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

A profusion of Italian food-lovers in the Lone Star state and the promise of less red tape are the lures that propelled the Gambaccini family to leave their beloved North Beach restaurant after a 16-year run. Now that they’ve bought their first home after moving in 2022 (and also secured a liquor license for one-tenth of what it’d cost back in Cali) Walter, Stefania, and their two sons are loving our state. In turn, Frisco residents and thin-crust pizza nomads are likewise appreciative of the move that brought homestyle Tuscan fare to the ‘burbs. Crisp-thin Lucchese-style pizzas, made by the Gambaccinis’ son, Filippo, are a must-order. To lay it on even thicker, Stefania is in charge of the fresh pastas and sauces, which is why it’s closed for lunch, and why dinners here feel a little celebratory.

Travis Street Hospitality, incubator of headliners like Georgie and Knox Bistro, has created immaculate vibes here that channel a luxe Orient Express milieu, but overlooking the Katy Trail. The appeal extends to the cooking, too: crab-stuffed Dover sole with lemongrass butter and halibut in ginger beurre blanc are a result of French tactics from one of Dallas’s most consequential chefs, Bruno Davaillon. Chef Hou Lam “Dicky” Fung’s Peking duck is also mandatory, as are the cocktails by bartenders Mario Martinez and George Kaiho (owner of erstwhile Jettison). It will be a challenge, but save space for one (or four) of pastry chef Dyan Ng’s exquisite desserts that often combine savory ingredients to enchanting effect.

This Snider Plaza sweetheart by the group that brought us TJ’s Seafood Market and Escondido is still on the up-and-up. As Ramble Room’s second birthday approaches, founders Jon and Matt Alexis have added some new charmers to the menu, including a Reuben with house-smoked pastrami and a buttery lobster roll on brioche from local La Spiga Bakery. Given the sourcing by one of the city’s best seafood purveyors (TJ’s, that is), you can be sure the oysters are fresh, whether you opt for raw on the half-shell with blood orange mignonette or charbroiled, cacio e pepe-style. When accessorized with a Rancharita or something from the martini bar, lunch or dinner here is an obvious wise choice, but don’t forget brunch, when there’s apple pie French toast, monkey bread, and mimosa carafes for $19.

Once again, the Katz brothers have furnished an overlooked neighborhood with an extraordinary restaurant. After establishing Beverley’s Bistro & Bar and Clifton Club as worthwhile reasons to head to Fitzhugh Avenue, followed by an all-day seafood brasserie on Knox Street, Greg and Nik Katz have hit it out of the park with their Preston Hollow hangout, opened in December. The daily dinner menu is bulging with comforts: deviled eggs, chicken drums, hot bean dip, and Texas red chili (no beans). Major merits also lie in selections from the grill, where the brothers’ South African roots surface in the form of barbecue pork ribs, tenderloins with black-garlic butter, and Bay of Fundy salmon filets.

Dallas is a city that almost has it all — everything except an abundance of natural wine bars. That’s what makes Olivia Genthe’s first take, situated on Bishop Arts’ boutique-y Eighth Street, more than a little special. After she was blocked by a neighborhood union from pouring limited-production wines at her Fount Board & Table cafe in Uptown, Genthe took her vision to a different ‘hood, one that doesn’t mind having a couple of glasses for a weekday wind-down or a seal-the-deal date night. Unsure what glera, catarratto, grillo, valdiguie, or hondarrabi zuri grapes taste like? This is the place to investigate, with cheese plates, snails, Foxley River oysters, and Oak Cliff Bread’s sourdough available to aid with study snacks.

At only one place in the world does berbere reign next to brisket at a Michelin-recognized barbecue joint. The Arlington-grown sensation known as Tex-Ethiopian fare materialized when Fasicka Hicks started applying awaze, a berbere-based Ethiopian condiment, to her husband Patrick’s smoked brisket, pulled lamb, and pork ribs. You don’t have to mix the two cuisines here: Doro wat and tibs with injera always delight, whether you choose some of the world’s best beefy collard greens or loaded barbecue fries to side them or not. The spice doesn’t stop at meats, though, with items like berbere sweet potato pie, Texas sheet cake with berbere pecans, and berbere Bloody Marys.

Since they were unveiled this summer, chef Travis Wyatt’s fish sauce-glazed donuts with Kaluga caviar and gold flake sprinkles have dominated news feeds and our dreams. They’re one reason to reserve a table for Saturday brunch in the sky at Forty Five Ten. Maybe add wagyu short rib and eggs or pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon butter, or opt for the Afternoon Tea service with three courses including foie gras macarons and caviar tartlets. For weekday indulgences, lunch on the loveliest radicchio, Castelfranco, in brown butter vinaigrette, or a fancy-but-solid burger with gribiche. We’re also impressed with roasted pumpkin pavlova, involving an unusual base of buttermilk ice cream that made us question why the two desserts aren’t combined more often.

When two software engineers from northern Iraq decide to leave their jobs to open a Mediterranean restaurant, it’s guaranteed to be drive-worthy. At Chra Ismael and Zandi Salih’s first restaurant, opened in the summer of 2023, diners can stick to Mediterranean usuals: kabobs, lamb chops, falafel, and such. Ismael also toils over rarer, more regional delicacies, such the national dish of Palestine, makluba, a meaty pilaf, served upside-down with eggplant, potatoes, and peppers. Quzi, an Iraqi lamb shank with almond- and raisin-studded rice, is another marvel. But the most exceptional showstoppers could be Ismael’s Kurdish dishes designed for celebrations, like the phyllo-baked rice dish, called parda plau, or the huge pots of rice-stuffed vegetables, known as dolma.

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Who would’ve thought Cowtown, an old meatpacking district, would be the birthplace of a long-lasting vegan diner? Now in its 24th year, Amy McNutt’s Spiral Diner abides with plant-based comfort food, like chili mac, nachos, cheesesteaks, and burritos served up on grandma plates. A lengthy, 35-item gluten-free menu also impresses, along with hand-spun I-Scream shakes and sundaes. After a short hiatus, the bakery known for tall, double-decker cakes is back to taking pre-orders. It can even pull off vegan and gluten-free chocolate and vanilla cake. We’re not saying it’s all healthy, but it sure hits the spot when classic diner fare is calling.

Tweaking recipes from his great-grandfather who had falafel stands in Palestine and their native Jordan, Elias Shiber makes a dang good version at this Fort Worth spot. He’s fine-tuned recipes from the Greek side of his family too: Beefy dolmades on lemony avgolemono, sambousek (the Greek version of empanadas stuffed with spiced feta), and a crowd-pleasing gyro plate. The menu here also goes beyond the traditional to satisfy modern-day cravings. Shiber taps into Texans’ love for guacamole with avocado hummus, and his savviness for discerning what’s “in” comes out in hot honey hummus.

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There’s been a changing of the guard at this caviar-centric, low-lit steakhouse in the Design District. Chef David Gomez took over the kitchen last year, following 15 years of chopping his way up the ranks at some of Dallas’s finest restaurants: CBD Provisions, Sassetta – Main St, Mirador, and Monarch. While premium cuts from Allen Brothers and Westholme Australian Wagyu are constants here, Gomez has refreshed the menu with some springtime exclusives such as rabbit tagliatelle, halibut with pistachio pesto, and baby beets on horseradish labneh. Luxe bites also exist in starters like scallop and foie gras with caviar and beurre blanc, along with selections from co-owner (and wine broker) Simon Roberts’ wine list. 

For those who remember glorious dinners in the pre-2020 era of the French Room, the next best thing is dinner in the French Room Bar. Now, as The French Room focuses on exceptional tea service, the adjoining bar in the Adolphus Hotel has a tiny-but-mighty menu of French classics including coq au vin, steak frites, and profiteroles. The confit lamb shank is one of the largest (and tastiest) bone-in hunks of meat in the area, and we can so far vouch for the French onion soup here as one of the finest in the Big D.

Shady patios, tortilla chips hot-from-the-fryer, and margaritas shaken with superlative Tequilas are designed for springtime sprees. Few places do it as well as chef Omar Flores at his spot in the well-to-do Plaza at Preston Center. Further indications of excellence are found in mojo-marinated octopus fajitas, the super-creamy jazzed-up flan, and dreamy brunches with pan dulce French toast and choripapa-egg tacos. It’s so well-loved that Southlake Town Square got their own edition in 2021. What does it have that the Dallas location does not? Happy hour! — with discounted snacks, mezcal margaritas, and Mexican martinis from 2-6 p.m. daily.

When cacio e pepe and spicy penne alla vodka have clocked all the miles your appetite can handle, might we suggest James Beard-nominated chef Jimmy Li’s scallion oil noodles, a hearty bowl of wheat noodles boosted by chile oil? The dish isn’t the headliner of the dim sum strongbox that originated in Las Vegas and opened up in Plano last year, but it’s sure to satisfy cravings for carbs. Quite the opposite of simplicity are the xiao long bao trophies that turned heads when the shop originally opened in 2019. Heed the warning signs that the dumplings are served piping hot. If unpracticed in the art of consuming soup dumplings, ask a server for a tutorial on how to best savor the hot pork broth and meatballs enclosed in each pocket — evidently, you’re not supposed to pop the whole thing in your mouth at once.

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One of our favorite places to get into soup szn is the new-ish Mr. Max, opened last summer in Richardson. It’s a spinoff of the extremely busy Irving izakaya, founded in 1996 by Hare Nakamura. Mon Restaurant group saved the restaurant after Nakamura’s death in 2013, and today, chef Mamoru Tokeshi oversees both locations. The most pertinent info, though, is that getting a table is far easier in Richardson, added to the fact that the semi-famous takoyaki are as impeccable as those served in Irving. Sashimi, pickles, Nagoya-style fried chicken, and monkfish liver are also exceptional entries into a bowl of ramen or udon. We also don’t mind the house pork curry, or the grilled yellowtail collar, or to end it all, the simply satisfying custard pudding.

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When a certain Portland-based doughnut chain came to town in 2023, how could they have known that Dallas already had a gourmet shop for which Homer Simpson-like connoisseurs would wait in line? Be patient for that magical, doughnut-to-mouth moment. Rowlett pastry chef Amy LaRue is serious when it comes to crafting her fluffy creations, in flavors like cookies-and-milk with Biscoff cookie mousse, Earl Grey with Rishi Tea-sourced ganache, and butterscotch with toffee crumbles we’d almost sell our soul for. Crullers, cookies, kolaches, and croissants also make getting out of bed a little easier each day.

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