Tuesday, September 1, 2026

The Top 100 Places to Eat Near Dayne's Craft Barbecue

  1. Rank 1. Dayne's Craft Barbecue

    Texas-Style Barbecue



  2. 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.



  3. 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.


  4. 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.




  5. Rank 9. Sabar BBQ

    Texas-Style Barbecue








  6. Rank 16. Smoke'N Ash BBQ

    Tex-Ethiopian Barbecue

    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.



















  7. Rank 34. North Texas Smoke BBQ

    Texas-Style Barbecue



  8. Rank 36. Lucia

    Italian

    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.



  9. Rank 38. Starship Bagel

    NY-Style Bakery





  10. Rank 42. Restaurant Beatrice

    Contemporary Cajun & Creole


  11. Rank 43. Simply South

    Southern Indian


  12. 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.





  13. Rank 48. Smokey Joe's BBQ

    Texas-Style Barbecue


  14. Rank 49. José

    Jalisco Mexican






  15. Rank 54. Written By The Seasons

    Contemporary New American

    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.







  16. 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.



  17. Rank 62. Slow Bone

    Texas-Style Barbecue




  18. Rank 65. Ayahuasca Cantina

    Mezcal Mexican

    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.






  19. Rank 70. Stock & Barrel

    Texas American

    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.



  20. Rank 72. Crown Block

    Steakhouse

    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.



























  21. Red-lit and tucked into a corner of Bishop Arts that requires a little intention to find, LadyLove is a lounge and dance bar that somehow calibrated the music at exactly the volume where you can still finish a sentence. The crowd skews queer and curious, the patio turns strangers into regulars, and the house cocktails lean tart and a little spicy. DJ nights run on Saturdays.


  22. Peticolas runs a split-level taproom out of an industrial building in West Dallas, with English, Irish, and Scottish-style ales brewed on-site. It's a semi-official FC Dallas supporters' bar, showing everything from Champions League to regional Mexican matches, which explains the noise level on a Tuesday. When there's nothing on the screens, the upstairs has foosball, ping pong, and shuffleboard to fill the gap.



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