Looking for a stylish replacement for the Zodiac, Neiman Marcus’ downtown Dallas restaurant that just closed? We’d like to suggest Mirador.
Elías Valverde II/Staff Photographer
On Oct. 8, 2026, the Michelin Texas Guide will name Dallas-Fort Worth’s best restaurants, as chosen by a team of anonymous inspectors from around the world. Until then, I’ve got a list. This is the Hot List, The Dallas Morning News’ monthly guide to where to eat across North Texas. We try to reach all corners of Dallas-Fort Worth, and all price points, to bring you a useful look at where your next lunch or dinner should come from, no matter the occasion.
You’ll find several excellent Mexican restaurants, a halal barbecue shop in Irving, a one-of-a-kind fast-food joint in McKinney and the place I picked to celebrate my new job as restaurant critic.
I’d love to hear which restaurants you want to visit most. Chat with me on Instagram and X.
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Restaurants listed in alphabetical order.
Almacén El Gallo in Fort Worth
Fort Worth diners are buzzing about Almacén El Gallo, a restaurant downtown that serves contemporary Mexican food inspired by the owners’ favorite fondas and cantinas. Lunch is a great option, with daily specials like barbacoa flautas and chile relleno for $19 each. From the dinner menu, you can keep costs low by ordering a la carte tacos that range from $9 to $13. I didn’t take my own advice and ordered $27 ceviche and $65 short ribs. However you order, don’t skip dessert. I’ll go back again for the strawberry pavlova and the sweet corn flan with peanut ice cream.
Almacén El Gallo is at 500 W. 7th St., Fort Worth. Open six days a week for lunch and dinner and on Saturdays from 3 to 10 p.m. Reservations recommended at dinnertime.
Short rib en chile mixe is a shareable entrée at Almacén El Gallo in Fort Worth. The plate is accompanied by corn tortillas.
Sarah Blaskovich/Staff
CocoAndré in Oak Cliff
It’s time to get back to chocolate shop CocoAndré, which has a new space in Oak Cliff after two and a half years of construction. Our Imelda García reports the shop is more than three times its previous size, which means more room for coffee, tea, new items like pumpkin horchata and – the reason we’re here — the chocolates. Even though CocoAndré is bigger, I appreciate that it will be more focused, as co-owner Andrea Pedraza’s confirmed with García. “It’s time to return to authentic Mexican flavors,” she said.
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CocoAndré is at 423 Centre St., Dallas. Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.
Andrea Pedraza stands near the chocolates at the new CocoAndré in Dallas.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
Dos Mares in Fort Worth
Seafood restaurant Dos Mares has been interesting to me from the start, as it’s the sister (and neighbor) to higher-end Mexican restaurant Don Artemio. I enjoyed a recent lunch at Dos Mares, where we dined on light, acidic bites of raw fish next to a wall of aqua tiles that tricked me into thinking the ocean is near. New at dinner, Dos Mares has a seven-course taco omakase for $99 led by culinary director Rodrigo Cárdenas. I particularly enjoyed the lobster taco with salsa matcha mayo, pineapple pico, cabbage and salmon roe.
Dos Mares is at 3260 W. 7th St., Fort Worth. Open for lunch and dinner six days a week. Closed Mondays.
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Related: Dos Mares launches taco omakase with caviar, lobster and dry-aged beef
Housewife Rebellion in Grapevine
New wine tasting room Housewife Rebellion has a secret: It’s also an art gallery. It was created by a mom annoyed by the preciousness of the art and wine industries. “I’m a middle-aged mom who likes my wine,” said owner Nicole Heere, “and I don’t want it to come with a lesson.” Her wine bottles are designed with small replicas of her paintings of rebel women wearing 1950s outfits and breaking the rules. Visit this very pink shop in Grapevine to find wine and art without the pretense.
Housewife Rebellion is at 211 E. Worth St., Grapevine. Open Thursdays through Sundays only.
Owner Nicole Heere pours a bottle of pinot grigio at Housewife Rebellion in Grapevine.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
Hugo’s Seafood in Oak Cliff
One of my favorite dinners this year was a quick stop at Hugo’s Seafood, then a small restaurant in Oak Cliff where my husband and I barely had enough elbow room to eat at the bar. Good news: Hugo’s is bigger now, and it just reopened a few days ago. I haven’t been back yet, but it tops my list for dinner, drinks or both.
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Hugo’s Seafood is at 334 W. Davis St., Dallas. Open six days a week. Closed Mondays.
Kafi BBQ in Irving
Halal barbecue shop Kafi in Irving got a jolt in September when Southern Living said it was one of the 16 best new barbecue joints in the South. Kafi was the only North Texas barbecue restaurant on Southern Living’s list, and it was lauded for its Wagyu brisket, Iraqi-spiced sausage and french fries cooked in Wagyu beef tallow. Need another place to eat protein? Try Kafi.
Kafi BBQ is at 8140 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving. Open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only.
Have you been to Kafi BBQ in Irving yet?
Brittany Conerly
Kuby’s Sausage House in University Park
It’s football season, one of my favorite times of the year. If friends are coming over and you don’t want to cook, consider Kuby’s for premade snacks like jalapeño pimento cheese and Bavarian chicken salad, both delicious. Grab Bratwurst, German mustard and whatever else catches your fancy at this European market open since 1961, and you’ve got yourself a meal.
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Kuby’s Sausage House is at 6601 Snider Plaza, Dallas. Make note, NFL fans: It’s closed Sundays.
This DMN file photo shows Kuby’s market, which hasn’t changed much since this photo was taken in 2010.
Ben Torres/Dallas Morning News
Meridian in Dallas
The day The News announced my new role as the new restaurant critic, I wanted to celebrate with my family at a restaurant that was comforting but classy; a place where I could drink a glass of Champagne and my 5th grader could find something she’d love. Our answer was Meridian, the Modern American restaurant near Greenville Avenue in Dallas. My favorites were executive chef Eduardo Osorio’s starters: a homemade “fun-ion” ring filled with caramelized onion dip and a tiny Caesar salad served inside a crackly shell. How satisfying, to eat foods I already love in a new way.
Meridian is at 5650 Village Glen Drive (inside The Village development), Dallas. Open for dinner Wednesdays through Sundays. Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
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Meridian’s list of “one-hitters,” or the section of appetizers that meant to be eaten in one or two bites, includes several winners. The “fun-ion ring” (pictured here) lives up to its name.
Sarah Blaskovich/Staff
Mirador in downtown Dallas
Longtime Dallasites, myself included, will miss the Zodiac, the chic restaurant open since the 1950s inside the original Neiman Marcus. The Zodiac closed Sept. 30 in downtown Dallas. What could replace it? Not the nearby French Room; it’s closed, save for afternoon tea. Perhaps you’ll consider Elm Street restaurant Mirador as the Zodiac’s modernized successor. It’s open for lunch only — perfect! — and offers sophisticated food, attentive service and a pretty dining room. I take colleagues there when I want to impress them.
Mirador is at 1608 Elm St., Dallas. Lunch or brunch only, Tuesdays through Saturdays. Closed Sundays and Mondays.
The main dining room at Mirador was freshened up a few years ago.
Elías Valverde II/Staff Photographer
Open House in McKinney
KFC — yes, the fast-food giant — has a new restaurant in McKinney that’s the first of its kind in the U.S. It’s called Open House, and it’s “a testing ground,” our García reports, where KFC can try out new dishes before execs add them to menus at the company’s 3,500 restaurants. I’m interested in trying new sauces like garlic parm and jalapeño ranch, plus their new fried green beans.
KFC’s Open House is at 8751 Eldorado Parkway, McKinney. Open seven days a week from 6 a.m. to midnight.
Despite the new menu, customers at Open House will still know they’re at a KFC restaurant.
Steve Hamm/The Dallas Morning News
Palladino’s in the Preston Hollow area
Friends and readers in the North Dallas area keep asking me about Palladino’s, the new steak and seafood shop from New York and Texas restaurateur Joseph Palladino. The menu has a confident list of crowd-pleasers, like Caesar salad, lobster bisque, spicy tuna rolls, a cheeseburger and, of course, a long list of steaks with a sizable Wagyu selection. I’ll get there soon. If you’ve been, email me at sblaskovich@dallasnews.com with your thoughts.
Palladino’s Steak and Seafood is at 5959 Royal Lane, Dallas. Open seven days a week, dinner only.
The main dining room at Palladino’s in Dallas is handsome.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille in Dallas, Frisco and Grapevine
If you’ve joined the chorus of diners saying restaurant food is so dang expensive, same. Perry’s Steakhouse and Grille offers a one-day answer, when it sells two items for 79-cents each on Oct. 2, 2026. It’s a celebration of the year Perry’s was founded, 1979, and it’s a reason to put this 47-year-old restaurant back in the news. Diners can get the deal on either the “famous pork chop” or the prime rib steak sandwich, García reported. Know before you go: The 79-cent lunch is available to the first 200 customers at each location. Doors open at 10:30 a.m.
Perry’s Steakhouses are at 2100 Olive St., Dallas; 2440 Parkwood Blvd., Frisco and 2400 W. State Highway 114, Grapevine. The 79-cent deal runs Oct. 2, 2026, starting at 10:30 a.m.
Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille will celebrate its traditional Flashback Friday on Oct. 2, 2026 with two of its lunch dishes available for just 79-cents.
Courtesy of Perry’s Steakhouse
S&D Oyster Company in Uptown Dallas
Servers wearing crisp white shirts and bowties scuttle through S&D Oyster Company in Uptown Dallas, serving baskets of fried seafood, hushpuppies and coleslaw to diners sitting under red-and-white checkered tablecloths. It could be the 1980s, it could be the 2020s; S&D Oyster has been around for 50 years, and it looks almost exactly the same as when former Navy fighter pilot Herb Story opened this restaurant with his wife, Mary Kay, in 1976. I asked Herb, 82 and retired, if he ever thought his little seafood restaurant would last this long. Maybe his confidence is part of the magic at S&D: “I never even questioned it,” he said.
S&D Oyster Company is at 2701 McKinney Ave., Dallas. Closed Sundays.
S&D Oyster Company has been open in Dallas for 50 years, a feat in the restaurant industry.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
The State Fair of Texas in Dallas’ Fair Park
Folks, it’s State Fair season, and you’ve got a few weeks to get out to Fair Park and treat the grounds like one massive restaurant. If you’re bougie, go to the Old Mill Inn, which has been renovated and boasts an impressive bourbon selection and a new menu with buckets of wine on ice. When it comes to the food across the fair grounds, we tasted a dozen newcomers so you don’t have to. We’re saying “yes” to a Twinkie stuffed with brisket and “no” to a fried bar snack that didn’t live up to its name. Find all our picks here.
The State Fair of Texas runs until Oct. 18, 2026 in Dallas’ Fair Park. Customers must buy coupons to pay for food at the State Fair. One exception: The Old Mill Inn takes credit cards.
Sushi Kozy in downtown Dallas
As we look to the Michelin Guide Texas announcement on Oct. 8, 2026, turn your gaze to Sushi Kozy, the small Japanese restaurant in downtown Dallas that could be our region’s next one-star winner. Sushi Kozy features chef-owner Paul Ko, a protégé of Texas chef Tyson Cole and his Japanese restaurant Uchi; and chef RJ Yoakum, a protégé of California chef Thomas Keller, founder of three-star Michelin restaurant The French Laundry. With Ko’s precision with nigiri and Yoakum’s inventive one-bite dishes at the beginning and end of dinner, they’re a power duo with a strong opportunity to snag a star.
Related: Michelin’s list of Texas’ best restaurants to be announced with less fanfare
Tin Star in McKinney
Starting in 1999, Tin Star sold creative and inexpensive tacos across North Texas for about 20 years. Each restaurant quietly closed, one by one, but I’m thrilled to report that Tin Star is back in 2026. Restaurateur Rich Hicks, who cofounded the order-at-the-counter joint nearly 30 years ago, picked McKinney as the first new location. Frisco is next. Tin Star’s popular cheeseburger taco will get the most attention, but don’t miss the portabella taco with roasted corn and sweet potatoes, my fave.
Tin Star is open at 8801 Eldorado Parkway, McKinney. The McKinney restaurant is open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.
A second Tin Star is expected in 2027 at 5408 Dallas Parkway, near Lebanon Road, Frisco.
Tin Star opened recently in McKinney. Go see if your favorite from years ago is back on the menu.
Chitose Suzuki/The Dallas Morning News
Truck Yard in Richardson
Did we hop right over patio season, going straight from too hot to too much rain? I hope not, because Richardson has a big new patio called Truck Yard worth checking out. If the name’s familiar, that’s because Truck Yard has other locations in East Dallas, Fort Worth and The Colony. Kids, dogs, Dolly Parton devotees, Saved by the Bell geeks, beer drinkers and live music fans will all find something to like at Truck Yard, a delightfully casual bar.
Truck Yard is at 740 S. Central Expressway, Richardson. Open seven days a week. Evenings only, Mondays through Wednesdays.
Dining and Cooking