Happy 2024! A new year means new restaurants, menus, and dishes to try. You often find contrasts during the time between the end of one year and a new one in the restaurant industry. While many restaurants opened their doors for the holidays, plenty closed theirs for the final time. You’ll notice a lot of closures in this list, but there are a lot of cool new places that have opened up, too. Let’s dive in.
Highlights
- Fish & Fizz is back!
- Julian Barsotti, Jason Garrett, and Babe Laufenberg are opening up a new restaurant.
- Another Japanese concept is opening in Dallas.
2023 Recap
Instead of reviewing our favorite meals in December (cut us some slack, we’ve been on a break), we’ll take a look at the last few stories we published reviewing our year in dining.
- The 20 Best Dishes We Ate in Dallas in 2023: One of our absolute favorites is the sauerkraut cake from Rye. We will stand by this.
- The Eight Best Things We Drank in Dallas in 2023: coffee, beer, and cocktails we loved in 2023.
- The 11 Best Things We Ate in 2023—That Were Not in Dallas: if you’re looking for places to eat in Austin, D.C., U.K., and beyond, you’ll like this list.
- What We’re Excited About For Dallas Dining in 2024: the post you’ll probably want to read for our thoughts on Dallas dining this year.
News
Pane Nostra is moving to Bishop Arts: Oak Cliff Advocate reported Pane Nostra is moving from McKinney to the Bishop Arts district. The Italian restaurant will open in early 2024 at 508 W. 7th St., which is the former CocoAndré house.
Lucky’s Hot Chicken is under new management: The original Lucky’s Hot Chicken on Gaston Avenue is no longer operating under Vandelay Hospitality, according to CultureMap. The restaurant was at the center of a lawsuit that involved Vandelay, restaurateur Hunter Pond, and a home builder named Lou Olerio. Read more about that lawsuit here. (It was settled Aug. 2023.) Lucky’s is now under Olerio, CultureMap reports.
Openings and Closings
Bacari Tabu: Julian Barsotti opened Bacari Tabu, an Italian bar and restaurant, on Dec. 18. Bacari Tabu is a lively restaurant that pulls inspiration from Strictly Tabu, the jazz bar that occupied the space before Barsotti signed a lease several years ago. Dishes here are sharable: lasagnette, gnocchi, fried blue point oysters, and even risotto. 4113 Lomo Alto Dr.
Baldo’s: The ice cream shop closed its Hillcrest Road location on Dec. 31 after five years. The shop opened in 2018 with creative ice cream flavors such as white chocolate peppermint bark. They also had ice cream flights that included three to six mini cones of ice cream.
Birdie’s Eastside: Birdie’s Eastside opened in East Dallas Dec. 13. The restaurant has a massive patio and is open for happy hour and dinner, with lunch and weekend brunch to be added soon. The menu features bar food such as Ahi tuna tacos and birria sliders, plus entrees such as fig and prosciutto flatbread and chicken fried sandwich. Drinks include local and domestic beers, wine, and cocktails. One cocktail that caught our eye: the pickle martini. 6221 E. Mockingbird Ln.
Botolino Gelato Artigianale: Dallas’ favorite gelato shop opened its third location in Bishop Arts on Dec. 18. Owner Carlo Gattini also opened a gelato laboratory in Exposition Park that will be dedicated to recipe research, gelato-making, cakes, and chocolates. The third location is located at 269 N. Bishop Ave., and the laboratory is located at 3611 Parry Ave.
Caffe Lucca: Former Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett, former NFL quarterback and CBS 11 sports broadcaster Babe Laufenberg, and Dallas restaurateur Julian Barsotti are opening an Italian restaurant later this year called Caffe Lucca on Oak Lawn Avenue next to Barsotti’s, according to the Morning News. The restaurant is named after Laufenberg’s son, Luke, who died in 2019 of a rare blood cancer. Caffe Lucca will be an all-day cafe serving coffee, breakfast, lunch, dinner, and cocktails. 4212 Oak Lawn Ave.
Columbian Country Club: Columbian Country Club, a martini and tequila lounge, opened Dec. 22. The lounge pays tribute to the original Columbian, a historic Jewish country club in Dallas. On the menu: martinis, a margarita with Grand Marnier, caviar, deviled eggs, and sliced parmesan bagels. 3314 Ross Ave., Ste. 150.
District: The restaurant in Addison closed mid-December after a year and a half. The wine and whiskey restaurant was the first location outside of California.
Fiction Coffee: the chain closed all of its Dallas brick-and-mortar locations Dec. 8.
Fish & Fizz: It’s making a comeback! The restaurant closed last January, cutting Dallas off from the best fish and chips outside of the UK, according to Englishman Richard Patterson. Now it’ll come back as a food truck. We’ll have more on this soon.
Harlowe MXM: The bar in Deep Ellum closed in December after two women made public allegations of being drugged by a bartender during a night out. Owners Cindy and Jim Hughes told WFAA-TV that the restaurant’s contracted security company and management team have been interviewing staff and reviewing video to understand what happened.
Jaquval and Trades (Jaquval Trades, if you will): A small brewery and bar called Jaquval will have its grand opening this month alongside a bakery/deli called Trades, according to the Morning News. Owners Jason Roberts and Amy Wallace Cowan also opened Oddfellows, Revelers Hall, and AJ Vagabonds. Jaquval will have brews and bites such as pastrami poutine and pizzas, while Trades will sell cold cuts, sandwiches, bagels, and coffee. 312 W. Seventh St.
Mandarin by Howard Wang’s: The Chinese restaurant closed its location in Hillcrest Village Dec. 1. It was part of a line of restaurants from the family-owned company.
Miss Pasta: A fast-casual Italian restaurant opened in November in Richardson serving housemade pasta dishes. Miss Pasta is co-owned by husband and wife Giuliano Matarese and Tiziana Cosentino. 3613 Shire Blvd., Richardson.
Mirador: Mirador reopened at the top of Forty Five Ten in downtown Dallas on Dec. 10. The spot closed during the pandemic and reopened last month with a new look but a familiar menu. Favorites include parmesan tomato soup, chicken paillard, farro bowl, chicken bites, and pavlovas. The restaurant is open for lunch, brunch, and afternoon tea on Saturdays. 1608 Elm St.
Natuur Bowls & Smoothies: a casual health food restaurant will serve açai bowls, smoothies, toasts, and more healthy options on Henderson Avenue. Co-founder Taylor Spradling is a Dallas-area native who will help open the chain’s fourth location. (There are two in Denver, one in Austin, and a fifth is coming to Frisco later this year. 1908 N. Henderson Ave.
Peaberry Coffee: The Elmwood location of Peaberry Coffee closed after just five months, according to an Instagram post. Its last day was Dec. 13.
Shodo: The Design District now has a new Japanese concept called Shodo, which will serve “traditional sushi,” according to a press release. The menu includes items such as the bluefin tuna tower and the Shodo roll made with lobster, A5 wagyu, and truffle scallion. 1628 Oak Lawn Ave.
Tim Hortons: popular Canadian coffee and doughnut chain Tim Hortons is opening its first D-FW location in Coppell mid-2024, according to the Dallas Business Journal. The location will start construction in March along State Highway 121 in Coppell.
Steakyard: Steakyard opened late December for dinner only. The restaurant, from the former owner of DeLucca, specializes in steak frites. 6726 Shady Brook Ln.
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