Dallas, TX
Hot List: 20 great restaurants to visit in Dallas-Fort Worth in March 2025
Innovation is on our minds as we head toward the five-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas. This month’s Hot List celebrates restaurants thinking big.
There’s NADC, the smashburger shop in Fort Worth from California chef Phillip Frankland Lee. He moved to Texas during the pandemic — seems like everybody did — and he now owns 12 restaurants in the Lone Star State.
Two other innovators are The Plot Twist in Denton and La Tiki Paisa in Dallas, both bars in bookstores.
This month’s Hot List spotlights all the North Texas restaurants you need to visit now: new, old and everything in between.
Restaurants listed in alphabetical order.
Bugatti Ristorante in Farmers Branch
We heard you lamenting the loss of Bugatti, the more than 45-year-old restaurant serving Italian classics in Dallas. Bugatti was never gone, but its dining room was closed for nearly two years while the restaurant relocated to a new development in Farmers Branch.
The new restaurant, tucked in a corner of interstates 635 and 35E, boasts the same maître d, Zee Aziz, who some people call “Mr. Bugatti.” You’ll have to set your maps to a new location, but regulars tell us a jovial Italian spirit lives on in the new space.
Bugatti Ristorante is at 1940 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Farmers Branch. Dinner only.
Catch in Uptown Dallas
Celebrity spotters, make your reservation at Catch right now. This dark, dim, sexy seafood restaurant is teeming with VIPs most nights of the week. On a recent visit, I had excellent service and food — and I paid a premium for both. Catch seems like a quintessential place to celebrate something in Dallas, without the pricey plane ticket to Las Vegas, Aspen or New York.
Catch is at 3005 Maple Ave., Dallas. Dinner only.
Chicken Guy! in Dallas’ Preston Hollow
Fans of Guy Fieri should hightail it to Chicken Guy!, Fieri’s fast-casual chicken tenders restaurant that just opened near Trader Joe’s at Walnut Hill and the North Central Expressway. You probably won’t find Fieri himself at the restaurant; he’s busy with the Food Network. But you’ll soak up all the pleasures of Flavortown here in Dallas.
Chicken Guy! is at 7859 Walnut Hill Lane (at Preston Hollow Village), Dallas.
The Chumley House in Fort Worth
If you’re looking for an upscale night out on the town, The Chumley House is the answer no matter where you live in North Texas: It’s worth the drive. The menu calls for comfort food like butter chicken, ricotta-stuffed shells and chicken schnitzel, and all are served in a handsome dining room with attentive service. We hope Michelin’s mysterious critics are paying attention to it.
The Chumley House is at 3230 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth. Dinner only.
Cleaver and Co. in Uptown Dallas
It’s not an ax throwing place, it’s a burger joint. This casual restaurant was designed to feel like a “blend of a sports bar atmosphere and rustic butcher shop,” according to press materials. It’s one of the few restaurants on this list I’ve not been to yet. I think the way to go is to try two classic burgers, the smashburger and Cleaver’s signature burger, and compare. Tots on the side.
Cleaver and Co. is at 4438 McKinney Ave., Dallas.
Ebesu Robata & Sushi in Plano
Open since 2019, Ebesu is one of the most interesting Asian restaurants in Collin County. How does it compare to the restaurants in the entire state? Yelp named it the 32nd best restaurant in Texas in its Top 100 Places to Eat, making it the highest-ranking restaurant on the list from D-FW.
If you want to try the restaurant’s best bites, consider the $60 4-course tasting or the $99 10-course tasting. We wouldn’t call it “inexpensive,” but for a fixed-menu format, it’s one of the most affordable in town.
Ebesu Robata & Sushi is at 1007 E. 15th St., Plano. Dinner only.
Eddie’s Cocina & Cantina in Dallas
Tex-Mex restaurateur Eddie Cervantes, who created the infamous Primo’s Bar & Grill in Uptown Dallas in 1986, has opened a new restaurant on Dallas’ Lemon Avenue. He’s putting his name on the sign, as he did with Eddie’s on Greenville Avenue, which opened in 2021.
At the new Eddie’s at Lemmon Avenue and Inwood Road, Cervantes’ menu includes his classics: margaritas, queso, stuffed jalapenos, brisket tacos and more.
Eddie’s Cocina & Cantina is at 5622 Lemmon Ave., Dallas.
Four Sisters in Mansfield
TikTok influencer Keith Lee recently put Vietnamese restaurant Four Sisters on a list of recommended Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants. We’re right to question whether we love Lee’s suggestions, but we’re wrong to ignore them. He calls Four Sisters an “off the radar” spot that is most definitely on the radar now.
Lee loved the bao buns and beef pho. The seasonal crawfish fried rice and the Bo luc lac (shaking beef) look great.
Be right back: I’m driving to Mansfield.
Four Sisters is at 3806 East Broad St., Mansfield.
K&L Bagels in North Dallas
We’re in the midst of another mini bagel boom in Dallas-Fort Worth. Go check out K&L Bagels at Preston Road and Forest Lane in Dallas. It’s a tiny space selling our favorite carb-loaded breakfast item.
And, have you had a Jerusalem bagel in Texas? They sell ‘em at K&L.
K&L Bagels is at 11930 Preston Road, Dallas. Closed Mondays.
Kome in Preston Hollow/North Dallas
Do you want another Keith Lee rec? He found Kome to sell “quick and fresh sushi” and called it his “go-to nigiri spot” in Dallas. The restaurant is tucked inside The Hill shopping center and is known for its hand rolls.
Kome is at 8041 Walnut Hill Lane, Dallas.
Meddlesome Moth in the Dallas Design District
You still have time to dine at The Meddlesome Moth in Dallas before it closes in late May 2025. The Moth was one of Dallas’s first gastropubs, and it helped make the Dallas Design District cool. (Today, the DDD is a hotspot for restaurants.) The Moth will close because of elevated rent prices. Time to go back for brunch and sit under those famous stained-glass windows.
The Meddlesome Moth is at 1621 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to stay open until May 20, 2025.
NADC Burger in Fort Worth
I walked into NADC Burger alone on a Tuesday night, unapologetically hungry. A manager asked if I was there to drink at the bar, watch a comedy show or eat a burger. Three good options, but I had an agenda: to eat that burger I kept seeing on the internet. NADC’s two-patty smashburger was cheesy, greasy, gooey and delicious. I ate it in less than five minutes, and I’d do it all over again.
NADC (Not A Damn Chance) Burger is at 604 Main St. (inside Big Laugh Comedy Club), Fort Worth.
Pepe’s and Mito’s in Deep Ellum
For more than 30 years, Pepe’s and Mito’s has been serving Tex-Mex in Deep Ellum. But in late February 2025, an internet rumor suggested that the longtime, family-owned restaurant had closed. Not true! The owners are currently doing damage control. Want to help? Go get a margarita and some Tacos Norteños.
Pepe’s & Mito’s Mexican Cafe is at 2911 Elm St., Dallas. Closed Sundays.
The Plot Twist in Denton
Denton’s new bookstore selling sexy romance novels is not a restaurant — but it is a bar. And we love a non-traditional place to eat or drink. The Plot Twist is owned by a mother-daughter duo who took a chance on an industry that’s seemingly dying. See, Denton zigs where other cities zag: Nearly 1,000 North Texans showed up on grand opening weekend. In the weeks since, book worms have continued to share their love of romantasy novels.
The Plot Twist Romance Bookstore & Bar is at 227 W. Oak St., Denton. Closed Mondays.
Ruthie’s Fueled by Good in South Dallas
After years of roaming Dallas selling grilled cheese sandwiches from a food truck, Ruthie’s has opened a permanent restaurant for breakfast and lunch. The shop is on MLK Boulevard, in a food desert in South Dallas. In addition to selling good food, Ruthie’s has a mission to extend second chances to people who need them and to raise money for The Good Foundation nonprofit.
A bonus: Ruthie’s has a private room. Think kids celebrating a birthday, businesspeople hosting a meeting or moms playing Mahjong.
Ruthie’s is at 1632 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Dallas. Open weekdays from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
SauceBros Pizza in Plano
SauceBros in Plano had its biggest weekend ever in February 2025. Bon Appétit honored this Bengali restaurant for its innovative pizzas, and news organizations (including ours) flocked to the tiny Plano strip center to interview the guys behind it. You’re going to want to order a SauceBros pizza. But give them a few weeks to recover.
Sauce Bros is at 3115 W. Parker Road, Plano. Closed Mondays. Order online for pickup or delivery at saucebrospizza.com.
Saved by the Bagel in Plano
It’s just adorable, theming a bagel shop after the 1990s show Saved By the Bell. This restaurant is especially interesting to me because it’s at the intersection of my childhood home in Plano — home base for my afternoon TV sessions with Zack Morris. It all comes back around.
Saved by the Bagel is at 6921 Independence Parkway, Plano. It opened Dec. 22, 2024.
La Tiki Paisa near East Dallas and Lake Highlands
A second bookstore bar made our Hot List this month. That has to be some kind of record! La Tiki Paisa is a cocktail bar and restaurant attached to Half Price Books in Dallas. The food and the cocktails are serious, but in a fun way. Here’s the story: Go for happy hour and snacks, then wander over to your favorite section of the bookstore and shop.
La Tiki Paisa (same storefront as La Casita Coffee) is at 5801 E. Northwest Highway, next to Half Price Books in Dallas.
La Tiki Paisa serves dinner and drinks only. The shop is open earlier in the day for coffee, pastries and lunch.
Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q in Allen
(Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer)
We called Vaqueros North Texas’s hottest barbecue joint in early 2025 now, and that’s still true a month later. Take a drive up to Allen and you’ll find a casual restaurant with Mexican-inflected barbecue. My favorite bite was the birria taco stuffed with brisket.
Vaqueros Texas Bar-B-Q is at 970 Garden Park Drive, Allen. Closed Mondays.
Zodiac Room in downtown Dallas
Bad news first: You probably can’t snag a reservation to The Zodiac at Neiman Marcus anymore. Neiman Marcus announced it would close its flagship retail store in downtown Dallas, and The Zodiac restaurant will close with it.
Good news now: In The Zodiac’s 71 years open, it served some of the most fashionable food in Dallas. It is the quintessential ladies-who-lunch spot, but anybody who wanted to feel fancy for an hour was welcome.
Do you have a vivid Zodiac memory? Email me at sblaskovich@dallasnews.com.
The Zodiac is at 1618 Main St. (inside Neiman Marcus, on level six), Dallas.
The Texas Department of Transportation Dallas District is preparing for in-personal and virtual public hearings on the proposed widening of FM 740/Fm 548.
TxDOT Dallas posted a reminder about the meetings to its social media page on Thursday afternoon.
The purpose of the hearings are to gather public input and provide more information about the proposed reconstruction and widening of FM 740/FM 548 from I-20 to FM 1641 in Mesquite and Forney within Kaufman County.
According to TxDOT, the proposal includes reconstruction of FM740/Fm 548 from a two-lane rural roadway to a four-lane divided urban roadway with raised medians, curb and gutter, a bridge widening at the Mustang Creek crossing, and a 10-foot-wide shared-use path on both sides of the road for approximately four miles.
The roadway passes through the cities of Mesquite and Forney. The existing right-of-way width ranges from 60 feet (along FM 740) to 150 feet (along FM 548). Where proposed right-of-way is needed, the width is generally 130 feet wide.
That means the proposed project would potentially displace three residential and one non-residential structures. Relocation assistance is available for displaced persons and businesses.
The in-person meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 16 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Forney High School (1800 College Ave.).
The virtual hearing will start at 5:30 p.m. and will consist of a prerecorded video presentation. It will remain online for at least the next 15 days and materials can be viewed at any time during that period.
Anyone without internet access may call 214-320-4431 between 8 a.m.-5 p.m. to ask questions and access project materials during the project development project.
View the project materials online here. The materials will also be available in hard copy form for review at the in-person session.
The Dallas Cowboys are widely viewed as a team that could make a trade up in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, and more specifically, from their No. 12 overall pick.
It’s something Dallas should definitely consider given how badly the team needs impact players on defense. And, with a pair of first-round picks, the Cowboys can make a giant leap up, too.
But which teams would be willing to move back to allow Dallas to grab a player it covets? Well, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has just listed them for us.
Breer is reporting that the teams in the Nos. 3-7 picks are looking to move back for more draft capital. That list includes the Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans, New York Giants, Cleveland Browns and Washington Commanders.
“Teams picking behind the Jets are looking to move down,” Breer revealed. “Count the Cardinals, Titans, Giants, Browns and Commanders among those already looking at trying to drop down in the order to accumulate capital. The problem for those five is finding teams to move up.”
Who could Cowboys move up for?
Breer goes on to note that he believes there are two players who could force a team to strike a deal for one of those five picks: Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese (or Texas Tech’s David Bailey if the Jets take Reese) and Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love.
Of course, Reese is one player the Cowboys would likely move up for if given the opportunity, but it would take a gigantic and costly leap. Assuming Dallas would have to move all the way up to No. 3, which is very likely, that move would cost Dallas two first-round picks and then some.
The “and then some” part might sound crazy, but if we’re going off the NFL Draft Trade Value Chart, Dallas’ two first-round picks are worth 2,050 points and Arizona’s No. 3 pick is worth 2,200 points. On top of closing that gap, the Cowboys might have to pay even more to convince a rebuilding team to move down that far.
We just don’t see all that happening, especially when you consider the Cowboys don’t have a second-round pick and might not be able to keep their third-rounder because of this trade.
Cowboys’ trade-up starting point is No. 4
There is a sizeable 400-point difference between the No. 3 and No. 4 picks, so the latter is the most realistic starting point for the Cowboys when it comes to a trade up.
We would probably rule out a trade up with the New York Giants and Washington Commanders because of the whole division rival thing, so cancel out Nos. 5 and 7 as possibilities. That leaves us with Nos. 4 (Titans) and No. 6 (Browns).
Dallas could swing a deal with the Titans that would still give up their first-round picks but the Cowboys can get back the No. 4 selection (1,800 points) and the No. 66 pick (third round, 260 points).
In that scenario, at least the Cowboys get something back beyond the pick they’re moving up for, and more importantly it’s a second Day 2 pick that Dallas doesn’t currently own. Having a pair of third-round picks will also give the Cowboys a chance to move back up into Round 2.
We’re also intrigued by a trade with the Browns because Dallas can get Cleveland’s No. 6 pick and its early second-round pick for its two first-rounders in a trade that is just a 50-point advantage for Cleveland. That would put the Cowboys in the second round.
Now, we need to talk about who the Cowboys would be trading up for in those spots. If Reese or Bailey are available at No. 4, we are making the move up. Styles is another possibility at four, but we would feel more comfortable with him at six. Unfortunately, the Ohio State product doesn’t have a good chance to still be available in that spot.
If the Cowboys can’t get their hands on one of those three players, we would not anticipate them trading up for someone else, but never say never in the NFL Draft.
Whether it’s with one of their two first-round picks, via trade or in free agency, the Mavs have to add someone who can lighten Cooper Flagg’s offensive workload. He spent way more time on-ball than expected, and while his self-creation around the basket is impressive, he’ll be best served on a roster that can tap into more of his play-finishing.
Counting on Kyrie Irving isn’t good enough. He is 34 and working his way back from an ACL injury. Dallas needs a short- and long-term alternative.
Addressing the issue in the draft would be ideal, if only because an inbound rookie fits the Flagg window. But that route depends on where the Mavs land in the lottery. They could jump up to AJ Dybantsa or Darryn Peterson territory, end up in range of Darius Acuff Jr. or Kingston Flemings or miss out on all four.
Free agency probably doesn’t hold the answer. Dallas will most likely wind up operating over the cap and have the non-taxpayer’s mid-level exception ($15 million). That doesn’t get you in the door for Austin Reaves, while contingencies like Collin Sexton and Ayo Dosunmu aren’t Plan A material.
Coby White could be interesting if he leaves Charlotte. Otherwise, trade targets who won’t fetch the moon should be the Mavs’ jam: Cam Spencer, Tre Jones, T.J. McConnell, Ty Jerome, Dejounte Murray, etc. If the new front office wants to swing higher, but not too high, Ryan Rollins and Tyler Herro are worth keeping on the radar.
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