Palladino’s opened in summer 2026 at Preston Road and Royal Lane in Dallas. The owner, born-and-raised New Yorker Joseph Palladino, hired Dallas chef John Tesar to help grow the steak and seafood restaurant to other cities in the United States.
Elías Valverde II/The Dallas Morning News
John Tesar, a chef for 50 years who founded North Texas steakhouse Knife, has quietly taken over the kitchens at Palladino’s Steak and Seafood in Dallas and New York City.
“Quiet” hasn’t always been one of Tesar’s personality traits in his several decades in Dallas, but this long-ago friend of Anthony Bourdain is tamer and wiser these days. After he was called “the most hated chef in Dallas” by D 15 years ago, Tesar reinvented himself. He competed on Top Chef two times and helped popularize dry-aged steaks in Dallas. He seemed to yell less and listen more.
Related: How former ‘rageaholic’ John Tesar, from Dallas, became Mr. Nice Guy on ‘Top Chef’
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In Tesar’s new job as corporate executive chef at The Palladino Group near Preston Hollow, he’ll leave the restaurant’s steak and sushi menu alone. Dallas diners are already ordering Wagyu tartare, spicy tuna rolls and prime fillets at the “diamond-in-the-rough” restaurant at Preston Road and Royal Lane, founder Joseph Palladino said.
Chef John Tesar, pictured here in 2024, is now working as corporate executive chef of Palladino’s in Dallas and New York City.
Juan Figueroa/Staff Photographer
The restaurant has been buzzing since it opened in summer 2026. Palladino took a defunct Spec’s (and, before that, a Blockbuster) and transformed it into an art deco steakhouse with glistening chandeliers and velvet banquettes. It’s a moody, sexy space where diners recently “had caviar and were banging out $400 bottles of wine” during a Dallas Cowboys game, Palladino said. A few doors down, neighbors can buy groceries or visit the post office.
Dallas diners will see Tesar’s influence in the new seafood plates inspired by his former Dallas restaurant Spoon. He’s also adding pastas that were popular at Knife.
Last time I talked with Tesar, he had plans to open a small, exclusive restaurant in Dallas called Pocket Knife. That idea is scrapped now. Knife restaurants at Dallas’ Highland Hotel and at Irving’s Ritz-Carlton have closed. Knife remains in Plano and a licensed Knife and Spoon is open in Orlando, but Tesar isn’t involved full-time in either one.
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He said he feels lucky to join an established restaurant group instead of starting his own.
“Joe has the infrastructure and momentum I lack,” Tesar said.
He said it would be “perilous” to borrow up to $10 million himself — the possible price tag for a flashy new restaurant or two. With the Palladino’s partnership, Tesar said, “I can play the big boy game and still sleep at night.”
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Five weeks in, Palladino and Tesar are already looking to expand Palladino’s. They’re eyeing Nashville, West Palm Beach and SoHo.
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“I’m lucky to get this opportunity,” Tesar said. “I’m like the guy at Nike who gets to design the sneakers now.”
Chef John Tesar started adding comforting Italian-American dishes to his steakhouse menus years ago in Dallas. He’ll do that at Palladino’s, too.
Shafkat Anowar/Staff Photographer
Tesar and Palladino are New York natives — Tesar from Manhattan and the Hamptons, Palladino from the Bronx. Combined, they have nearly 100 years in the restaurant business. Their résumés include Dallas’ Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, which brought Tesar to Texas, and Nick and Sam’s steakhouse, Palladino’s longtime home.
Dallas diners should look for the daily specials at Palladino’s if they want to get a taste of Tesar’s cooking, said Henry Johnson, chef de cuisine of the Dallas restaurant.
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I’ll want to try this one: sautéed Dover sole with pineapple, brown butter, capers, tomatoes and lemon, filleted tableside.
Palladino’s Steak and Seafood is at 5959 Royal Lane (at Preston Road), Dallas. Dinner only, seven days a week. Reservations recommended.
Dining and Cooking