Strap in, the restaurant rollercoaster is taking off once again in Dallas-Fort Worth.
In the past few weeks, some of Dallas’ flashiest restaurants of the year opened, with Mamani and Avra, both in Uptown, Sauvage in downtown Dallas, and No. 1 Steak in Highland Park.
Then came more reasonably-priced spots: Brya Zan Thai Noodle + Brew in Plano, Taco y Vino in Garland and NADC Burger in Uptown. Add to that list the anticipated Prince St. Pizza in East Dallas, but you’ll have to wait until mid-October 2025. Look for it in November’s Hot List.
The crush of new restaurants lets up in October 2025, a spooky turn in Halloween season after a busy few months of restaurant debuts.
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Now’s the time to catch up on the reservations you haven’t made yet. You’ll want to have a list of favorites by the holidays, both for high-end spots worth the big bucks, as well as more casual spots to entertain the aunts and uncles.
I picked a lucky 13 restaurants for the October 2025 Hot List.
Restaurants listed in alphabetical order.
Avra Estiatorio in Uptown Dallas
Grilled octopus is on the menu at Avra, Dallas’ newest Greek restaurant.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
Don’t panic over the two names: Just call her Ahhvra, the sleekest new restaurant right now in Dallas. This grandiose palace is pretty and pricey. But so is a lot of Dallas food, so what makes Avra different? Its Greek menu boasts veggies and whole-roasted fish. It’s healthy and chic, basically.
Dallas has long been a steak town — and you can get one at Avra if you must — but most are eating fish flown in from the Mediterranean.
Avra Estiatorio is at 300 Crescent Court, Dallas. Valet and self-park available. Reservations recommended. Dinner only, for now, seven days a week.
Boogie’s in East Dallas
If it’s been a minute since you’ve been to a discotheque, boogie on over to a new bar near Dallas’ Henderson Avenue. The former Whippersnapper — one of “Dallas’ most mischievous bars,” we said — has been transformed into Boogie’s, a dance club and cocktail lounge. Wait until the weekend to put your dancin’ shoes on: It opens Oct. 3, 2025.
Boogie’s will be at 1806 McMillan Ave., Dallas. Open Wednesdays through Sundays in the evenings. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Brya Zan in Plano
Plano has a new, casual Southeast Asian restaurant with Brya Zan at Park and Preston. The restaurant comes from restaurateur couple Braden and Yasmin Wages, who own Malai Kitchens in Dallas, Southlake and Fort Worth. Brya Zan is similar to Malai Kitchen, but quicker and less expensive, the Wages explain. Look for drunken noodles, fried rice, Panang curry and house-brewed beer.
Brya Zan is at 1901 Preston Road (near W. Park Boulevard), Plano. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
CuppaPug in Frisco
CuppaPug: Where pugs and people play.
Anja Schlein / Special Contributor
A new-to-the-United States concept, a pug cafe, has opened in Frisco. They play a song called “Who Let the Pugs Out,” and you order a drink and snuggle pugs who are up for adoption. I know. Just don’t blame me if you go home with a new best friend!
CuppaPug is at 8100 Stonebrook Parkway, Frisco. $30 per person, per visit. Sign up in advance.
Domodomo Kō in Uptown Dallas 
Domodomo Kō in Dallas is a Korean-Japanese restaurant with a la carte handrolls and sushi.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
Open just since April 2025, Domodomo Kō in Uptown Dallas has made some significant changes already, as it seeks to impress Michelin. The Korean-Japanese restaurant’s seven-course dinner for $135 — cleverly called “Domokase” — was lowered to six courses for $95. Its chef and owners also added a la carte options for those who want to choose their own adventure. As of this week, Domodomo Kō is open for lunch.
We found the menu thrilling from the front, but it might have felt out of reach for diners who hadn’t tried hirame mulhoe (cold fish soup) or arctic char with dashi foam before. Today’s edited menu includes a lengthier list of sushi and handrolls; entrees like branzino with shiso chimichurri or miso black cod; and desserts like black sesame panna cotta with mochi.
Domodomo Kō is at 2681 Howell St., Dallas. Open for lunch Tuesdays through Fridays. Open for dinner Tuesdays through Sundays. Closed on Mondays.
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Dudley’s Sports Grill in East Dallas
Chicken-fried steak from Dudley’s Sports Grill is served garlic whipped potatoes.
Dannielle Rankin
Sports! Dudley’s got ‘em showing in every corner of this Henderson Avenue restaurant and bar. It opened just in time for football season, and East Dallasites are already warming its booths, especially on weekends. Whereas some sports bars don’t go big on food, chef-partner Eric Freidline’s menu does, with chicken-fried chicken and garlic whipped potatoes, steak frites, brisket deviled eggs and more. Perhaps it’s the address: Foodies will remember this spot on Henderson Avenue as the former Hibiscus, which we said in 2013 was “the greatest steakhouse in Dallas that no one talks about.” We still miss it.
Dudley’s Sports Grill is at 2927 N. Henderson Ave., Dallas. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week, with brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. Consider getting a ride; parking can be tough.
Frenchie in University Park
A tomato tart is among the appetizers at Frenchie in Preston Center. Find it on the southeast corner of Preston Road and Northwest Highway, in place of a longtime Corner Bakery.
Steve Hamm / Special Contributor
“You have to get the quiche,” a Dallas restaurateur told me as we sat down for lunch at Frenchie. It was one of several things we tried — escargot, Cajun chicken and sardines in oil were others — but the quiche was the best. It was creamy yet light, and studded with spinach and mushrooms.
Frenchie is owned and operated by Stephan Courseau and Bruno Davaillon, two Frenchmen who call Dallas home. The menu is full of classics like leeks Dijonnaise, croque monsieur and croque madame, and French onion soup.
Frenchie is at 8420 Preston Center Plaza, Dallas. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Mamani in Uptown Dallas
The terrace at Mamani is lovely.
Shafkat Anowar / Staff Photographer
We said Mamani is “the new Dallas restaurant everyone’s talking about,” and that’s still true a month after its opening. Executive chef and partner Christophe de Lellis, who was born in France and spent 14 years at Joël Robuchon in Las Vegas, is serving a concise list of French and Italian dishes. While dinner here is pricey, there’s a comfortable quality to both the place and the food. With a bigger bank account, I’d go often.
Mamani is at 2681 Howell St., Dallas. Dinner only. Open now, but hours expand to seven days a week starting Oct. 6, 2025. Valet available out front. Reservations not required but recommended.
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Norman’s Japanese Grill in Dallas’ Oak Lawn Area
Customers can order nigiri (pictured) from Norman’s Japanese Grill. Or they can opt for more eclectic Japanese food, like corn and miso ravioli (not pictured).
Elías Valverde II / Staff Photographer
We’re sensing a theme in Dallas restaurants right now: Some of the places that could cost $100+ per person still fancy themselves as an everyday spot. That’s the case with Norman’s, a decidedly not-fancy Japanese restaurant. The eclectic menu includes sushi, pasta, a selection of meat on skewers, Korean fried chicken and more. It would be fun for a meetup with friends.
Norman’s Japanese Grill is at 4002 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. Dinner only, seven days a week. Reservations recommended.
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Nowhere Bar in Celina
Nowhere Bar is a new dive bar with burgers, beers and a shuffleboard table, says Community Impact. They’ve got a stacked lineup of weekly events, starting with Monday Funday and Trivia Tuesday. With a name like Nowhere Bar, they need to give you a reason to go. And I will: I love an out-there beer bar.
Nowhere Bar is at 501 W. Walnut St., Celina. Open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
Panther City BBQ in Fort Worth
There’s just something about a big spread of barbecue.
Tom Fox / Staff Photographer
Southern Living called this Fort Worth staple the 15th best barbecue joint in the South — impressive. The magazine ranked it above Goldee’s Bar-B-Q in Fort Worth, and higher than other beloved Texas joints like Franklin in Austin, Truth in Houston and Burnt Bean in Seguin.
If you haven’t been to Panther City recently for brisket elote, barbacoa street tacos, brisket guisada, spicy mac and cheese and more, it’s goshdarn time, cowboy. Then see which other four Dallas-Fort Worth barbecue joints made Southern Living’s list.
Panther City BBQ is at 201 E. Hattie St., Fort Worth. Open for lunch and dinner; closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
Rainbowcat in Old East Dallas
Rainbowcat is a restaurant within a bar. Misti Norris (left) created the menu and Gabe Sanchez owns the bar, Saint Valentine on Dallas’ Bryan Street.
Steve Hamm / Special Contributor
Chef Misti Norris, the creative behind gone-but-not-forgotten Dallas restaurant Petra and the Beast, is making nostalgic comfort food with big technique at Rainbowcat. Just don’t fall in love with a dish. If she gets bored, she’ll swap it for something new. Items include onion-pimento cheese dip, Spam and pastrami musubi, shrimp toast on focaccia, and a peanut butter chocolate bar topped with potato chips and glitter.
Rainbowcat is a “permanent pop-up” inside Saint Valentine, said Gabe Sanchez, who owns the bar catty-cornered from Jimmy’s Food Store in Old East Dallas. He said it’s rare to find food of this quality in a casual Dallas bar.
He corrects himself: “It doesn’t exist.”
Rainbowcat’s food is served inside Saint Valentine, a bar at 4800 Bryan St., Dallas. Open five days a week, dinner and late-night only, starting at 5 p.m. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
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Taco y Vino in downtown Garland
Here’s what you do: Order six tacos and a bottle of wine, for $50. It’s a date-night deal.
Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer
If you haven’t dined in downtown Garland recently, what are you waiting for? The newest neighbor is Taco y Vino, the Oak Cliff restaurant that expanded northeast. As the name suggests, customers will find tacos and wine, plus snacks like jalapeño-artichoke dip, ceviche and tamale bites. This new restaurant would be a great spot for a date.
Taco y Vino is at 706 Main St., Garland. Open for lunch and dinner six days a week. open 10 am. to 3 p.m. on Sundays.
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Check out past Hot Lists