Dallas Restaurants

We have selected 16 restaurants, listed alphabetically within five categories: Gastronomic, Business, Trendy, Budget and Personal Recommendations. The categories serve as guidelines rather than absolute definitions of the establishments.

In general, there is a sales tax of 8.25% added to food and drink bills. However, in reality, this tax varies and some restaurants only add the tax to either food or drink. Tipping of between 15 and 20% is expected and in some restaurants this may be added to the bill.

The restaurants below have been grouped in four different price categories:
$$$$ (over US$55)
$$$ (US$35 to US$55)
$$ (US$15 to US$34)
$ (up to US$15)
These prices are for a three-course meal for one, including sales tax but excluding tips, unless otherwise stated.

Craft
The menu changes seasonally at Tom Colicchio's restaurant, where fresh ingredients come from local ranchers and growers. Brunch is perfect for lighter fare, with a complimentary sampler of freshly baked muffins. Buffalo seasoned with rosemary and blueberries, quail and golden raisins, or Nova Scotia halibut on the dinner menu are best followed with one of the pastry chef's exotic desserts paired with port or a dessert wine.

W Dallas - Victory Hotel
2440 Victory Park Lane
Tel: (214) 397 4111.
Website: www.craftrestaurant.com/craft_dallas_style.html
Price: $$$-$$$$

Kiepersol Estates Restaurant
Experience fine dining at its best in old-world rustic elegance on this winery estate. Mahogany woodwork, tile, tropical fans and mood lighting set the stage for intimate dining. Winner of the Wine Spectator's Award for Excellence from 2001-2008, sample perfect wine pairings from the hand-selected cellar to match USDA prime steaks and the freshest seafood. Begin with rich lobster bisque, a choice of hand-cut, perfectly aged beef or sea bass with pistachio and white wine butter sauce, and finish with a Godiva chocolate cake and liqueur. The adjacent Bed & Breakfast (see Hotels) may be the ideal ending to a memorable evening.

21508 Merlot Lane
Tel: (903) 894 3300.
Website: www.kiepersol.com
Price: $$$

The Mansion Restaurant on Turtle Creek
Best Sunday Brunch in Dallas, in the ornate 1925 version of a 16th-century Italian villa built by cotton magnate Sheppard King as his family home. The personal collection of hunting trophies, paintings and lithographs belonging to the hotel's matriarch, Caroline Rose Hunt, decorates the restaurant and bar. Champagne brunch is a mixture of delicate flavours and exquisitely presented dishes in the old-world elegance of the Rosewood Mansion.

Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
2821 Turtle Creek Boulevard
Tel: (214) 559 2100.
Website: www.mansiononturtlecreek.com
Price: $$$

Abacus
The deft touch of executive chef Kent Rathbun and his stunning wine list has earned glorious praise from national press, thanks to such pleasures as lobster and spring onion shooters, John Dory with roasted veggie orzo in charred tomato butter or grilled lamb with jalapeño-coriander oil and blue cheese grits. For an extra treat, guests should try the chef's selection of nine small courses and luxuriate in the palate pampering and the soothing, sumptuous interiors.

4511 McKinney Avenue
Tel: (214) 559 3111.
Website: www.kentrathbun.com/abacus.html
Price: $$$-$$$$

Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House
Satiny cuts of prime beef head the list of palate pleasures at this clubby, leather-and-polished wood corner of luxury. Clientele typically includes the expense-account business crowd and the moneyed gentry who enjoy supping on said steaks, as well as luscious crab fishcakes, fresh fish and enormous à la carte side dishes that could be meals in themselves. Lavish evenings end with brandy and a cigar.

5251 Spring Valley Road
Tel: (972) 490 9000.
Website: www.delfriscos.com
Price: $$$$

Cafe Madrid
Dallas' first authentic Spanish restaurant and tapas bar, this casually cool hangout has evolved with sophistication over the years. The lengthy list of tapas ranges from the traditional potato omelette tortilla with a dollop of garlic-parsley aioli and roasted duck breast with sliced, sherry-laced carrots, to empanadas filled with shredded tuna steak and green olive.

4501 Travis Street
Tel: (214) 528 1731.
Website: www.cafemadrid-dallas.com
Price: $-$$

Fireside Pies
This is certainly not the usual pizza joint, but it's where you'll find spectacular pizzas. Inside a handsome, casual stone-and-wood building, you'll find a hip crowd hanging out over starters, wine and pies. Pizzas are baked in a wood-burning oven, topped with a fire-roasted tomato sauce, liberally garnished with four kinds of cheese, then decorated with such add-ons as meatballs, balsamic-roasted chicken, truffle oil and rocket salad. Weather permitting, the patio is divine.

2820 North Henderson Avenue
Tel: (214) 370 3916.
Website: http://firesidepies.com
Price: $$

Trece
Upscale Mexican hacienda setting in the Knox-Henderson district brings fashionably-attired patrons out for lively food and cocktail scene. Start with the sensational guacamole, prepared with flourish at your tableside, then indulge in a lobster crepe with green and red salsas, all particularly good when paired with a cucumber-lavender mojito. Ask for a tasting to acquaint you with some of the 120 tequilas stocked at the bar.

4513 Travis Street
Tel: (214) 780 1900.
Website: www.trecerestaurant.com
Price: $$$

Primo's Bar & Grille
A long-time hangout in Uptown, this wonderful spot only gets better with age. The Sunday brunch is heavenly, but any day of the week is perfect for top-rate margaritas and a plate of the delicious tacos camperos filled with beef fajita meat. Pile on jalapeno, cilantro, a slice of avocado and a spoonful of the tomato salsa on the table. It's a good spot to take a break from shopping; relax on the patio or in one of the rooms inside the hundred-year-old building with creaky wooden floors.

3309 McKinney Avenue
Tel: (214) 220 0510.
Website: www.primosdallas.com
Price: $-$$

Sonny Bryan's Smokehouse
A family business dating from 1910, this hometown favourite has won a James Beard Award for regional classic food. The tiny, no-frills location opened in the 1950s, and serves deeply smoked turkey, ham, pork ribs, sausage, pulled pork, sliced brisket, ranch beans, potato salad and very cold beer. Sonny Bryan's is an old smoke shack, with little in the way of décor other than a few beer signs, which add to the overall charm of the place.

2202 Inwood Road
Tel: (214) 357 7120.
Website: www.sonnybryans.com
Price: $

La Duni Latin Cafe
It is impossible to ignore the front table laden with lavish sweets. A hefty wedge of Venezuelan chocolate truffle cake is highly recommended, perhaps after savouring the grilled Argentinian-style Picanha steak with chimichurri mojo or the Brazilian-style roasted chicken bathed in champagne and juice from green oranges. The divine mint-spiked mojito cocktail is the best in town, while the warm setting and leisurely pace are soothing.

4620 McKinney Avenue
Tel: (214) 520 7300.
Website: www.laduni.com
Price: $$

Patry's Bistro & Wine Bar
An intimate dining experience in a quaint old converted house is the perfect backdrop for fine French cuisine. Daniel Patry has taken over the tradition from his father George, who ran a Dallas legend in French fine dining for over 30 years. Rack of lamb herb-crusted in port sauce, or soft shell crabs Provencal sautéed in garlic butter are some of the delicacies produced by award-winning chef Hamid Kalantar.

4601 West Lovers Lane
Tel: (214) 352 2489.
Website: www.patrysbistro.com
Price: $$$

Stephan Pyles
Widely known as one of the architects of Southwestern cuisine, Pyles, the much-loved native of West Texas, returned to the Dallas dining scene with a roar after taking a sabbatical for extensive food study around the world. Quickly, his namesake restaurant was hailed the nation's best by Esquire magazine, thanks to such ‘New Millennium Southwestern cuisine' features as a tasting of exotic ceviches, duck confit empanadas, wood-fired whole fish, and coriander-cured rack of lamb. Special drinks include Pisco Sour and smoky-apple Martini. A lovely update of a 1960s office building provides a warm, inviting setting in which to feast.

1807 Ross Avenue
Tel: (214) 580 7000.
Website: www.stephanpyles.com
Price: $$$$

Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse
Dine on some of the best wild game, prime aged beef or fresh seafood found in Texas. The restaurant is casual Texas style with décor and recreated model of a 100-year-old barn from its namesake Y.O. Ranch, one of the oldest cattle and game ranches in the world. Photos of Texas ranching, Longhorn cattle and cowboys from the original ranch add to the flavour of moist and tender buffalo filet, spicy venison roll ups or juicy top sirloin. Voted best steaks in the nation by the Food Network.

702 Ross Avenue at Market Street
Tel: (214) 744 3287.
Website: www.yoranchsteakhouse.com  
Price: $$$-$$$$