Antique photos and books cover the bookshelf at Pillar, an American bistro in the Bishop Arts District from chef-owner Peja Krstic.

“We wanted to bring in some soul, like Pillar had existed already,” he said. The antiques picked by his wife, Silvana, match the charm and history of the 98-year-old building in Oak Cliff, now a neighborhood full of restaurants.

In its past life, this restaurant space was French bistro Boulevardier and Spanish eatery Cafe Madrid. Under Krstic’s watch, Pillar is a bright, airy bistro with no culinary boundaries.

There’s little culinary crossover between Pillar and Krstic’s other restaurant, Michelin-awarded Mot Hai Ba in Lakewood. But he found ways to add Asian ingredients anyway, like the punch of fish sauce in Pillar’s braised collard greens served with fried chicken. That’s Krstic’s favorite dish, and you can sense the care that went into it: It’s a half chicken cooked in coriander schmaltz and buttermilk fried with curry and turmeric. It’s served with Nduja cream sauce, the aforementioned collards and a side of cornbread brioche and honey butter.

It’s so tender, Krstic cuts it with a fork. And while customers might say “mine, all mine,” the owner hopes customers order chicken for table and share it. Pastry chef Diana Zamora’s bread is good enough to get friends reaching across the table without permission.

If it seems like Pillar is a Southern restaurant, given the fried chicken dish, it isn’t. It’s an American restaurant with not a lot of rules — a retelling of the Serbian-born chef’s story.

He immigrated to Dallas 20 years ago after visiting a family member who moved to Texas. Krstic had plans to become an attorney, but he always worked in restaurants part-time, at home and in Texas, to pay the bills. He was a great chef from an early age.

His two decades in Texas include chef jobs at Arcodoro Pomodoro, Jasper’s, Fuse, Chamberlain’s, Standard Pour and more — that’s Italian food, American, Asian fusion, steak and upscale bar food.

“I like to combine cuisines,” he said.

Inside Pillar, Dallas’ newest restaurant in a historic building

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An early favorite at Pillar is the beef tartare ($20), which looks more like a stuffed mushroom than a plate of raw meat. It’s neither: Krstic stuffs little cups of crispy hashbrowns with beef, kimchi mayo and chives. They’re rich and small, just right.

Also on his menu is tuna carpaccio ($22), a plate that might look like the expected beef tartare but is in fact a “sheet” of raw tuna with lump crab remoulade hiding underneath.

Roasted beets and grilled leaks are two seasonal dishes that would make Mom proud — “eat your vegetables!” — but with the finesse few get to experience at home. The beets ($16) are braised in hibiscus tea and served with ricotta, toasted hazelnuts and dill. The leeks ($19) come with butter-poached crab.

The rest of the menu includes dishes you know — pillars in any American restaurant, you could say.

Examples include a double-patty cheeseburger with brisket pastrami ($19), pork rib cassoulet ($29), shrimp and grits ($27) and a delicious-looking duck, leek and bacon pot pie ($28). The agnolotti filled with ricotta and caramelized onions and grilled short rib ($28) is another one of Krstic’s favorites.

The name “Pillar” came to Krstic after he visited Ernest Hemingway’s House in Key West, Florida, and saw a photo of the author’s boat, Pilar. Krstic set out to open a seafood restaurant named after Hemingway’s boat, but the restaurant seemed more natural as an American eatery. Pilar became Pillar.

On the wall walking in, designers hung portraits of important historical figures — pillars — from George Washington and Abraham Lincoln to investor Nikola Tesla and civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr.

The cocktail menu keeps up the “pillar” theme. The Prima Donna is a “spiced and spicy” mezcal drink with a house-made hibiscus-beet mixer, explained Naomi Bombardier, the cocktail consultant who co-created Pillar’s drinks. It’s named for a fiery redhead, Lucille Ball.

The Zero Degrees, a classic gin martini served extra cold, is named for Tesla, the scientist who never got a college degree.

The only menu item that will be repeated from Krstic’s other restaurant, Mot Hai Ba, is the chocolate cake. It’s a tall slice, a play on red velvet with mascarpone, chocolate mousse and more.

“It’s the best chocolate cake in Dallas,” he said, without even a smirk. Try it.

Pillar is at 408 N. Bishop Ave., Dallas. It opened Dec. 8, 2024. Reservations recommended. Closed Mondays.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X at @sblaskovich.