The Resy Hit List: Where In Dallas You’ll Want to Eat in Feb. 2026

When the specials board at an almost-always packed out seafood spot change twice a day, you know the fish is fresh. Much in the way that TJ’s Seafood Market evolved across town, Rex Bellomy’s neighborhood hangout grew from seafood market to restaurant when customers kept asking if someone might be able to cook their fish. Now with a 20-or-so market selection flown in from all over the world, that specials board — with features like blackened monkfish and crab dynamite, or swordfish and jumbo crab with white wine cream sauce, or oysters from up to 10 different coasts — is the most obvious way to go. However if you’re in midday for lunch, don’t discount the tuna burger, grouper Reuben, or blackened redfish BLT on the regular menu. 

Whether you’re a follower of one of America’s most popular “diets” or not, the falafel, fattoush, and za’atar salmon served at this gorgeous new Prestonwood spot are wonderful methods to show love to your heart as well as your tastebuds. In Darna Eatery founder Yaser Khalaf’s first collaboration with his son, Mak Khalaf, they’ve amped up Mediterranean staples to run parallel with date night-worthy spreads: kibbeh with dill labneh, tahini Caesars, and date molasses-glazed prime rib eyes. Zero proof drinks like the pomegranate mojito and pistachio lassi come in tall glass tumblers (in servings that justify the price) and the wine selection (averaging $40ish dollars a bottle) includes several varietals from Lebanese winery Ana Beirut. 

Father-son chef team Juan Ramón and Rodrigo Cárdenas recently unveiled the second chapter of their Texas expansion, right next door to their cabrito house Don Artemio, their first restaurant to spread from Saltillo, Mexico. In a switch-up from their specialty slow-roasted young goat seen on Netflix’s “Taco Chronicles,” Dos Mares is dedicated to Mexico’s coastal regions, with seafood inspired by the traditions of Veracruz, Puerto Vallarta, Acapulco, and Tampico. Think ceviches, garlic shrimp with avocado mousse, and red snapper loin marinated in adobo and wood-fired zarandeado-style, as they do in Nayarit. Even the wine list pulls exclusively from the world’s coastal regions, with one bottle, the Akènta Sub sparkling brut, aged underwater for a year off Sardinia’s coastline. 

By now, most Texans have experienced Tyson Cole’s visionary approach to sushi that soared from a red bungalow in Austin in 2003 to expand to Charlotte, D.C., and Newport Beach this year. As Hai Hospitality’s footprint grows, a reminder we’re in the only metro area besides Austin with both of Uchi’s offshoots: Uchibā and Uchiko, the smoke-centric version of Uchi that opened in Plano in 2024. Coded into its name, Uchibā takes the izakaya — bar — form of Uchi, with wagyu beef skewers, chicken katsu bao, and dumplings, along with many of the sashimi cuts served downstairs. Modus operandi for Hai Hospitality, there’s incentive to arrive at 5 p.m. sharp for happy hour, here with a nine-course omakase for two for $90, $10 cocktails, and a mini burger.

If you know someone in North Texas with whole hog butchery and curing skills, chances are high they learned from chef David Uyger, or one of his protégés. Starting an evening with the daily salumi selection is therefore de rigueur at Dallas’ most in-demand Italian restaurant. More recognizable charcuterie might include coppa or capicola, but there’s room to mull over less-known salumi, like loukanka, Bulgaria’s spicier sopressata, or morcilla curada, the blood sausage from Spain, or whatever else Uyger feels like pulling from the cabinet that day. Daily-changing fresh pastas are also a mandatory part of dinner here, as are pastry chef Maggie Huff’s inimitable desserts.

If you want to eat where the locals go in Dallas, mark this Lower Greenville Ave. gem that comes from locals. Slightly more upscale than most establishments down the historic bar and entertainment strip, Goodwin’s is chef Jeff Bekavac’s first venture in co-ownership after 26 years winding up in some of Dallas’s best kitchens. Here and now, he’s steadily acing it in the kitchen with a fun, casual, well-executed menu. High-rise burgers that look stolen from J. Wellington Wimpy’s clutches have quickly become a town favorite, along with the cheese-on-cheese beignets and oh-so-worth it desserts. Salads and sandwiches most distinctly described as “actually really good” are more reasons this crowd ricochets. Pro tip: If moody, date-nighty bars are your thing, check out the Goose Bar in the back for pre-dinner happy hour from 4 to 6 p.m. every day. 

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. 

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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Know what’s good anytime, anywhere — but especially after 10 p.m. when there’s a nip in the air and most everything’s closed? Dumplings. Soup. And soup dumplings. Plunge into all of the above until midnight at the Lower Greenville Avenue location of this Shanghainese-American Chinese spot original to Irving. In addition to traditional Chinese tea service and mocktails with a punch, like the lychee lemonade with Red Bull yellow edition, the cocktail menu at the spinoff address suited to its bar strip environs showcases drinks mixed with green tea-infused gin, vodka seltzer, five-spice oleo … and more Red Bull. 

After gifting Dallas a Mexican coffee shop with an agave-forward cocktail den that feels like a quick ticket to Mexico City, Xaman Cafe owners Mauricio Gallegos and Gerardo Barrera believed Dallas was also in need of an upscale Mexican seafood restaurant. To create the menu dedicated to Baja, they hired Oh Hi! Hospitality’s Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman as consulting chef. Her focused menu features grilled oysters and tuna aguachile negro, as well as Dallas’ first sampling of chocolate clams, a delicacy from the Sea of Cortez that actually does not contain chocolate, but is rather named for the color of the bivalve’s shells. As if total fealty to Mexico were in any doubt, the wine list is completely sourced from the sensational terroir of the Guadalupe Valley. 

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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The lamb burma served on weekends at this one-year-old restaurant by Yasin Alkholani might be the juiciest, tenderest, tastiest example in the universe. Who knows? It’s certainly one of the more unique presentations in North Texas, beginning with Capra Farms’ regeneratively-raised lambs, which are hand-slaughtered halal, stewed in a hawajj-laced broth — then served in flames, on the floor (if you chose to try the majlis dining). The locally-loved spot also excels in showcasing Yemen’s variety of spiced rice dishes, including kabsa, mandi, and zorbian. And the masoub — which is even better than what the internet equates to Yemeni banana bread pudding — is so creamy and luscious, you’ll probably need the extra-large “royal” size, best enjoyed with a cup of Adeni tea. 

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From careful, personal research, we’ve concluded the best Asiatown in Texas — if not one of the most vibrant in the nation — is in Carrollton. More often referred to as Dallas’ New Koreatown, Carrollton packs hundreds of restaurants into its borders, many of them hot pot spots, global Taiwanese tea shops, and Korean barbecue chains. Among the newer places focused on pho is Tran Tran and Tyler Nguyen’s first restaurant dedicated to Saigon. The married couple are uniquely serving pho from north Vietnam, which is hard, if not impossible, to find elsewhere in North Texas. The pho tái năn replaces raw beef with slices stir-fried in tallow, and the pho trộn is a rare dry noodle dish with steak, peanuts, and dipping broth on the side. 

Find more info here.