5 restaurants pushing the envelope in Dallas

by OpenTable team

Updated December 21, 2022

Posh steakhouses. Hole-in-the-wall barbecue joints. Chips and salsa for days. These are just a few of the compelling reasons to take a bite out of Dallas’s renowned dining scene.

The area’s most innovative restaurants display a fierce, Lone Star swagger. A downtown sushi den offers avant-garde rolls, topped with lesser-seen ingredients such as cashew pesto and yuca crisp. In Fort Worth, a “cowboy fine-dining” spot steered by a prolific chef serves up kangaroo carpaccio nachos and rabbit-rattlesnake sausage.

Seek out these restaurants in Dallas for a truly unmatched experience. These are the Metroplex’s five most unique spots to make a reservation at right now.

Uchi Dallas

4.8

4.8 (4042)

$50 and over

Sushi

Uptown

About the restaurant

Uchi is a longtime Dallas favorite because of its utterly unique approach to sushi. There’s not a California roll in sight on James Beard Award winner Tyson Cole’s inventive menu. Cole and chef de cuisine Rhonda McCullar, known for reducing waste by creatively repurposing unused ingredients, offer avant-garde delicacies such as snow crab maki with cashew pesto, asparagus, and brown butter; smoked yellowtail with yuca crisp and Marcona almond; and fatty bluefin tuna with truffle oil and Welsh onions. With a massive sushi bar as its focal point, mood lighting, and exquisite Japanese design accents, Uchi stands out for multiple reasons.

Top review

Shanthi

Dined 4 days ago

The place was booked - we enjoyed our evening. This is our second time and we will be coming back again

Don Artemio - Fort Worth

4.8

4.8 (433)

$31 to $50

Mexican

Fort Worth

About the restaurant

In a sea of casual Tex-Mex restaurants, Don Artemio, one of the Metroplex’s most anticipated 2022 openings, distinguishes itself by serving sophisticated regional Mexican fare. Executive chef Juan Ramón Cárdenas takes cues from the cuisine of Saltillo in northeastern Mexico, where he was born and raised. The Fort Worth location marks Don Artemio’s first outpost outside Mexico; its original Saltillo edition was featured in Netflix’s Taco Chronicles docuseries. All menu items, including the tortillas, are made from scratch. Some of Don Artemio’s more innovative dishes include the costillas de cabrito (fried ribs with oregano-pickled red onion) and the chile hojaldrado (a cream cheese and pecan-stuffed poblano chile, wrapped in puff pastry, served over tomato sauce). Feast on it all in a space inspired by Saltillo’s old homes, decked with handmade clay bricks from Mexico.

Top review

OpenTable Diner

Dined on Jan 21, 2023

A Lovely atmosphere, delicious food, and truly professional wait staff were the ingredients of a very enjoyable dinner at Don Artemio with my family.

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Popular dish

Tres Leches del Desierto

BAR-Ranch Steak Company

5.0

5 (368)

$50 and over

Steakhouse

Plano

About the restaurant

Texans take immense pride in their steakhouse standards. And this unassuming Plano spot is a cut above the rest. BAR-Ranch is a craft butchery by day and an elegant, white-tablecloth spot at night, complete with live piano and artistic charcuterie boards. All steaks are dry-aged for at least a month in a glass-walled salt chamber onsite. The restaurant is small but mighty: With just seven tables for two (turned every two hours), it’s a place that has everyone talking about its cool use of space—and its culinary prowess.

Top review

austinVIP

Dined on Dec 14, 2024

The food was delicious as always. Services wasn’t as good as last time. We did a dinner for two and added an extra person so we were charged $100, which is fine, but you don’t get nearly $100 in food extra. The menu says it’s “encouraged for more” but definitely doesn’t feel that way. When we asked for our extra side that came with it the server lied initially to us.

Lonesome Dove Western Bistro - Fort Worth

4.7

4.7 (3939)

$50 and over

Contemporary American

Fort Worth Stockyards

About the restaurant

No Forth Worth spot claims more buzz than Lonesome Dove, chef Tim Love’s “cowboy fine-dining” venture. With a menu that features rabbit-rattlesnake sausage and kangaroo carpaccio nachos, this Stockyards spot offers a one-of-a-kind meal. To that, add an eclectic backdrop, complete with trophy heads on the walls and a chandelier made of deer antlers, and you’re in for an unforgettable experience. With a dozen restaurants spread across Texas and Tennessee, chef Love is renowned for other cutting-edge concepts, including Caterina’s, an Italian restaurant where diners have to relinquish their cell phones. But Lonesome Dove is arguably his wildest and his most popular.

Top review

Kevin

Dined 6 days ago

Lonesome Dove was excellent, staff was very helpful in selecting food and drinks that paired well (and is within your budget). If you are in Fort Worth, this is a western fine dining experience you must try!

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Popular dish

Elk Loin

Popular dish

Elk-Foie Gras Sliders

Popular dish

Warm Ancho Chile Chocolate Cake

Lexy's

4.1

4.1 (514)

$31 to $50

Contemporary American

Free to Repurpose

About the restaurant

Lexy’s, an Instagram influencer’s fever dream, offers unmatched whimsy. Its interiors are some of the most playful in town, adorned with feathered chandeliers, pink booths, faux roses on the ceilings, and a Champagne vending machine. As are its drinks, which include an over-the-top “high” (CBD-infused) tea service, featuring clouds of dry ice, plus cocktails with dainty floral garnishes. Shareable plates such as wagyu tacos and shrimp-crab-artichoke dip are reliable crowd-pleasers. But let’s face it, you’re really here for the glamorous ambiance and Lexy’s inimitable vibes.

Top review

MorganC

Dined on Apr 20, 2024

Absolutely outstanding! I could seriously eat here every night for dinner. The service, the atmosphere and vibes, the food, the drinks… 1000/10!! Our server was so attentive, friendly, and fun! Anytime I come to Dallas in the future, this is one of the first places I’m going!