We’ve made some summertime tweaks to our list of the 50 Best Restaurants in Dallas. The changes this time are subtle: just four newcomers were added, and another 15 or so warranted updates and rewritten entries with new recommendations.
We update our list twice a year in order to reflect the present state of the Dallas dining scene. Summer is a great time to visit Dallas’ best restaurants. For one thing, summer’s bounty of fresh produce creates great specials and wonderful fruit-filled desserts. For another, all those hard-to-get reservations are a lot easier to come by. As diners go on vacations, grill dinner at home, or avoid the outdoors in general, even the buzziest dining rooms often have tables available. If you’ve been waiting to try that too-popular spot that opened a couple months ago, use this guide.
What’s changed this time?
The new list is more functional and fun to play with. You can now filter by region, cuisine, neighborhood, and vibe. You can make reservations instantly through links that go directly to the restaurants’ online booking platforms. You can also see, on many restaurants, our suggestions for similar great spots outside the 50 Best that you’ll also love. For example, if you love No. 4, Tatsu, you should also try Namo. Look for those tips, and you’ll see that I have sneakily included 75 restaurants in the 50. Numbers can lie!
Not a whole lot of the listed restaurants have changed. This summer update is meant to be more of a tweak than an overhaul. We’ve added four newcomers: Georgie, Mister Charles, Via Triozzi, and Ka-Tip Thai Street Food. Georgie and Ka-Tip are past honorees, and Georgie in particular is probably the most talked-about restaurant in Dallas right now. Mister Charles and Via Triozzi will be familiar names from 2023’s Best New Restaurants list. Making room for them on the list are Sandwich Hag (which permanently closed), Knife (which D writers have had bad experiences with recently), Trompo (which we still love; it recently crowdfunded back rent to avoid closure), and Thunderbird Pies (which we also still love; it just got squeezed out).
Hey, wait. Some other stuff changed too. Some of the restaurants moved up and down.
Yes, that’s true. Based on my 100 or so meals out so far in 2024, I reordered the rankings. Aside from Georgie, the big winners included Resident Taquería, Sachet, and El Carlos Elegante (which all moved up two places) and sliders-down included Ebesu (which moved down seven spots).
But don’t sweat it. The order isn’t that important. Even if it was, the explanations are not necessarily tied to quality. Many restaurants moved down simply because newcomers Georgie and Mister Charles entered the list at the very top. Some moved because they scaled down their ambitions or their cuisine type is more common than it once was. I still love ’em all and hope you visit all 50.
How the 50 Best list is chosen
The rankings on the 50 Best list are based on my own experiences at the restaurants, as a paying customer on either D’s dime or my own. They are not based on favors, advertising, or schmoozing. If a restaurant sends me a freebie, I add the cost to the tip and only write about it if it was bad.
I also keep in touch with friends, D colleagues, industry insiders, and readers to make sure that other customers’ experiences are like my own. Had a different experience? Shoot me an email, please!
A more detailed explanation of the list’s philosophy is available here.
Eligibility requirements
Restaurants must have been open for six months to make the updated list. Establishments that have opened in 2024, such as Sanjh, Fortunate Son, and Mābo, will be eligible for our winter update as they prove they can stay consistent after the opening hype dies down. Restaurant groups and chains based in other cities, such as Uchi, are also excluded.
Ready to plunge into our new 50 Best Restaurants list? Here it is. Our next update will arrive in December.
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