The Resy Hit List: Where In Dallas You’ll Want to Eat in Nov. 2024
There’s no question we hear more often: Where should I go eat? And while we at Resy know it’s an honor to be the friend who everyone asks for restaurant advice, we also know it’s a complicated task. That’s where the Resy Hit List comes in.
We’ve designed it to be your essential resource for dining in Dallas and Fort Worth: a monthly-updated (and expanded!) guide to the restaurants that you won’t want to miss — tonight or any night.
Four Things In Dallas-Fort Worth Not to Miss This Month
- Tea Time: Returning for the 43rd year is The Adolphus’ holiday tea in the gilded French Room, an ideal setting for tea sandwiches, scones, and an optional bump of Petrossian caviar. Since you’ll be dressed up, maybe take some pics in the lobby next to the city’s largest live Christmas tree. Reservations will go fast for the $80 three-course treat, so you should book now, and check all the latest arrivals to Resy’s Events page.
- Party Packs for Game Days: Whether you’re bringing it home to the couch or gathering with friends on one of Henderson Avenue’s dopest patios, the $85 party pack sold at The Porch is designed for snack lovers. Munchies include spinach Parmesan dip, pimento cheese with country ham, sliders, wings, and more.
- New Pastures: A French-y Asian menu and a Turkish spot with a bakery and weekend brunch await to be explored. The stunning Le PasSage on the Katy Trail and fresh Chefika in Preston Hollow Village are the reservations to book for those into new restaurant bragging rights. Find other new openings on Resy here.
- Leave It to the Chefs (And Bartenders): Travis Street Hospitality is taking reservations for Thanksgiving Day feasts. Create your dream plate from three-course prix fixe menus at Georgie, Knox Bistro, and Le Bilboquet Also, to celebrate their first Friendsgiving in new digs, Columbian Country Club will pass around pumpkin cinnamon rolls, mashed potatoes and gravy, and other similar bites to go with cocktails every Wednesday night this month.
New to the Hit List (Nov. 2024)
Fond, LaLa’s Taqueria, Via Triozzi, Xaman Cafe.
1. Fond Downtown
After running Dallas’s most desirable underground supper club for seven years, Jennie Kelley has transferred her themed tasting menus over to Fond, which she opened with her husband, Brandon Moore, last year. Now, eight-course dinners with optional wine pairings happen once a month, and it’s a hot ticket. (Check Resy for spots, or for earlier dibs, get on their mailing list.) To experience the husband-and-wife’s solid cooking without a time commitment, get in for lunch or aperitivo hour and browse the fall and winter menu with a short rib Frito pie and pistachio-topped pork schnitzel — and don’t forget your Santander Tower parking ticket for validation.
2. Don Artemio – Fort Worth Fort Worth
Deep in the land of nachos and orange queso, this elegant restaurant from northern Mexico turned heads when it opened in Fort Worth’s booming Cultural District in 2022. From monthly Mexican wine dinners to blue corn tortillas nixtamalized from Tlaxcalan corn, Don Artemio is the “real” Mexican restaurant North Texas didn’t quite yet have until creator Juan Ramon Cárdenas and his son, chef Rodrigo Cárdenas, joined up with local hospitality guru Adrian Burciaga. Don’t skip an order of nopalitos fritos, or the weekday lunches sure to send you to taco heaven, or the crepa de barbacoa during long Saturday feasts.
3. Petra and the Beast Lakewood
If there’s anyone capable of switching up Sunday brunch status quo, it’s charcuterie queen Misti Norris. A selection of her house-cured meats is one way to kick off a mid-day meal before delving into fried chicken thighs with smoked shallot gravy, or savory gnocchi French toast with scoops of fluffy whipped ricotta and ribbons of smoked ham. Her dinner menu is equally intriguing: standbys include housemade pastas, farm-fresh salads, and seductive tea-braised pig tails. For a complete tumble down Norris’s rabbit hole of imaginative, earthy cooking, book her six-course tasting menu with wine pairings on a Friday or Saturday night. It’s a dreamy, through the looking-glass experience, told by one of Dallas’s best chefs.
4. Partenope Dallas Downtown Dallas
No one who lives in North Texas needed 50 Top Pizza to know that chef Dino Santonicola’s Neapolitan pizzas are among the best in the world. A little recognition never hurt anybody, though, and for the past two years, the organization’s pizza inspectors have inched Partneope up their list. Watch for the official ranking to be announced September 10 in Santonicola’s hometown of Naples. He’ll travel home for the awards ceremony and meet up with his brother (who also has a top 12 contender, Ribalta, in New York). To celebrate the big announcement here, the salsicca e friareielli pizza and the calzone Napoletano, two favorites of 50 Top Pizza, will be $12 all day at both locations.
5. Goodwin’s Lower Greenville
Some explanation for the planning required to snag a booth at Goodwin’s is that Dallas is in love with new restaurants, and the fact the Lower Greenville neighborhood likes to get out. But we’ll accept the challenge to nab a Resy on any night of the week. From three friends with decades of restaurant experience, Goodwin’s is where you can sink into a hefty, bistro-quality burger and a margarita; a bowl of crab al’ amatriciana with a bottle of Montepulciano; or mushroom-potato pierogis and a Shiner. The garlic-rosemary smashed Yukons that come with the dry-aged Duroc pork chop would have us happy just ordering from the Potatoes section next time, too. Pro tip: Star Crunch cake.
6. Namo West Village
For the first time since its inception six years ago, Namo has extended its monthly omakase dinners into a nightly affair. “Namokase” comes in two forms: A nigiri-only ride for $135 or a full parade with sashimi and small courses for $195. For those who can’t wait until the sun sets for chef Kazuhito Mabuchi’s selection of edomae-style treated fish, the $75 lunch omakase remains a daylight treat. You’ll also want to try one of bar director Rubén Rolón’s new, science-y, peach-influenced cocktails, and don’t neglect sealing a meal with caviar-topped Hokkaido soft-serve. Did we mention there’s a covered patio now?
7. Fortune House – Greenville Ave Lower Greenville
The closest thing to Chinatown-quality delicacies in Dallas can be found in a spiffy restaurant and bar on Lower Greenville Avenue. After branching out from its first warmly regarded Irving location, the second Fortune House serves covetable soup dumplings, pork buns, and scallion pancakes in style. The elaborate menu includes a range of American Chinese favorites — sesame chicken, crab rangoon, General Tso’s chicken — but also goes hard on dishes unique to Shanghai, like stir-fried rice cakes, scallion noodles with poached shrimp, and soup with pork- and shepherd’s purse-filled wontons. Considering options like tea service, sparkling lychee lemonade, and five-liquored Hainan Island Iced Tea, you’ll want to arrive thirsty, too.
8. La Bodega Rotisserie + Goods Bishop Arts
If there’s a season when La Bodega chef-owner Skye McDaniel is particularly on fire, it’s summer. Her organic rotisserie chickens from Pennsylvania Dutch country are a perennial no-fail favorite. But now is the season when she’ll begin incorporating summer melons, peaches, and her personal passion project — tomatoes — into salads, sandwiches, and other specials. Bulgarian froyo with pomegranate molasses or fresh fruit preserves is another no-brainer, nor is picking up a party pack, a pile of conserva-style tinned fish, and a few bottles of sophisticated wine and beer selections for the next gathering.
Find more info here.
9. Goldie’s Lake Highlands
This American restaurant packs a lot into its little Lake Highlands space. Boasting a small, elegant bar and ruby-red seats for no more than 66 people, the classy-casual atmosphere is ideal for date nights and catching up with old friends. There’s naturally real Champagne by the glass (for $20), but we really recommend going with a bottle because it’s fabulous with rotating cheeses and honeycomb, or the impressive 20 Feet Fries that attempt to emulate another beloved neighborhood joint of yore. Indulgence continues throughout the menu with tricked up butters — on moules frites, the Prime New York strip, and even the exquisite broccoli. And we’ve learned that when a place only has one dessert option, like the banana split here, it’s an accurate sign to order, because it’s going to be impressive.
10. Via Triozzi Lower Greenville
When the high in the weather app drops below scorching, it’s time to tuck into sweaters … and Italian grub. To prep for the season, chef-owner Leigh Hutchinson has added some new show stealers at her Lower Greenville Avenue standout. Take for instance the prosciutto di San Daniele with thin-sliced pears and fig mostarda, or the hat-shaped cappelletti, stuffed with house sausage and propped up on a pool of garlic-fennel broth. Of course, there’s always the lasagne al forno, so thick and perfect it looks photoshopped, even in real life. Round it off with any of the Super Tuscans, Barbarescos, or Brunello di Montalcinos available for fall drinking pleasures.
11. Far East Pizza Co. Allen
Butter chicken pizza? You better believe it. After going from hot to passé, fusion cuisine is making a comeback as “a natural extension of reality,” as The San Francisco Chronicle termed it. Here’s a perfect example of a cuisine that never went away in a place like Texas, the nation’s second most diverse state. Chef Nidhi Mittal and her husband, Lokesh, serve Indian-spiced meatballs, butter paneer pizzas on naan and housemade flatbreads, and chicken seekh meatball sandwiches at their first restaurant, in partnership with vegan chef Troy Gardner. It comes after four years as a deli-turned-ghost kitchen, making it an American success story in restaurant form — our favorite kind.
No reservations. More info here.
12. Kinzo Frisco
To chef Leo Kekoa, it’s the little things that count. The principle translates to handmade pastry brushes for mopping nigiri with sauces and custom-made sushi knives from Taito City, Japan. As always, seasonal fish is sourced from Tokyo’s famous Toyusu Market. For omakase dinners this fall, held at 5:45 and 8:15, you’ll likely get a taste of shima suzuki (striped sea bass), otoro (fatty tuna), and river-caught sakura masu (cherry trout). A la carte is always an option for quicker service. However you choose to go about it, you’ll want to investigate the upgraded Koshihikari rice after Kekoa was invited into a small circle of buyers earlier this year. The short grain rice is so superb and rare that Kekoa switched up his vinegar recipe to feature its natural sweetness.
13. LaLa’s Taqueria Prosper
Five months after selling his Tender Smokehouse empire, international barbecue consultant and lifelong pitmaster Dante Ramirez opened a taqueria in Prosper, north of Frisco, in September. With his wife and kids on the project, the El Paso-born chef is bringing the sprouting suburb a taste of Mexico’s street tacos. Try the LaLa’s-style, modeled after examples Ramirez found in Los Angeles, with a crispy crust of cheese encircling hand-pressed blue corn tortillas, filled with asada, chorizo, or al pastor, and topped with queso fresco and guacamole. Pro tip: Ask for the secret menu. (Hint: It involves tortas.)
Find more info here.
14. Georgie Highland Park
When it seems like the innovative cooking at Georgie couldn’t possibly get better, it somehow does. Perhaps it’s due to competitiveness chef RJ Yoakum picked up from his basketball years, but constant improvement is a huge motivator, one that recently led to adding some new players to the kitchen team. Sous chef Reilly Brown comes from Press, in Napa Valley, where he helped it maintain a star from a certain tire company. And pastry chef Dyan Ng has worked at notable restaurants along the coasts, beginning with her first executive pastry role for Alain Ducasse in Las Vegas when she was 21-years-old. Together with Yoakum as point guard, they’re crafting one of the most desirable tasting menus in town.
15. Xaman Cafe Bishop Arts
We didn’t need Esquire’s Best Bars in America list to know that good things happen after 5 p.m. in the back of this dimly-lit Jefferson Boulevard coffee shop, where candles and smoldering copal set the mood. Discover an impressive collection of agave-based spirits that go beyond Tequila, like mezcal, sotol, and raicilla. Ask the informed bartenders to walk you through a flight, or try the Ayahuasca cocktail, which strikes a notable balance of sweet, cinnamon-y, and smoky notes. (Yeah, we’re curious about the name, too.) There’s food by chef Monica Lopez, too: light aguachiles, an ancestral seafood soup, and duck breast in pipian sauce.
16. Kyo Sushi and Omakase Old East Dallas
A truth we clearly appreciate is that is that Dallas has become a sushi town. This pop-up is one of the newest players to our ever expanding premium omakase scene. Housed in Anise at the Village’s Drey Hotel, it offers a $99 ten-course or a $130 fifteen-course omakase for dinner. Lunch service also courts Japanese food lovers with something Dallas doesn’t see much of — inari sushi, where vinegar-treated rice is tucked inside tofu pouches and topped with more fish and vegetables. The best way to secure one of just eight seats available? Snag a Resy without delay, of course.
17. Cake Bar West Dallas
Claiming to serve “cakes you grew up with” — if your parents happened to be exceptionally adroit at baking moist cakes — Tracy German-Burke moved her sweets shop from Trinity Groves to a bigger spot with more parking near the Medical District earlier this year. Her devout regulars will find all the treats from the former store: ke alls, banana pudding, cheesecakes, cookies, and pound cakes. But now that holiday season is nearly here, and Cake Bar serves all of its sixteen flavors by-the-slice, isn’t it time for a little cake? (Yes, the answer is yes.)
Find more info here.
18. Slow Bone Design District
When you go to Jeffrey Hobbs’ and Ratna Goenardi’s no-nonsense barbecue joint near the Design District, just get everything: the exemplary brisket, the peppery pork ribs, the Sunday and Monday special smoked pork chop, and the massive meat sandwiches on challah buns that go far beyond anything the Earl of Sandwich could’ve dreamed up. Craggy fried chicken brined in smoked water is a must-order, too, as are all of the sides, like horseradish potato salad, brussel flower au gratin, and sweet potato praline. If any guilt surfaces following an inevitable food coma, just reassure yourself with the restaurant’s motto: Barbecue Makes You Beautiful.
Find more info here.
19. Hadramout Restaurant Plano and Irving
If you can’t yet name off examples of Yemeni cuisine, it’s time for a firsthand taste of lamb mandi and chicken zorbian, rice dishes with low-and-slow cooked meats Texans should find familiar — and extremely delish. Hadramout’s locations in Plano and Irving are the type of restaurant where the disposable plastic tablecloths are necessary, and if you so wish, you can experience jalsa dining, aka floor seating, and dig into platters of spiced meats and rice with your hands. For those predisposed to Western traditions, tables and silverware are also available. The lamb is so tender, though, all you’ll need is a spoon.
20. Culpepper Cattle Co – Dallas Deep Ellum
What if we told you that puffy tacos and small batch-Tequila margaritas are on the menu at a classy-casual spot in Deep Ellum — with easy parking? And there’s a hip and spacious patio to drink those margaritas, along with bowls of queso and spinach dip, that will all be perfect once the weather turns? After realizing a second location of the historic Culpepper would be better than a tractor-themed steakhouse, Elias Pope of UNCO hospitality group opened one in the Continental Gin Building this April, making it easier to enjoy Tex-Mex-steakhouse fare without the drive to Rockwall. Mark this: Fajita Fridays have extended into Sizzlin’ Saturdays. That means fajitas and fixin’s are $10 during lunch from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
