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

Showcasing exceptional staying power in a high-turnover area, this all-day corner restaurant known for its breakfasts and chilled-out patio opened 15 years ago this November. The no-reservation policy for the in-demand weekend brunch remains, but if you prefer to have a table waiting, come Sunday night with a Resy when breakfast is served until 9 p.m. More good news: the ever-popular fried chicken and waffle is available every day of the week. And if you’re feeling the call to comfort food, now is prime time to check out new fall dinner updates, like Buffalo mac, steak frites, and mushroom gnocchi. Pro tip: On Thursday live jazz nights, bottles from the natural wine list are 50 percent off.

If the Jetsons ever dressed up and went out to dinner in 2025, they’d be at this newly-opened restaurant that comes from Jeff Payne and Jason Cross, the folks behind Cousin’s BBQ, right on the edge of Fort Worth’s luxury Montserrat neighborhood. Think midcentury modern elegance, in shades of olive green and gold, with a menu featuring mesquite wood-grilled Irodori wagyu steaks that hail from Creekstone Farms’ crossbreed of Japanese wagyu and Black Angus cattle. Seafood platters, lobster hushpuppies, and ceviche from the Gulf balance out the beef, while freezer vespers and Calvados martinis are on hand to slake cocktail enthusiasts.

You might’ve already seen the footage of beautiful models snacking on towers of zucchini chips and 16-layer chocolate cake at this 25-year-old Greek restaurant that arrived from New York to Dallas this September. The fascinatingly long slices of coconut pie and lobster pasta served in a carapace are other eye-catchers now served at the Crescent, but nothing in Dallas currently matches the appeal of the ice fish display, where servers speak at length on fish flown in from the Mediterranean for the day. Should you go with a fresh fish, you’ll also have to choose between having it baked in a sea salt crust or ordering it charcoal-grilled with a ladolemono (lemon-olive oil) sauce. It’s enough to mandate a few visits before deciding on your go-to lunch or celebratory dinner plate. 

Dallas’ newest spot to fuel up is at Australian-inspired Two Hands. Since its 2014 founding in New York, the café has grown to Nashville, Denver, Austin, and at last, Dallas. One draw setting it apart is founders Henry and Tara Roberts’s Hudson Valley farm, where Angus cattle, Romney lambs, and heritage pigs grow. The sourcing shows up in brekky muffulettas with shaved ham, “two hander” burgers, and (sure to go over well here) steak au poivre. The nightly $49 prix fixe dinner has the power to make weeknights special, and it’s also a recommended place for the parched, with smoothies, fresh juices, an espresso machine, and a bar.

Even restaurants need a summer vacation, especially those approaching their 15h birthday later this year. So, don’t fret if you’ve been following advice for scoring a seat at Dallas’s most consistently coveted reservation. (tl;dr reserve 30 days in advance, or set a Notify.) During the first two weeks of July, restaurant power couple David and Jennifer Uyger will soak up some R&R in France for their customary two-week summer vacation, as everyone else on the scene catches a break, too. July 16, it’s back to business, with chef David Uyger’s weekly-changing menu. Constants lean to fresh produce-focused Italian with house butchered and cured meats, Jennifer’s refreshingly unique wine list, and pastry chef Maggie Huff’s trailblazing, never-too-sweet desserts.   

Founded in 2013 when Stephan Courseau brought Le Bilboquet Dallas from New York to Texas, Travis Street Hospitality is still on a roll in 2025, with a new spot oozing with Bistrot Paul Bert vibes at the Plaza at Preston Center. As at Knox Bistro, culinary director Bruno Davaillon acknowledges the palates of his homeland. Here might be his Frenchie-est work yet, however, with fluffy gougères, leeks Dijonnaise, and a not-to-be-missed Provençale tomato tart. Breakfast starts September 4 with burnt cinnamon croissants, quiche Lorraine, and soft-boiled eggs with French ham and buttered soldiers. And as a reminder, wherever pastry chef Dyan Ng is in charge of desserts, order all of ‘em. 

There’s a new chef in town, and he’s actually a local. Following an executive chef post at Knox Bistro, back when it was called Up on Knox, in 2017, Wes Whitsell headed to the West Coast where he most notably led the kitchen at Hatchet Hall to a Michelin star in 2022. “Rolls and biscuits should not be missed,” the tire company wrote back then, and we concur, though we’d say the consummate cornbread at Georgie is equally worthy. Farm-fresh Texas produce, including okra and purple hull peas from Whitsell’s family farm in Princeton, and Texas-raised wagyu and venison seal the deal. It all translates to refined Southern cooking that begs a revisit to this Travis Street institution.

We cannot verify if this impressive dining hall, opened near Frisco’s Karya Siddhi Hanuman Temple in Dec. 2024, is truly the largest vegetarian restaurant in America, as it claims, but we can confirm the vast menu is a gateway to Indian fare bliss. Complimentary fryums pave the way to more tiffins, thalis, tea-time snacks, and paneer-based curries than can possibly be enjoyed on one visit. Making choices even harder are Hyderabadi-style jackfruit and mushroom biryanis, along with more than 20 types of dosas, including region-specific variations from Mysore and Bangalore, as well as chocolate or banana and Nutella-filled crepes. 

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As temps begin to drop and appetites for simple, well-made pastas inevitably rise, Julian Barsotti’s original Italian American restaurant has been the place for the latter since opening in 2012. There’s no corner-cutting with the red-sauce classics here, beginning with daily-made pasta, extruded through a bronze die like the old days in Italy. Added to that effort are housemade mozzarella and ricotta for dishes like spinach e formaggi lasagna, as well as house-ground sausage for hearty Sunday gravy and tortellini vodka. Perhaps it was those non-negotiables, or the all-Italian wine list that demands ordering a bottle, that impressed Michelin inspectors to recommend Barsotti’s last year. All we know for sure is that you should save room for the carrot cake. 

Like dynamite, Derrick and Kesha Walker’s tiny takeout joint packs a powerful blast of Texas barbecue with a twist of soul. After too many years working as a corporate chef and food service director, Derrick made the move home to cook for the Southside neighborhood where he and his wife met. The pitmaster is now giving what the people want with brisket, hot links, bologna, loaded turkey legs, and “ticken” salad with a touch of smoke. Desserts like Coca-Cola cake and the peach thang also bring it home. For a full spread of comfort, mark the fourth Sunday of the month as Soul Food Sunday, when there’s smoked pork chops, meatloaf, and oxtails, as well as Derrick’s grandmother’s garlic mashed potatoes.  

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Chef Paul Ko’s inaugural restaurant is the latest in a hype-worthy movement to broaden Dallas’s Japanese restaurants beyond omakase counters. The South Korean-raised chef established himself in Texas by leading sushi counters at other frontrunners in town, and now, after a long hold on construction, he’s ready to showcase his talents without fetters — and with table service. Highlights among the seasonally-changing 17-course menu include ornamental otsumami (snacks), prettied-up sashimi called otsukuri, and a land or sea tasting. See also an impressive sake list ranging from $36 to $653 per bottle, as well as cocktails like a dirty sake martini and hojicha Manhattan.

Afternoon tea has evolved from pastime to rite of passage here in Dallas. The top spot for dolling up like the Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex is this century-old icon in the Adolphus hotel. Nibbling on elegant snacks, moist scones, and tiny tea cakes is part of the fun, but the real magic comes from the room and Captain Connie Forbin, who started at the hotel four decades ago. She broke molds to become the French Room’s first woman captain, a position she’s gracefully maintained since 1995. For a reflection on the power of service and the current state of hospitality, read our conversation with her.

If you aren’t one of the fortunate folks living or working at Santander Tower, with Jennie Kelley and Brandon Moore’s neighborhood-y gem in the lobby, hear us when we say: underground parking is free with validation, and only an escalator ride stands in the way to one of Dallas’s brightest examples of local talent, doing their own thing, in a cool way. Weekday lunch specials add to the local hangout energy, with starring attractions like muffuletta Mondays, filet o’ fish Tuesdays, and Fridays when you’ll need to arrive early for Red Hook Tavern-inspired burgers. Tack on super-thick and satisfying frites au poivre, a respectable selection of natural wines, the soft serve anointed with olive oil and Maldon salt — and stick a fork in us until chicken Parmesan sandwich Thursday.

Is it possible for donuts to be cute? Considering the large following of “Seoulmates” pining for Korean-style cream donuts since Mino Lee opened his Flower Mound café a year ago, we’d say so. Modeled after the Italian bombolini, the light, creamy, and fluffy brioche donuts are filled with fresh cream flavors like red bean, mango, Earl Grey, pistachio, and Korean rice cakes known as injeolmi. Ceremonial-grade matcha from Japan and brews from Carrollton-based Parks Coffee roastery complete the treat that results in cream-tipped noses. There’s only one complaint Lee repeatedly faces — that the shop should be open beyond Friday through Sunday — but this kind of donut artistry requires an additional two days of prep, and Lee is at capacity. 

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Ask the locals where they go for tacos in Fort Worth, and you’ll likely hear about Taqueria Temo. Starting from a food truck in 2007, the taqueria soon became an IYKYK gem with its brick-and-mortar “OG spot” in Diamond-Hill Jarvis, followed by another in Haltom City, and last year, the Fort Worth Stockyards. Proof of its worthiness surely lies in that kind of local growth, along with the word-of-mouth advertising that will most certainly rhapsodize over the al pastor de trompo. The adobo-marinated pork sliced from a vertical rotisserie should definitely be tried in the tacos, followed by the burritos, tortas, quesadillas, and sincronizadas, a different type of tortilla sandwich.  

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Nestled among Park Pavilion Center’s treasure trove of storefronts and tea shops is a kitchen making the dynamic food of northwest China’s Uyghur people. Started by chef Adilan Aziz in 2023, her brother, Alim Jan Omar, transported the concept to Houston’s Asiatown last year. After a bite of the chewy, hand-pulled wheat noodles accented by certified zabiha halal lamb, chicken, or steak (there’s a certificate on the door), Texans’ fever for Uyghur food begins to make sense. Lamb takes the leading role in most dishes, like succulent skewers, shank on scented polow, and flaky, meat pie-like gosh naan, served with a vinegar-based chile oil. The garlicky cucumber salad might take some heat off, but not like the housemade honey cake and necessary pitchers of water. 

Find more info here.