Dallas’ newest Mediterranean restaurant is open at historic food corner

Alania Mediterranean Grill is now open in Old East Dallas, serving a feast of mezze, flatbreads, lamb chops and skewered meats.

Turkish natives and married couple Kenan and Melike Turan signed the lease next to the Dallasite bar and across from Jimmy’s Food Store — two landmark businesses that are each over 50 years old. When Alania opened May 1, 2026, it replaced Mai’s, which served Vietnamese food in Old East Dallas for decades.

“If they’ve been here forever,” co-owner Kenan Turan said, “it’s our goal to be here forever.”

His wife, Melike, was a professional basketball player in Turkey. Kenan has worked in restaurants for most of his life, both in Turkey and in Texas.

While some of the menu at Alania is Turkish, like the fire-roasted eggplant, chef Tuna Patiroglu calls the food “modern Mediterranean.” He cooked previously at Istanbul Palace Grill and Bar in Richardson, which is now closed.

Chef Tuna Patiroglu grills over charcoal as he prepares the Grand Feast, which features Adana kebab, chicken shish, beef shish, lamb shish, lamb chops, chicken Adana, grilled vegetables, rice, and warm bread, at Alania Mediterranean Grill in Dallas. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News)

Alania’s owners encourage customers to try Patiroglu’s lahmacun, a crispy flatbread covered in minced beef and lamb, then dusted with sumac. You eat it with your hands: Scatter purple onions on top, roll it up like a newspaper and take a bite.

Unlike some of the restaurants expanding into Dallas, Alania is a small family business, where sons Okan and Kaan Elagoz work in the dining room alongside their parents. Melike’s best friend Sevda Demirtas is a partner in the restaurant and its designer.

“Every small detail is important to us,” Melike said, speaking about both the hospitality and the food.

Whipped Cyprus feta, pink sultan and carrot tarator are three colorful dishes at Alania Mediterranean Grill in Dallas. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News)

Customers can start with muhammara, whipped Cyprus feta, roasted beets, and blended carrots and walnuts, each presented on delicate plates filled with purple, orange, red and white dips.

The Grand Feast lives up to its name, as this $200 platter feeds four to six people and comes stacked with steak, lamb chops, grilled chicken and adana, or beef and lamb kebabs.

Alania serves Turkish tea or coffee to finish, and servers present it on a silver platter in delicate cups.

Alania opens in Dallas in the midst of a Mediterranean food boom. Restaurants Avra (Uptown), Alára (Design District) and Meraki (Fort Worth) will soon be joined by Aba (Design District), Corsaire (Lower Greenville) and others.

Alania Mediterranean Grill is at 4812 Bryan St., Dallas. It opened May 1, 2026. Open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

The owners suggest finishing lunch or dinner with Turkish coffee at Alania Mediterranean Grill in Dallas. (Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News)