Walkers’, a new restaurant on Greenville Avenue, sells sandwiches on house-made focaccia during the day.
Dacoge Media
Diners seeking a good-priced meal should turn to Michelin’s Bib Gourmands, a list of unfussy neighborhood gems in Dallas-Fort Worth. Some of North Texas’ previously chosen Bib Gourmand restaurants are my favorite places to eat, where you can wear what you want, expect great food and leave without feeling like you need a second job to pay the tab.
Restaurants are eligible for a Bib Gourmand in Texas if they sell two courses, plus wine or dessert, for about $50 before tax or tip, a Michelin spokesperson confirmed a few weeks before Texas’ third Michelin Guide, landing Oct. 8, 2026. The $50 amount hasn’t changed since last year’s Guide, despite “rising costs in the industry,” according to a statement from Michelin’s chief inspector for North America. Michelin, a notoriously secret organization, did not name the chief inspector.
New this year: The $50 figure is “not necessarily a strict cutoff,” according to the statement.
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Good thing Michelin’s definition of a Bib Gourmand is a little looser on price in 2026, because barbecue is more expensive than ever.
Chitose Suzuki / Staff Photographer
Although Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list tends to be more useful to casual diners, these value-driven restaurants often take a back seat to Michelin-star winners. The shine goes to the stars, which can be seen as culinary Cliff’s Notes to the finest restaurants in the state. (Notably, in Michelin’s first two years in Texas, no restaurant has received 2- or 3-star awards, the company’s highest honors.)
Related: Why doesn’t Texas have any 2- or 3-star Michelin restaurants?
Former Bib Gourmand winners in Dallas-Fort Worth
Michelin picked its first class of Bib winners in Texas in 2024, and it yielded a puzzling but interesting list of barbecue, fine-dining, Italian and more.
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When the list of Bib Gourmand recipients was released in 2025, the seven D-FW restaurants named didn’t change. Last year’s Bib Gourmand winners were: Cattleack Barbeque, Gemma, Goldee’s Barbecue, Mot Hai Ba, Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen, Nonna and Lucia. (More on Lucia in a moment.)
If history repeats itself, it’s likely many of last year’s Bib honorees stay put again. Who else would I add to this delicious list?
4 D-FW restaurants that should be Bib Gourmand contenders
I’m rooting for Fond in downtown Dallas. Office workers like me stop in for the $17 lunch deal: a quarter of a Detroit-style pizza and a salad. The cheeseburger, sold at lunch on Fridays only, is another winner, and the kitchen usually sells out of it by 12:30 p.m. Everybody’s finishing with a cup of $5 soft serve finished with olive oil and sprinkled with flaky sea salt. Fond was once a lunch restaurant with occasional pop-up dinners, and I’m glad to see it’s now serving regular dinner, too.
Fond is at 1601 Elm St., Dallas.
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One of Fond co-owner Jennie Kelley’s favorite dinner items is roasted half chicken.
Dan Padgett
In Fort Worth, I’m hopeful Michelin critics have eyes for Dos Mares, the seafood spot next to sibling restaurant Don Artemio. Dos Mares just launched a new seven-course taco tasting for $99, which could edge it out of the $50-or-less category. But many of Dos Mares’ other lunch and dinner items are more affordable, like the seafood caldo ($11 for a cup), tuna tostadas ($17) and shrimp tacos ($8 each).
Dos Mares is at 3260 W. 7th St., Fort Worth.
Chef Marcial Riojas finishes a taco with black bean puree, macha mayonnaise and beer tempura lobster at Dos Mares.
Imelda García/Staff writer
On Greenville Avenue in Dallas, I have two favorites for a Bib. Walkers’ is a sandwich shop by day and a New American restaurant and wine bar by night. I said Walkers’ “could be the next restaurant and bar Dallas needs” because its owners are serious about food, but the place also feels intimately East Dallas, with little pretense. Here’s my suggested order: beets and raisins salad ($14), a salumi focaccia sandwich with hot giardiniera mayo called Nonna’s Webb ($20) and a glass of white ($14-19). Bingo: That’s right about $50, Michelin’s Bib Gourmand cutoff.
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Walkers’ is at 3016 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Reservations not needed for the sandwich shop. Reservations recommended for dinner.
Walkers’ is a comfortable lunch or dinner spot, but it also sells wine, snacks and gifts to-go.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
A few blocks south on Greenville Avenue, I’m impressed by the three-course dinner for $49 at Apothecary. This is a two-sided space, with dimly lit cocktail bar on one side and a cheerier lounge on the other. One side was previously Rye, which won Michelin Recommended recognition twice and received an Exceptional Cocktails award. It didn’t win a Michelin star, and co-owners Tanner Agar and Taylor Rause closed Rye and turned their creative little den into two cocktail-forward restaurants.
Both sides serve the same three-course $49 dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays. On a recent visit, my three-course dinner included a plate of Japanese elotes with bonito flakes dancing on top; a comforting chicken breast with sun-dried tomato cream sauce; and the company’s sauerkraut cake, a dessert so surprising, it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives by Guy Fieri.
Apothecary has two bars called Archive and Alchemy. Together, they’re at 1920 and 1922 Greenville Ave., Dallas.
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Apothecary’s $49 dinner comes with choices at each of the three courses. I picked Japanese elotes as my first course (pictured); other options included a Caesar salad or summer vegetables.
Sarah Blaskovich/Staff
A word about Lucia
For two years, Italian restaurant Lucia has been on Michelin’s Bib Gourmand list. It felt like a mistake the first year, because the best experience at Lucia is to order course after course of things like housemade salumi for $40, lobster mushroom cappelletti for $33, Wagyu bavette for $46 and more. Lucia is great, but it’s not affordable.
When Lucia landed on the Bib list a second year in a row, I felt Michelin inspectors weren’t paying close enough attention. Please, move this fine restaurant to the Recommended list.
Lucia is at 287 N. Bishop Ave., Dallas. Reservations recommended.
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Lucia is owned by David and Jennifer Uygur. Their late dog, Lucy, on display behind them, inspired the restaurant name.
Juan Figueroa/Staff Photographer
More restaurants for the Recommended list
Beyond Michelin-starred restaurants and Bib Gourmands, Michelin offers long lists of Recommended restaurants every year. These restaurants are good, in its critics’ eyes. But they aren’t great enough to earn a coveted Michelin star.
Still, Michelin’s list of Recommended restaurants in D-FW was its single largest category in 2024 and 2025, and many restaurateurs were proud to display their red Recommended signs.
The Charles got a glow-up in early 2026. It looks great.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
Vadouvan cream is poured over the snow crab six pack at The Charles in Dallas’ Design District.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
Guests walk through a curtained entrance at The Charles.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
Chicken Diavolo pie is served at The Charles in Dallas’ Design District.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
Flaming Semifreddo Affogato, an Italian dessert served with frozen sweet cream mousse, biscotti cookie crumble, espresso and cocoa sprinkles, is a dramatic end to dinner at The Charles in Dallas.
Tom Fox/Staff Photographer
The dinner menu at Fond in downtown Dallas includes a daily croquette, roasted chicken entree, salads and Detroit-style pizzas.
Chase Hall
More than 20 restaurants achieved Recommended status in D-FW in 2025. Many will likely hold those titles again in 2026.
I’d like to offer a few additions:
The Charles: Sibling restaurants Mister Charles and El Carlos Elegante are both Recommended restaurants. The Charles’ refresh in early 2026 makes it a great contender. The Charles is at 1632 Market Center Blvd., Dallas.
The Chumley House: The same company that runs The Charles owns Fort Worth British-inspired restaurant The Chumley House. It’s Fort Worth’s best restaurant. I’d love to see it on Michelin’s Recommended list. The Chumley House is at 3230 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth.
Don Artemio: I was surprised upscale Mexican restaurant Don Artemio in Fort Worth didn’t make Michelin’s Recommended list in the past. The menu is contemporary Mexican food that feels right at home in Fort Worth. Don Artemio is at 3268 W. 7th St., Fort Worth.
Meridian: One of my favorite East Dallas restaurants, Meridian, deserves a look. Chef Eduardo Osorio reinvented the restaurant after years of changes, and its latest iteration balances must-have items, like a cheeseburger, with more interesting bites, like brown butter cornbread topped with foie gras. The restaurant’s one-bite “one-hitters” are especially great. Meridian is at 5650 Village Glen Drive, Dallas.
What do you think? Share your thoughts with me on Instagram and X.
Chef Eduardo Osorio puts the finishing touches on Snake River White sturgeon in the kitchen at Meridian in Dallas.
Smiley N. Pool/Staff Photographer
Dining and Cooking