The Top 100 Places to Eat Near Birrieria y Taqueria Cortez

The menu has exactly one protein, and the place is named after it. This casual taqueria built its following on birria, the slow-braised beef that started on a food truck before the team landed a brick-and-mortar spot on Rosedale. Tacos, quesatacos, flautas, tortas, burritos, and quesadillas are all on offer, but it's all birria all the time, served to a lunch crowd that already knows what it's ordering.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

Fort Worth's nickname spawned this BBQ shop, which started as a food truck before graduating to a spot with both indoor and outdoor seating. Central Texas-style offset smoking is the foundation, but the menu slides comfortably into Tex-Mex territory with brisket burritos and street tacos. Arrive early, because the lines are not theoretical. Texas Monthly named it among the 50 best BBQ joints in the state.

1. Texas Monthly The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
2. Texas Monthly #7 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

1. Texas Monthly #4 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
2. Eater Best New Restaurant
3. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. Texas Monthly The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas

1. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. Texas Monthly #9 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

1. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. Texas Monthly Honorable Mentions · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

1. D Magazine #29 · The 50 Best Restaurants

Post oak from nearby farms fuels the pits at this Fort Worth BBQ shop, open just a few days a week until the meat runs out, which it does. The young crew behind Goldee's earned a Michelin Bib Gourmand and landed at number three on Texas Monthly's 50 Best BBQ Joints, so the line forms early and long. Black Angus brisket, cooked low and slow, is the draw; the sweet-tart mustard sauce alongside it is quietly non-negotiable.

1. Food & Wine Best New Chefs · Jonny White, Jalen Heard, and Lane Milne
2. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
3. Texas Monthly #3 · The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas

1. Texas Monthly #2 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

1. Texas Monthly Honorable Mentions · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

1. Westword 2026 · Best Botanas Selection · Best of Denver

1. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Breakfast Sandwich · Best of Dallas

Smoked brisket finished with awaze, an Ethiopian spice sauce, is the move that separates this casual Arlington barbecue joint from every other spot selling half-pounds off butcher paper. The team built it from a trailer smoker and weekend pop-ups into something the New York Times noticed and a James Beard semifinalist nod confirmed. Order a platter if you want range, and reach past the mac and cheese toward the lentil stews.

1. The New York Times The Restaurant List
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
3. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. D Magazine #40 · The 50 Best Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer 2023 · Best Brisket · Best of Dallas
3. Dallas Observer Barbecue Shops · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now

1. D Magazine 2025 · Best Paleta · Best of Big D

1. Dallas Observer Classic Dallas Restaurants · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
2. D Magazine 2023 · Best Japanese · Best of Big D
3. D Magazine 2024 · Best Japanese · Best of Big D

1. Texas Monthly #7 · The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas

1. D Magazine The Best New Restaurants in Dallas
2. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. The New York Times The Restaurant List
2. Texas Monthly Honorable Mentions · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

1. Eater Chili · 14 Iconic Dallas Dishes Locals and Tourists Must Try

House-made pasta and cured meats anchor the menu at this classic Italian restaurant in Bishop Arts, where the kitchen leans on seasonal Texas produce to do the talking. The menu rotates, so regulars rarely eat the same meal twice. The Michelin Guide awarded it a Bib Gourmand, and the chef earned a James Beard nomination for Outstanding Chef. Book ahead; the room fills fast and stays that way.

1. James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Restaurant
2. James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Chef · David Uygar
3. James Beard Awards 2026 · Nominee · Outstanding Pastry Chef or Baker · Maggie Huff

1. D Magazine 2024 · Best Vegan · Best of Big D

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Texas · Arnulfo Sánchez III

1. D Magazine #28 · The 50 Best Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Birria · Best of Dallas
3. Dallas Observer Taquerias, Tex-Mex and More · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now

1. Bon Appétit The Very Best Bagels in the US (Yes, Outside New York)
2. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery
3. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery

1. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Ramen · Best of Dallas

1. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
2. James Beard Awards 2022 · Nominee · Best Chef: Texas · Tiffany Derry
3. The New York Times The Restaurant List

1. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Restaurant for Kids · Best of Dallas
2. Dallas Observer Neighborhood Staples and Gems · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
3. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Semifinalist · Best Chef: Texas · Anais Paniagua and Iris Rojas

1. Texas Monthly #2 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best New Restaurant · Best of Dallas
3. Dallas Observer Neighborhood Staples and Gems · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now

1. James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
2. D Magazine #22 · The 50 Best Restaurants
3. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Brunch · Best of Dallas
2. D Magazine 2025 · Best Brunch · Best of Big D
3. D Magazine #17 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. D Magazine #35 · The 50 Best Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer 2023 · Best Korean · Best of Dallas
3. D Magazine 2024 · Best Korean · Best of Big D

The menu changes with the seasons, which sounds like a cliché until you notice the cocktail list follows suit too. This bright, energetic contemporary American restaurant in the Bishop Arts District leans heavily on vegetables and local produce, with occasional detours through dukkah, harissa, and miso that feel considered rather than restless. The focaccia is a reliable opening move. A Michelin Selected pick that also lands on Eater's essential Dallas list.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants
3. D Magazine 2025 · Best Vegetarian Friendly · Best of Big D

1. James Beard Awards 2023 · Nominee · Outstanding Bakery

1. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Mac and Cheese · Best of Dallas

A wood-fired grill anchors the dining room at this lively Mexican restaurant on the Trinity River, where the move is to start with a drink at the horseshoe bar and watch the kitchen work before settling in for a round of shareable plates and grilled meats. The tequila and mezcal list runs deep, and the crowd skews festive in the way places do when the patio has won awards and someone nearby is building tacos at the table.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. D Magazine The Best New Restaurants in Dallas
3. D Magazine #16 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. Eater The Best New Restaurants in America
2. D Magazine The Best New Restaurants in Dallas

1. D Magazine #38 · The 50 Best Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer Taquerias, Tex-Mex and More · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now

1. D Magazine 2024 · Best Brunch · Best of Big D
2. D Magazine 2023 · Best Brunch · Best of Big D
3. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

1. Texas Monthly The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas
2. D Magazine #33 · The 50 Best Restaurants
3. D Magazine 2025 · Best Barbecue · Best of Big D

The chef behind this Contemporary French bistro spent nearly a decade running the kitchen at Restaurant Joël Robuchon in Vegas, and the sauces here will remind you why that matters. Mamani holds a Michelin star, and the room is glitzy enough to justify the à la carte prices. The menu skews shareable and French-classical: Dover sole, a veal Cordon Bleu, a Paris-Brest that arrives looking like it was sent from Paris to make a point.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Star
2. Texas Monthly Dishes We Wanted Seconds Of: Rosa Sposa · The Best Things in Texas
3. D Magazine The Best New Restaurants in Dallas

Both the bartender and the chef are named Hugo, which tells you something about this cocktail bar and seafood spot in Bishop Arts. The cocktail program gets the same obsessive treatment as the kitchen, where oysters and small plates keep people settled at the bar longer than they planned. Someone here is pureeing salted plantains for a rum cocktail reduction, and that level of commitment runs through all dozen house cocktails.

1. D Magazine The Best New Restaurants in Dallas
2. Dallas Observer New Restaurants on the Observers’ Top 50 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
3. Dallas Observer The Ultimate Dallas Bar Guide

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Outstanding Bakery
2. Bon Appétit The Very Best Bagels in the US (Yes, Outside New York)
3. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bakery

1. Wine Enthusiast Top 50 New Restaurants
2. D Magazine 2025 · Best Place to Celebrate an Anniversary · Best of Big D

Dean Fearing's restaurant inside the Ritz-Carlton looks like a traditional steakhouse until the food arrives. It's a polished Southwestern dining room where the menu wanders confidently into buffalo and antelope territory alongside filets, and a carpaccio riff assembles tuna, wagyu, salmon, and barbecued eel into something resembling stained glass. The kind of place that earns a Forbes Four Star and still manages to serve a baklava s'more without embarrassing itself.

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
2. AAA Four Diamonds
3. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Texas Monthly The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas
2. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Barbecue · Best of Dallas

1. Dallas Observer 2023 · Best Hot Chicken · Best of Dallas
2. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Hot Chicken Sandwich · Best of Dallas

You enter through the back of a neighboring cafe, down a hallway, through a wooden door, and suddenly you're somewhere else entirely. This moody Oak Cliff speakeasy-style cantina stocks only bottles sourced from Mexico, and the cocktail menu is organized by historical era, walking you through the evolution of Mexican drinking culture. A James Beard Outstanding Bar semifinalist, it also does pre-Hispanic Oaxacan small plates for when the mezcal needs company.

1. Esquire The Best Bars in America
2. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Bar
3. D Magazine #20 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. Dallas Observer Neighborhood Staples and Gems · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
2. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Philly Cheesesteak · Best of Dallas

1. Forbes Travel Guide Forbes Four Star
2. AAA Four Diamonds

1. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Breakfast Sandwich · Best of Dallas

1. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Cocktail Vessel · Best of Dallas

1. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Specialty Lattes · Best of Dallas
2. Eater The 15 Coolest Coffee Shops in Dallas

1. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants
2. D Magazine #30 · The 50 Best Restaurants
3. James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Hospitality

The dough here is made by hand in the Neapolitan tradition, soft enough that a margherita lands on the table looking almost too relaxed to be pizza. Partenope is a full-sit-down Italian restaurant on Main Street, the kind of place that takes its time with both the pasta and the service. It landed on 50 Top Pizza USA, which for Dallas is a meaningful data point. The room feels warm rather than scene-y, which in this city counts for something.

1. 50 Top Pizza #18 · 50 Top Pizza USA
2. 50 Top Pizza 2026 · Made in Italy · 50 Top Pizza USA Special Awards
3. D Magazine #25 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. Dallas Observer Neighborhood Staples and Gems · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
2. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Mediterranean · Best of Dallas
3. D Magazine 2024 · Best Former Mayor's House · Best of Big D

1. Eater Burger · 14 Iconic Dallas Dishes Locals and Tourists Must Try

Wagyu meatloaf and croissant bread pudding sit on the same menu, which tells you everything about how Stock & Barrel operates. It's a casual American restaurant in the Bishop Arts neighborhood, with an open kitchen, a convivial bar counter, and booths that fill fast with locals who clearly have a standing reservation in their hearts. The kitchen leans into Texas comfort food, then nudges it somewhere unexpected.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. D Magazine #21 · The 50 Best Restaurants
2. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants
3. Dallas Observer 2023 · Best Chili · Best of Dallas

1. Dallas Observer New Restaurants on the Observers’ Top 50 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
2. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Carnitas · Best of Dallas

1. D Magazine #41 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. Eater The 15 Coolest Coffee Shops in Dallas

1. D Magazine 2023 · Best Jazz Series · Best of Big D
2. Eater The 15 Coolest Coffee Shops in Dallas

The house-made soba is the point here, though the menu at this elegant soba house in the Arts District runs wide enough to spark a real argument about what to order. Cold or hot noodles arrive with seasonal toppings that range from strictly traditional to a Bolognese that has no business working as well as it does. Grilled freshwater eel comes with its crisped spine, exactly as it would in Japan. The Michelin Guide has it listed among its selected restaurants in Dallas.

1. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Omakase · Best of Dallas
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
3. D Magazine #8 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. Dallas Observer 2023 · Best Restaurant for a Special Occasion · Best of Dallas
2. James Beard Awards 2026 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Restaurateur · Elizabeth Blau - Blau + Associates

The dining room runs peach and carrot tones with a retro-meets-modern feel that signals a proper occasion, and the uniformed servers confirm it. This is upscale New American with a wink: potato "churros" with caramelized onion dip, roasted chicken with sauce vin jaune, a chocolate candy bar for dessert. The chef is a James Beard Emerging Chef nominee, and the Michelin Guide has taken notice. Prices are serious, but so is the kitchen.

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Emerging Chef · RJ Yoakum
2. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Chef · Best of Dallas · R.J. Yoakum
3. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

The corner windows at this Mediterranean restaurant pull you in before you've even touched the door, and the room inside delivers on the promise: open, sunny, and staffed by people who seem to mean it. The kitchen ranges from Morocco to Syria to Spain without breaking a sweat, and the booths fill fast enough that the long counter bar exists for a reason. The wine program earned a James Beard Semifinalist nod, which in Dallas is its own kind of conversation starter.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. D Magazine #15 · The 50 Best Restaurants
3. Dallas Observer 2023 · Best Wine Program · Best of Dallas

The blind-covered windows in a Highland Park strip mall don't exactly shout "neighborhood Italian restaurant," but that's partly the point. Inside, exposed brick and modern art set a casually stylish tone, and the menu leans seasonal with a wood-fired oven doing steady work. Up to ten pastas rotate through, though the white clam pie and Maine lobster ravioli are permanent fixtures. The wine list is all-Italian and quietly interesting. It holds a Michelin Bib Gourmand.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand

1. Dallas Observer New Restaurants on the Observers’ Top 50 · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best New Restaurant
2. Texas Monthly #3 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
3. Esquire The Best New Restaurants in America

Ten counter seats inside a renovated gin building, and getting one of them is genuinely the hard part. This is an intimate edomae omakase, Michelin-starred, where the chef sequences around fourteen nigiri pieces so the flavors build steadily from delicate to deep. The rice comes from Hokkaido, the movements are unhurried, and the chef will quietly adjust the size of a piece if you ask. Everyone sits down together, so don't be late.

1. Michelin Guide 1 Star
2. D Magazine 2025 · Best Omakase · Best of Big D
3. D Magazine 2023 · Best Tasting Menu · Best of Big D

1. James Beard Awards 2025 · Nominee · Best Chef: Texas · Regino Rojas
2. D Magazine 2024 · Best Tasting Menu · Best of Big D
3. D Magazine #1 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. D Magazine 2025 · Best Bar Clone · Best of Big D
2. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Fish and Chips · Best of Dallas
3. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Bloody Mary · Best of Dallas

1. D Magazine #45 · The 50 Best Restaurants

The line wrapping around the building is the first sign; the smell of oak and hickory smoke is the second. Cattleack is a beloved Dallas BBQ shop with a Michelin Bib Gourmand and a spot on Texas Monthly's 50 best list, where pitmaster Andrew Castelan runs brisket and pork ribs as the anchors but keeps daily specials, like wagyu pastrami brisket, for the regulars who know to look. Tangy house sauce sits on every table, not because the meat needs it.

1. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
2. Texas Monthly The 50 Best BBQ Joints in Texas
3. D Magazine #10 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. Dallas Observer Classic Dallas Restaurants · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
2. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Chicken-Fried Steak · Best of Dallas

1. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Restaurant in Oak Cliff · Best of Dallas
2. D Magazine The Best New Restaurants in Dallas
3. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Side: Grilled Leeks · Best of Dallas

1. D Magazine 2025 · Best Indian · Best of Big D

1. Eater Chopped Meat Sandwich · 14 Iconic Dallas Dishes Locals and Tourists Must Try

1. D Magazine 2025 · Best Bakery for Bread · Best of Big D
2. D Magazine 2024 · Best Bakery for Bread · Best of Big D
3. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Sourdough Loaf · Best of Dallas

1. Wine Enthusiast Top 50 New Restaurants
2. Texas Monthly Honorable Mentions · Texas’s Best New Restaurants

1. D Magazine #49 · The 50 Best Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer Neighborhood Staples and Gems · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now

1. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants
2. D Magazine 2025 · Best Tea Time · Best of Big D
3. D Magazine 2024 · Best Meal With a View · Best of Big D

1. D Magazine 2024 · Best Spicy Cocktails · Best of Big D
2. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Indian · Best of Dallas

The view from the top of Reunion Tower has been making Dallas look good for years, and the steakhouse that lives up there now leans into it hard, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a dress code keeping things appropriately sharp. Sushi shares the menu with steaks from local farms, and the triple-cooked fries are the kind of side you order again before the first plate is cleared. Book well ahead; 200 seats fill faster than you'd expect.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant

1. Eater The 15 Coolest Coffee Shops in Dallas

A French team runs this relaxed bistro on Knox Street, and the room reads more neighborhood than tourist trap, with no beret-shaped light fixtures in sight. Classics like duck à l'orange and rabbit in mustard sauce anchor the dinner menu, while lunch keeps things simpler with oysters and fish rillettes. The Paris-Brest is the kind of dessert you order, then immediately resent whoever you brought with you. The Michelin Guide has it selected.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. D Magazine #27 · The 50 Best Restaurants
3. Dallas Observer Neighborhood Staples and Gems · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now

1. Texas Monthly Dishes We Wanted Seconds Of: Pan de Elote · The Best Things in Texas

1. Texas Monthly Honorable Mentions · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
2. D Magazine The Best New Restaurants in Dallas
3. D Magazine #24 · The 50 Best Restaurants

A warm raisin scone arrives before you've even looked at the menu, which tells you everything about the priorities at this intimate neighborhood bistro tucked into Henderson Avenue. The contemporary American cooking leans seasonal and unfussy, and the hospitality earned a James Beard nomination to prove it's not an accident. The Michelin Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand, and the room fills with the kind of regulars who stopped reading the menu months ago.

1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Nominee · Outstanding Hospitality
2. Michelin Guide Bib Gourmand
3. D Magazine #19 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. D Magazine #4 · The 50 Best Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer Splurge Worthy Spots · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now
3. Eater The 38 Essential Dallas Restaurants

An upscale steakhouse on the seventh floor of a hotel that bills itself as Swiss hospitality in Texas, which tells you something about the room before you even sit down. The draw is the house Akaushi beef, raised by the team's own breeding program just north of the Red River, and it shows up across a menu built around the classics. White-jacketed service, a clubby feel, and a cocktail list you'll need before deciding.

1. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
2. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Steakhouse · Best of Dallas

1. D Magazine 2025 · Best Breakfast · Best of Big D
2. Dallas Observer 2024 · Best Cafe · Best of Dallas

1. Texas Monthly #5 · Texas’s Best New Restaurants
2. Dallas Observer 2023 · Best Brunch · Best of Dallas
3. D Magazine #11 · The 50 Best Restaurants

The baked Alaska arrives tableside with the kind of theater that makes you glad you dressed up. Mister Charles is an Italian-influenced French restaurant in Dallas where the room is sweeping and the menu runs from fusilli with caviar to wagyu beef Wellington, with canapes and showy presentations filling the space between. The wine list is substantial, the cocktails are deft, and nobody here is pretending this is a casual Tuesday.

1. D Magazine 2024 · Best Place for Dessert · Best of Big D
2. Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
3. D Magazine #9 · The 50 Best Restaurants

1. Dallas Observer 2025 · Best Restaurant for a Special Occasion · Best of Dallas
2. Dallas Observer Splurge Worthy Spots · The Top 50 Restaurants in Dallas Right Now