Rants and Raves: The Dallas Food News We’re Most (and Least) Excited About in June 2025

Restaurant openings are coming to Dallas in waves. This spring, we had a bit of a lull, but the next wave is here, and our June 2025 news roundup is here to help you navigate it. Let’s jump in.

News of the month: A whole bunch of new Dallas restaurants

List time!

Mamani

The new upscale French restaurant in Uptown will probably debut at the new and approved Quad at some point in June. (An exact date hasn’t been set.) The restaurant comes from the group behind the exemplary Bar Colette and sushi counter Namo, and features an astonishing lineup of talent recruited from other cities. Its leadership has past experience working at restaurants such as Joël Robuchon, Eleven Madison Park, Saison, Alinea, Next, the Inn at Little Washington, Le Coucou, and Angler. This crew is clearly aspiring to a Michelin star. And so are their neighbors at…

Domodomo Kō

The restaurant opened several months ago at The Quad in Uptown, but has already reinvented itself in an exciting way. At opening time, it was pitched as an omakase sushi counter, much like the dozen or so that we already have. But Domodomo Kō’s Korean-American owners—who are originally from Denton—recently made the savvy choice to serve upscale Korean food instead. This city has plenty of sushi, but we sorely lacked creative, modern Korean cooking of the kind that’s easy to find in New York, Chicago, and Seattle. Or really any upscale Korean food that isn’t barbecue. Given that we have one of the biggest Korean-American communities on the continent, this really fills a need.

Flamant

The new Euro bistro from the team behind Michelin-honored Rye will open in Plano on June 10. Flamant features their usual inventive cocktails, a wood-fired oven, and a vegan “faux gras.” A friend of mine who got invited to a preview meal said very good things about the faux gras and the “savory cannoli dip.”

Brix Barbecue

One of the 10 best barbecue joints in North Texas will be opening a permanent trailer at the new Oak Highlands Brewery taproom in Richardson. I’m very excited to have more great Brix stuff without making the drive to Fort Worth. We’ll have more on this news soon.

Himalayan Corner

The new Nepalese spot in Richardson was flagged in a recent Eater roundup for its outstanding early reviews. According to my watch, it’s always time to eat momos.

Los Charros Tex-Mex Smokehouse

The Tex-Mex and barbecue mashup opened in University Park’s Graduate Hotel on May 30, the Dallas Morning News reports. It’s a new genre for restaurateur Julian Barsotti (Nona, Odelay), whose pitmaster is a banker friend who took up barbecue as a hobby. They’ll have a lot of work to do to match the excellence of the BBQ and Tex-Mex crossover genius on display in Allen at Vaqueros. (Also: when did The Lumen get renamed to The Graduate? Can we find Dustin Hoffman floating in the hotel pool?)

We also have some information about the reopenings of restaurants we already know and love. Viet-Mex fusion phorrito spot Cris and John is moving to a larger new location at Preston and Campbell Roads and should be open there by the end of June. We’re also expecting the reopening of The Village’s Meridian after an extensive remodeling project.

Good news and bad news for East Dallas dining

The Good: Strangeways is Saved!

The beloved 12-year-old beer bar has survived a legal battle over its future and is in the process of purchasing the building it occupies, which should allow Strangeways to keep pouring beers for years.

The Good: Molino Olōyō

The excellent, exacting pop-up based on chef Olivia López’ heirloom corn tortillas, has signed a lease to take over the former Cry Wolf restaurant space, as well as additional adjoining property. A press release says that with the extra rooms, Molino Olōyō will develop into a three-part business: a casual taco restaurant, a dinnertime tasting menu, and a mezcal bar with wine and snacks.

Bad News: Bangkok on Greenville Avenue

After a 32-year run, Bangkok will close on June 30, as its owners, who got married shortly after taking over, want to spend more time with their aging parents. This is not just a piece of Dallas history; it was very clearly the region’s best Thai restaurant for many years. We hope they have a bustling final month.

Four one-sentence restaurant reviews

Six-month-old Farina in Grani Pizzeria in Richardson may not have a permanent sign yet, but its Neapolitan pies are so good that it just became the newest member of our guide to the best pizzas in and around Dallas. Up in Frisco, Panj Tara has the friendliest service of any Indian buffet I’ve ever been to, including naan baked fresh for every customer. I’m in the middle of a project to rank all of Dallas’ made-in-house veggie burgers, and so far, the leader is The Old Monk. You really should try the new carrot ricotta toast with carrot top pesto at Encina, and add the lamb stroganoff, which ain’t the stroganoff you grew up with.

Three food things you should do in June

Take a chocolate-making class in Oak Cliff.

Dude, Sweet Chocolate is launching chocolate classes for kids and adults, which you can reserve online. This month’s classes for grown-ups are on June 6 and 28, and the kids take charge on June 8, 20, and 27. Bookmark that webpage to keep up when new dates are added in future months.

Eat a limited-edition burger downtown.

For one night only, on June 5, downtown restaurant Fond is turning itself into a bar and grill with burgers, tavern pizzas, and other classic pub food. The event, according to its Resy listing, “is a direct result of cyberbullying” by a Fond burger superfan. Shameless. I can only imagine the kind of person who would do that. Please support Fond against this menacing bully by giving them money in exchange for nutrients.

A Dining Critic’s Guide to Father’s Day in Dallas.

My dad prefers grilling something himself in the backyard, then eating a five-inch-tall slice of chocolate cake. But if your dad likes going out, consider three events from businesses I especially like. Encina will be throwing a fried chicken dinner, with all the sides, starters, and desserts, for $45 (adults) or $25 (kids). Dude, Sweet Chocolate will host a noontime tea party specially designed to pay tribute to founder Katherine Clapner’s father and his Jewish heritage, featuring three teas, chocolate babka, knishes, blintzes, rugelach, her father’s liver recipe, and a cameo appearance by Starship Bagel.

Finally, because my dad is becoming a Scotch Guy, Nuri Steakhouse is offering a $225 combo of a 22-ounce bone-in ribeye and a pour of The Balvenie 25 Year single malt. It includes a custom Glencairn glass to keep. This makes me feel guilty, as I usually spend something closer to $2.25 on my dad. The key to living a good life is to appreciate both The Balvenie 25 and a sleeve of regular Oreos.

Bonus restaurant review: Hawaiian food from Pine Isle

New takeout-only Hawaiian kitchen Pine Isle opened at the end of April in East Dallas. Owner Kevin Singharaj comes from the family that operates local mini-chain Zaap Lao Kitchen, and tells CultureMap that he fell in love with Hawaiian cooking while working for Nobu on the islands.

Last week, I stopped by Pine Isle for a takeout platter of chicken katsu on rice with macaroni salad and greens. I couldn’t resist adding Spam musubi and a $4 tub of kimchi. The chicken in the katsu was tender, the sauce garnishes flavorful (though they naturally soften the breading a bit). Singharaj’s Lao roots might give him a skills bonus for the rice, which is fluffy, slightly sticky, and aces at absorbing sauce. (The rice also holds the Spam musubi together beautifully.) But my favorite part—the make-or-break of a Hawaiian meal—was the macaroni salad. Creamy, flavorful dressing; noodles that are cooked right and still have some bite: it’s a perfect refresher.

Required reading

• Obviously, the biggie here is Texas Monthly’s new Top 50 BBQ list, which for the next four years will help all Texans and tourists plan their barbecue road trips, bragging rights battles, and who’s underrated arguments. Honestly, it is a fantastic list, and Daniel Vaughn outdid himself on both the research and the writing. If you haven’t read this already, you’re probably a vegetarian.
• The best Dallas-based food read of the month actually isn’t about food at all. It’s a profile of Eddie Murphy, the manager at Dude, Sweet Chocolate—better known to most as DJ EZ Eddie D, host of probably the longest-running hip hop radio show in the world. Jonny Auping followed Murphy from the chocolate shop to the studio to tell his story. My favorite quote is the man himself reviewing songs with materialistic lyrics: “I don’t fuck with that. I graduated from fourth grade a long time ago. That’s remedial.”
• Eater’s Courtney Smith has a well-reported investigation of what will happen after Texas bans THC. It is not all bad news—she talks to one brand that says they will not be affected—but, well, it is mostly bad news. From the owner of Goodsurf Beach Club: “I think I have the high-level reaction that a lot of people are having, where [the bill] impacts a $10 billion industry that provides 50,000 plus jobs.”
• In the Morning News, Imelda García and Sarah Blaskovich talk to a trio of people in the food industry—a paella kit maker and caterer, a wine importer, and a sommelier—about the ways that the Trump administration’s tariff proposals could harm their businesses. Even in the researching of the article, the government’s irrational positions changed several more times. Will we be able to drink Italian wine in an Italian restaurant? The answer changes every week.
• García also has a lovely column about enchiladas potosinas, the house specialty of Rincón Potosino in Balch Springs. If you haven’t tried them before, you’re really missing out. I haven’t tried them at Rincón, so I’ll have to fix that. Another specialist, Tortillería La Potosina, lies within Dallas city limits, and Deep Ellum bar Ruins has served enchiladas potosinas in the past, though its current menu is much shortened by ruinous construction at its front door.
• Texas Monthly taco editor José Ralat ventured to Fort Worth to try a new Mexican-Japanese fusion taco spot, Shōgun Taqueria. His review is encouraging, both to possible diners (it sounds good!) and to the restaurant itself (which he encourages to get even bolder with the fusion).

Two hot takes

We must reject the impostor stoner pizza chain

While grabbing my takeout from Pine Isle (see above), I noticed that there’s a new restaurant going into the same strip mall: Stoner’s Pizza Joint. This is a franchised chain from Florida. In fact, it’s the official pizza of the villainous Florida Panthers hockey team.

But we already have our own homegrown pizza chain for stoners: ZaLat Pizza. If you want a pie with a certain relaxed attitude about life, ZaLat is the way to go. Don’t let the imitator fool you. Also, the Stars might need to take down the Panthers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Maybe next year.

Can we get rid of Dallas’ valet mafia now?

Dallas just passed a systemic, long-overdue reform to its parking regulations. You may not know this—I didn’t, until a reader emailed us—but the arcane parking laws were the reason we have so many valet stands everywhere. Valet in Dallas functioned like much of the American economy: as a way for the rich to avoid obeying the laws. If a restaurant was flush with enough cash to hire a valet service, they didn’t need to build a big parking lot. If you couldn’t scrounge together for valet, you needed more asphalt.

Now those parking restrictions have been abolished for restaurants 2,500 square feet or smaller (about the size of Beverley’s). Does this mean that we can finally sweep some of the orange cones out of perfectly sized parking lots? Can we be free of having to readjust all the mirrors after dinner? Will my friend with a Miata get to stop seeing panicky looks from attendants who can’t operate a manual transmission? I don’t know the answer for sure, but I will say this: please!

What’s coming on SideDish in June

We’ll have more about Farina in Grani Pizzeria; first bites of sushi, tacos, and Thai food; the story of a Japanese coffee shop in Lancaster; and a review of East Dallas’ new magnet for eccentric characters, Be Home Soon.