Dallas has about 1.3 million residents and is among the nation’s most populous cities, with many influences and flavors from the Best Dallas Restaurants To Try in 2023. Barbecue, Tex-Mex, burgers, and margaritas are always popular in the Big D, but so are “corny dogs,” chile con queso, chicken-fried steak, fried okra, bologna sandwiches, fried chicken, brisket, chili, and shrimp and grits. Dallas also put a Texas twist on our culture’s traditional cuisines, plus their desserts really go big on pecans, the state’s official nut.
The world-famous Dallas Cowboys, along with several popular food festivals, call this area home. Many social scenes such as Brunchaholics and Nick & Sam’s have been offering feel good vibes and great food that has put Dallas on the map. The Dallas Soul Food Festival brings together more than 30 different food vendors from Dallas, Austin, Houston, and other local cities, along with small businesses selling accessories, clothing, and more.
Speaking of business, Dallas is home to other staples such as Sweet Georgia Brown’s and Friday Saturday Sunday which are just as known as local landmarks such as the Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden.
Worked up an appetite? Drop by any of our picks in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for authentic Big D flavors.
4129 Saltburn Dr., Plano, TX 75093
Black Restaurant Week Listing | Website | Instagram | Facebook | (774)276-9643
Mason Fisher first sold homemade brownies from his high school locker to earn money to buy a car. Now based in Plano, about 20 miles north of downtown Dallas, Da Bomb Brownies offers curbside pickup, delivery, and nationwide shipping with flavors of the month such as Caryn’s Carrot Cake Blondie, the popular Papa’s Pecan Pie, and the best-selling Snickers brownie, layered with marshmallow nougat, caramel, and chocolate. Also available gluten-free.
1820 W. Mockingbird Ln., Dallas, TX 75235
Black Restaurant Week Listing | Website | Instagram | Facebook | (214)352-2752
A Dallas staple since 1976, this family-owned and operated business serves hickory-smoked BBQ and hearty Texas portions about five minutes from Dallas Love Field Airport. Smokey John’s features family meals and sandwich plates of brisket, turkey breast, sausage, chicken breast, ribs, and ham. The menu also features burgers, tilapia, and a catfish plate with pickles, peppers, onions, and homemade tartar sauce. Sides include cornbread, baked beans, candied sweet potatoes, collard greens, and mac and cheese.
5220 Highway 121,Colleyville, TX 76148
Black Restaurant Week Listing | Website | Instagram | Facebook | (623)248-5131
In Colleyville, roughly 30 minutes northwest of downtown Dallas, this modern bar and restaurant serves lunch and dinner, a “weekender” brunch menu, signature cocktails, and even a “doggie menu” for four-legged friends. Human guests can enjoy poultry and pasta, grill selections such as a 10-ounce French cut pork chop served with burgundy wine mushroom sauce, and comfort food like Better Than Sex Fried Chicken, marinated and seasoned with secret sauces and spices. Date night? Try signature cocktails like the Lady in Red, a Watermelon Jalapeño Margarita, or a Negroni.
1420 W. Arkansas Ln., Arlington, TX 76013
Website | Instagram | Facebook | (682)323-5050
Near the University of Texas at Arlington, Hershey’s serves pizza, wings, sandwiches, and combo dinners, including homestyle fried chicken, mac and cheese, and collard greens. It also offers party pack wings, jumbo tenders, chicken nuggets, gizzards, catfish, and catfish nuggets.
5.Shoagies
5121 Collin McKinney Parkway, McKinney, TX 75070
Website | Instagram | (214)842-8448
Head about 30 miles north of Dallas for Chicago-style hoagies with a Texas flair at Shoagies. Unique menu options include “The Shed,” loaded with fresh catfish and jumbo shrimp deep-fried in a Cajun batter and topped with lettuce, a three-cheese blend, and signature Siracha sauce.
4107 W. Camp Wisdom Rd., Suite 239, Dallas, TX 75237
Website | Instagram | Facebook | (570)534-1107
Enjoy authentic Creole cuisine to feed a crowd at Tadassy near Boulder Park and the Southwest Center Mall. Choose from dozens of beef, chicken, and vegetable patties, Pholourie, curry goat, curry channa with potato, oxtails, peas and rice, black pudding, and salara. Gallon-size drinks come in flavors, including ginger pineapple, passion pineapple, guava pineapple, and peanut punch. Juices also are available by the cup. Individual plates include curry chicken or oxtails with rice.
320 Singleton Blvd., #1441, Dallas, TX 75212
Black Restaurant Week Listing | Website | Instagram | Facebook | (972)850-9030
Located in Trinity Groves, Soirée Coffee Bar serves soul food bites such as biscuits with gravy and Texas fried chicken, salads, and “Jazzy Toast” sandwiches. They also offer craft cocktails, wine, smoothies, and craft lattes inspired by iconic jazz artists. We like the Ella Fitzgerald with salted brown sugar, but the Lena Horne with honey lavender or the Billie Holliday with dulce de leche is also pretty sweet.
13050 Bee St., Farmers Branch
Website | Instagram | Facebook | (214)346-4441
Roots Southern Table received two prestigious 2022 James Beard Award nominations, one for best new restaurant and one for Chef Tiffany Derry. This fine dining restaurant about 10 miles north of Dallas Love Field Airport wins raves for its duck-fat fried chicken, pimento cheese toast with red pepper jelly, and cast-iron cornbread with sweet potato butter and cranberry apple preserves. Other recommended offerings include chargrilled Texas redfish with crawfish fried rice and gumbo featuring chicken, shrimp, Zummo’s sausage, blue crab, file, and herb rice.
9.Dough Boy Donuts
291 W. Hidden Creek Parkway, Burleson, TX 76028
Website | Instagram | Facebook | (682)841-7797
This former food truck rolls out hearty doughnuts about 50 miles southwest of Dallas. Faves include the Bam Bam, featuring a cream cheese glaze with Fruity Pebbles cereal; the Butter Pecan, topped with a brown butter glaze and homemade cinnamon-frosted pecans; the glazed Rose Water with edible rose petals; and Death by Chocolate with brownie bits and chocolate chips. It also serves donut breakfast sandwiches of egg, sausage, bacon, and cheese.
10.The Queen of Sheba Restaurant
14875 Inwood Rd., Addison, TX 75001
Website | Instagram | Facebook (972)239-3290
About 13 miles north of downtown Dallas, the Queen of Sheba serves authentic Ethiopian and vegan dishes, including appetizers, salads, and entrees. Try the Che Che Bsa, a crushed pan bread tossed in berbere sauce and spicy butter, then topped with yogurt, or the Vegan Tibs, featuring whole oats, fava beans, and peas sauteed with Ethiopian spices, bell peppers, tomatoes, and jalapeños.
14875 Inwood Rd., Addison, TX 75001
Black Restaurant Week Listing | Website | Instagram | (214)948-7412
In the Bishop Arts District, near the Dallas Zoo, Texas Theatre, and the Methodist Dallas Medical Center, Kessler Baking Studio makes cookies, blondies, brownies, and more from scratch. Owner Clyde Greenhouse was a 2020 James Beard Award semifinalist, creating sweets such as the Texas Pecan Shortbread Cookie with a heart for that deep Texas love. It ships nationwide, too.
4141 W. Wheatland Rd., Dallas, TX 75237
Website | Instagram | Facebook (972)296-0940
Southwest of downtown Dallas, in the heart of Duncanville, Sankofa Kitchen offers fresh food and smoothies for vegans and meat lovers alike. It features vegan burgers, including spicy black beans and mushrooms, plus grilled varieties with turkey, beef, bacon, guacamole, and more. Best-sellers include the Vegan Fish Po Boy, Loaded Vegan Nachos with house-made coconut milk cheese, Turkey Spaghetti, and the So Fresh, So Clean Smoothie with mango, banana, and spinach. Visit its in-house bookstore to feed the mind.
13.Whiskeys
835 Exposition Ave., Dallas, TX 75226
Website | Instagram | (214)702-29590
No athletic gear or flip-flops at this nighttime spot in Deep Ellum, please. Whiskeys serves signature cocktails, classic cocktails, old-fashioned, and mocktails. The extensive selection of Whiskey Flights (3/4 pours) includes Blantons, Michters, Blood Oath, Bardstown, Angel’s Envy, and 1792. Check its events page for tastings.
14.Blends Daiquiri Express
4904 Main St., The Colony, TX 75056
Instagram | Facebook | (972)512-8075
Open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., Blends brings together good eats and music. About 29 miles north of Dallas, Blends serves monthly festive drinks, such as King Cake and Love Potion during February, plus hearty lunches and dinners like fried shrimp or catfish, chicken and sausage gumbo, and chicken and waffles. Ask about scoring a free daiquiri on your birthday.
15.Distinctive Vines Wine Lounge
1110 S. Akard St., Dallas, TX 75215
Website | Facebook | (972)863-9770
This intimate, cozy lounge in the Cedars neighborhood on Dallas’s South Side offers wines from around the world, craft beer, wine slushies, nonalcoholic drinks, flatbreads, charcuterie, and desserts. Take a bottle home with some bites to go, or relax with “A Glass Full of Jazz” on Fridays, karaoke on Saturdays, and live Gospel music on Sundays. birthday.
16.Fusion Vibes Kitchen + Lounge
100 S. Central Expressway, Suite 49-50, Richardson, TX 75080
Website | Instagram | Facebook (972)543-3888
Inspired by the owner’s late mother, this Nigerian-American restaurant about 15 miles north of downtown Dallas features dishes such as jollof rice with stew beef or blackened Salmon, waffles and chicken suya wings, a beef shawarma wrap, and a grilled premium steak burger seasoned with red pepper, onions, and suya spice. Try the Red Velvet Puff Puff (fried dough made with red velvet mix) with or without ice cream for dessert.
17.Cookie Society
9320 Dallas Parkway, Suite 160, Frisco, TX 75034
Website | Instagram | Facebook (972)239-3290
Spouses Marissa and Jeff Allen first tested their cookie recipes among Jeff’s NFL teammates, who swiftly gave the chocolate chip and banana pudding varieties a big thumbs-up. They opened the Cookie Society about 28 miles north of downtown Dallas in 2018, specializing in buttery flavors with crispy edges and chewy textures. Craving a honey butter biscuit, stuffed French toast, or Snickerdoodle? They ship nationwide.
Dallas has everything from live music and the arts in Deep Ellum to the festivals and shopping in Lynn Creek Park. Whether your ambling through the historic district or soaking up other sights, the Big D can soothe your soul and appetite. So kick up those cowboy boots and explore!
Author: Black Restaurant Week
Content Team
