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If there’s one affordable\u00a0restaurant you need to check out this summer, it’s Seegars Deli (pictured) in Dallas’ Cedars neighborhood. If you have room in your budget for a pricey restaurant, your must-visit place is Ol\u014dy\u014d in East Dallas.<\/p>\n
Sarah Blaskovich\/Staff<\/p>\n
School\u2019s out for the summer. Our June 2026 Hot List \u2014 an easy, breezy guide of where to eat in Dallas-Fort Worth right now \u2014 will focus on restaurants that are kid-friendly or summer appropriate. We\u2019re talkin\u2019 soft-serve margaritas on the patio, cold ceviches, sandwiches by the pool and burgers by the lake.<\/p>\n
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But allow us to recommend some date-night spots, too, because not all of us are in vacation mode all month. Adults, you deserve a night out, and Dallas is brimming with new spots to try<\/a>.<\/p>\n Restaurants listed in alphabetical order.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Alma Cafe and Bakehouse in Irving<\/p>\n In a little house on a corner lot in south Irving, Alma Cafe and Bakehouse is slinging caffeine and sweet treats<\/a>. Be the hero and don\u2019t tell your kids about the M&M\u2019s cookies in advance; they\u2019ll be delighted by dessert for breakfast during the first few days of summer. If you go on weekends, look for chilaquiles on the menu, our Imelda Garc\u00eda said.<\/p>\n Alma Cafe is at 202 S. Britain Road, Irving.\u00a0<\/p>\n Alma Cafe is a new Latina-owned coffee shop in south Irving.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Apothecary in East Dallas<\/p>\n The\u00a0former Rye on Dallas\u2019 Greenville Avenue<\/a> has transformed into a cocktail-forward, two-room restaurant. Look for the soft-serve margarita, the boozy treat that\u2019s become the drink of the summer<\/a>. Opt for this viral sensation on the East Dallas patio, or have even more fun with the bar\u2019s deep cocktail selection. There\u2019s a peach-bourbon highball, the option of a \u201cparty shot\u201d of the bartender\u2019s choice and even a gin fizz inspired by (… checks notes) the pasta dish cacio e pepe? Just go with it; there\u2019s lots to love here.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Apothecary is at 1922 Greenville Ave., Dallas.<\/p>\n Bazaar in downtown Dallas<\/p>\n Bazaar’s dinners are some of the most interesting in Dallas right now, and part of the allure is that chef Belal Kattan does one-night-only events that move to a new kitchen every time.\u00a0Kattan is trying something new in June: He\u2019ll stay put, with a residency in downtown Dallas.<\/a> Find him serving 14 nights of dinners at the same restaurant in downtown Dallas from June 5 to 27.\u00a0<\/p>\n Bazaar is at 1914 Commerce St., Dallas, for a limited time in June 2026. Dinners cost $135 per person for five to seven courses. Reservations open now<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Blake\u2019s Snow Shack in Sanger<\/p>\n Head to Sanger with a car full of kids to celebrate \u201cthe chillest local spot for families<\/a>,\u201d our Zacharia Washington wrote. Blake\u2019s Snow Shack just notched 10 years in business. Owner Blake Pyron, a 30-year-old man with Down syndrome, has blazed trails for adults in Texas with intellectual and developmental disabilities. \u201cIt\u2019s never been about the snow cones,\u201d his mom told Washington. \u201cIt\u2019s been about letting Blake fulfill his purpose in life.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Blake\u2019s Snow Shack is at 401 Locust St., Sanger.\u00a0<\/p>\n Blake’s Snow Shack, a snow cone stand owned by Texas’ first business owner with Down syndrome, just celebrated its 10-year anniversary.<\/p>\n Mary Ann Pyron \/ Blake’s Snow Shack<\/p>\n Lions Den in Uptown Dallas<\/p>\n We promised a sexy night out, and Lions Den should move to the top of your list<\/a>. This new Italian supper club is tucked in the back corner of the century-old Stoneleigh Hotel, where every inch has been redone, to the tune of $20 million. Lions Den provides a moody setting for beef carpaccio, lobster burrata and grilled branzino. Don\u2019t have the time or money for a long, pricey dinner? Perch on a barstool at Bar Leonessa, the newly remodeled cocktail lounge in the Stoneleigh lobby. A martini and a plate of cold oysters sound just as great.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The Lions Den at The Stoneleigh is at 2927 Maple Ave., Dallas. Reservations recommended<\/a>.<\/p>\n Little Heron in downtown Dallas<\/p>\n You have to know Little Heron is there, hidden inside Fountain Place in downtown Dallas, without much visibility from the street. Now you know! And now you must go<\/a>. Stop in for lunch this summer with your family before or after a trip to the Dallas World Aquarium or Perot Museum of Nature and Science. Or, plan a short business breakfast or lunch. I love the triple-cream brie baguette with turkey and quince jam with a simple, salty chocolate chip cookie<\/a>.<\/p>\n Little Heron is at 1540 Munger Ave., Dallas. Park in the Munger Avenue garage and bring the ticket in to be validated.<\/p>\n Luna Roja in downtown Dallas<\/p>\n Contemporary Mexican food is booming right now in Dallas. (See also: Puerto<\/a>, Maroma<\/a> and Ol\u014dy\u014d<\/a>.) Luna Roja in downtown Dallas enters the scene selling breakfast, lunch, happy hour and dinner \u2014 a rarity in this dinner-heavy space. Downtown Dallas workers should consider the restaurant\u2019s \u201cexpress lunch\u201d<\/a> of two tacos and chips for $13 or a burrito bowl for $16.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Luna Roja is at 1525 Elm St., Dallas. Free valet parking is at 1600 Pacific Ave., Dallas.<\/p>\n Madea\u2019s Down Home Cooking in Everman<\/p>\n Family-owned Southern restaurant Madea is named for owner Elbert Penson\u2019s late mother. Lunch and dinner are served in an actual house, designed to make customers feel like they\u2019re at a family get-together eating meatloaf and oxtails. Madea\u2019s got lots of new fans after Samuel L. Jackson stopped in while visiting D-FW to film Frisco King<\/a> recently. Penson said it was a life-changing day. “For Mr. Jackson to come in and see that,\u201d Penson said of the room decorated with photos of presidents and civil rights leaders, \u201cit’s a real big deal to us.\u201d<\/p>\n Madea’s Down Home Cooking is at 1019 W. Enon Ave., Everman.\u00a0<\/p>\n Maroma in the Dallas Design District<\/p>\n We\u2019re calling it: Chef Omar Flores\u2019 Design District restaurant Maroma<\/a> will be the go-to lunch spot of the summer<\/a> in Dallas-Fort Worth. The coastal Mexican menu is as refined as it is fun, making it a great option for business get-togethers, family meals and drinks with friends. The red snapper ceviche is a delightful punch of sweet and sour, and great to share. Order a tostada next, but don\u2019t share: You\u2019ll want this open-faced, crispy tortilla with hunks of raw tuna, salsa matcha, serranos and avocado all to yourself.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Maroma is at 1333 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. Reservations recommended<\/a>.<\/p>\n Maroma’s patio is temperature controlled. Managers can roll down the windows if the weather is pleasant.<\/p>\n Samantha Marie<\/p>\n Ol\u014dy\u014d in East Dallas<\/p>\n Chef Olivia L\u00f3pez has described her new 23-seat restaurant on Dallas\u2019 Gaston Avenue as a dream, years in the making<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s what I thought would not be possible,\u201d she said of the hyper-focused seafood restaurant created to honor ingredients and techniques from her hometown of Colima, Mexico. Ol\u014dy\u014d is one of the most anticipated new restaurants of 2026<\/a>, and seats are almost impossible to snag, given the small room and big interest. If you can\u2019t get in soon, wait patiently for the casual restaurant Molino Ol\u014dy\u014d, opening next door later this year.<\/p>\n Ol\u014dy\u014d is at 4422 Gaston Ave., Dallas. Reservations required<\/a>.<\/p>\n One of the most significant new restaurants in North Texas in 2026 is a Mexican tasting room from Jonathan Percival (left) and Olivia L\u00f3pez. They have quietly become a force in Dallas food with their small business Molino Ol\u014dy\u014d.<\/p>\n Jason Janik\/Special Contributor<\/p>\n Ospi in the Dallas Design District<\/p>\n Families are welcome at Ospi, the Italian restaurant in the Dallas Design District<\/a> that replaced Meddlesome Moth<\/a>. The menu comes from Jackson Kalb, a former Top Chef contestant from California whose Design District restaurant is his first in Texas. Sharing is caring, so start with cheese toast or ricotta and garlic confit focaccia for the table. Then order the kale salad with almond dressing (my favorite so far), a plate of spicy rigatoni alla vodka and some shrimp tagliolini to share. Go at aperitivo, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. daily, for $7 beers, $12 glasses of wine and $12 snacks like ricotta focaccia.<\/p>\n Ospi is at 1621 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chef Jackson Kalb owns at Ospi, a new Italian restaurant in the Dallas Design District.<\/p>\n Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n PopUp Bagels in East Dallas and Bluffview<\/p>\n Mark your calendars: Texas\u2019 second PopUp Bagels opens June 5, 2026, on Henderson Avenue. If it\u2019s anything like the state\u2019s first location at Inwood Road and West Lovers Lane, expect hordes of breakfast lovers to line up for steaming hot bagels<\/a>. What\u2019s the deal with bagels right now? One, Dallas\u2019 bagel culture is still fairly new and the excitement runs high. Two,\u00a0PopUp is popular on Instagram, and actors Patrick Schwarzenegger and football players TJ and JJ Watt helped finance it. The hype is real.<\/p>\n PopUp Bagels is at 5450 W. Lovers Lane and 2323 Henderson Ave., both in Dallas.<\/p>\n Salt and Straw in East Dallas and Fort Worth<\/p>\n Visit Salt and Straw for bites of its inventive ice creams like paloma sherbet, chocolate caramel smoked budino, and pear and blue cheese. An early fave for me is the cream cheese jalape\u00f1o jelly ice cream<\/a>, a dessert meant to imitate the savory snack of cream cheese, spicy jelly and crackers. If you\u2019re dining with some not-so-adventurous eaters, don\u2019t fret: There are brownie, vanilla and cookie dough ice creams that\u2019ll be excellent in a house-made waffle cone.<\/p>\n Salt and Straw is at 2323 N. Henderson Ave., Dallas, and 1305 W. Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth. The Dallas location is\u00a0next door to\u00a0PopUp Bagels.\u00a0<\/p>\n Want a sample? Salt and Straw staffers will let you sample\u00a0every flavor at the new Dallas and Fort Worth shops. Yes, every one.<\/p>\n Steve Hamm\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Seegars Deli in Dallas\u2019 Cedars<\/p>\n No matter who you are, Seegars wants you to come in. \u201cI don\u2019t want to create spaces where people think, I shouldn\u2019t be here. I\u2019m not dressed for this. I want someone to come in from the pool, grab some sandwiches and go back,\u201d said owner Olivia Genthe. What\u2019s more, her new spot in Dallas\u2019 Cedars neighborhood sells a heck of a good sandwich that\u2019ll delight kids and parents at the pool \u2014 or anywhere, really. Popular picks so far are the pastrami, the grinder and the dill-turkey.<\/p>\n Seegars Deli is at 1910 S. Harwood St., Dallas.<\/p>\n Shady\u2019s Burgers and Brewhaha in Frisco (on Lewisville Lake)<\/p>\n Some North Texans already know burger joint Shady\u2019s in Richardson and Lake Highlands. A third Shady\u2019s has opened on the sunny shores of Lewisville Lake<\/a>, Garc\u00eda reports. Arrive by boat or car for burgers, cheese fries and tater tots in a casual setting. Kids eat for under $10 here, not including the milkshake we \u201caccidentally\u201d order every time. (The caramel pretzel is particularly great.)<\/p>\n Shady\u2019s Burgers and Brewhaha at Hidden Cove Marina is at 20400 Hackberry Creek Park Road, Frisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shady\u2019s Burgers has a new location in Hidden Cove Marina.<\/p>\n Nancy Farrar\/Courtesy of Shady’s Burgers<\/p>\n Stan\u2019s Blue Note in East Dallas<\/p>\n Leave the kids at home for a visit to Stan\u2019s Blue Note, one Dallas\u2019 oldest bars. A new owner just took over<\/a>, but he assures us the Busch Light and chicken wings won\u2019t change. Better go back this summer just to be sure.<\/p>\n Stan’s Blue Note is at 2908 Greenville Ave., Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stillwell\u2019s in the Harwood District<\/p>\n Dallas steakhouse Stillwell\u2019s, located inside the Harwood District\u2019s H\u00f4tel Swexan, has been a popular spot for a luxurious dinner since it opened in 2023<\/a>. Michelin nods in 2024<\/a> and 2025<\/a> kept travelers coming. In 2026, this chic spot was a film site for the Paramount+ show Dutton Ranch<\/a>, a spin-off of Yellowstone. Want to eat like Beth Dutton this summer? The restaurant is selling a $115 per person dinner<\/a> in honor of the show, with deviled eggs, cornbread, chili, steak and Texas sheet cake on the menu. Want to really eat like the Duttons? Pay $60 to $65 more per person for a bigger cut served with bone marrow bordelaise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Stillwell\u2019s Steakhouse is at 2575 McKinnon St. (inside the H\u00f4tel Swexan), Dallas.<\/p>\n The 22-story Hotel Swexan in Dallas’ Harwood District has several restaurants, including the steakhouse Stillwell’s.\u00a0<\/p>\n Samantha Marie<\/p>\n Syrup + Sno in Grand Prairie<\/p>\n Are you sugared out? Hope not, because Dallas chef Tiffany Derry is selling snow cones <\/a>and macaron ice cream sandwiches from a small, pink shop in Grand Prairie. Find Syrup + Sno at EpicCentral, near a bank of restaurants and a fountain that does a light-up water dance in the evenings.\u00a0<\/p>\n Syrup + Sno is at 2951 S. State Highway 161, Grand Prairie.\u00a0<\/p>\n A menu with shaved ice creations awaits customers at Syrup + Sno, a new dessert shop in Grand Prairie from ‘MasterChef’ judge Tiffany Derry.<\/p>\n Steve Hamm\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Tacos Juancho on Dallas\u2019 Oak Lawn<\/p>\n You can have a feast at Mexico City-inspired restaurant Tacos Juancho for a small price. The talker is the gaonera de rib-eye taco laced with cheese for $7.95. But don\u2019t miss the nopalitos (cactus) tacos, either, a steal for $2.95. This Oak Lawn Avenue spot was named by Food & Wine as one of the hottest new taco shops in the country<\/a>.<\/p>\n Tacos Juancho is at 3604 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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