after being founded for Dallas’s Jewish community in 1881. The old world pomp and Parmesan bagels of the club’s glory days have returned, on the border of downtown and Deep Ellum. Brian Rutt, Justin Kallhoff, and Jonathan Rosenberg, owners of nearby Alice, have created a new Club — a wood-paneled lounge where martinis, high-end Tequilas, and Nonnie’s turkey pastrami-on-rye “doozies” are enjoyed to the tune of a live piano player, jazz-ish bands, and DJs. (And did we mention the light-up dance floor?) Needless to say, reservations are essential on weekends.

Of all the well-seasoned shish kababs, shish tawook, and shawarma to choose from at Open Sesame, you will also want to try falafel’s stouter Levantine cousin: kibbi. Owner Mohammed Kamal’s sister, who oversees the kitchen with her husband, prepares hers with ground beef and cracked wheat, and guests return saying her version reminds them of their mother’s. The six-year-old storefront offers family-pleasing takeout, but the best experience comes with dine-in, when you can choose from ten bottles of Lebanese wine, enjoy halal lamb fresh off the grill, and polish off the knafeh while it’s hot. A second, fast-casual location is slated to open later this year in Richardson.

Call 469-726-2825 for reservations.

Laid-back, high-grade comfort food and drinks await inside this nondescript storefront with a jewel-box dining room and heated patio. McRae’s comes from Mike McRae, owner of multiple local concepts, including Stan’s Blue Note, Dallas’ oldest continuously-running bar. McRae knows how to run a successful restaurant and here, diners will be cozy and well-treated tucking into cocktails, Reuben fries, muffulettas, and bone-in pork chops; or for brunch, the Bloody Mary bar, croque madames, and eggs in purgatory.

Noodle fanatics — and who isn’t one?! — will be bowled over by Highland’s springy, hand-pulled wheat noodles from China’s Lanzhou region. The noodles are cut to your thickness preference, easily indicated when placing the order on your phone, and come dry in stir-fries, or in soups with meatballs, pork ribs, or slices of spiced beef. The signature choice, however, at Chelsea Zhang’s first Texas restaurant, is in the beef noodle soup, with slow-cooked beef cubes, cilantro, scallions, and leeks. Zhang brought the noodles of her birthplace to Texas after realizing the Bay Area was saturated, and she has plans to spread the love to Austin and Houston soon.

Find more info here.