The Best Places in Central West End

A French bistro in the Central West End from Gerard Craft, the team behind it has been drawing a loyal crowd since the place opened. The room buzzes reliably, and for good reason: gougères that arrive impossibly light, escargot loud with garlic, a slow-cooked cassoulet that lands like a wool blanket in the best sense. Skip dessert at your peril, especially the floating island drifting across its pool of crème anglaise.

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3. James Beard Awards 2022 · Semifinalist · Outstanding Pastry Chef · Elise Mensing

The Cuban bread comes from La Segunda Bakery in Tampa, shipped in specifically to get the crust right on the sandwiches. This is a Cuban restaurant where the team cooks from scratch the way they did back home, and that intention shows up in the ropa vieja and the arroz con pollo as much as the pressed sandwiches. The flan is the quiet closer nobody skips.

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The piña colada here is not the one you've been avoiding. Yellowbelly is a tropical cocktail bar and restaurant on Lindell where mezcal, rum, passionfruit, and coconut show up balanced and thought-through rather than sticky-sweet. A jungle mural and serious plant situation set the mood, and the food, fish tacos and salmon tostadas and the like, holds its own alongside the drinks. It's the kind of place that makes a Tuesday feel like a decent idea.

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1. AAA Approved

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1. James Beard Awards 2024 · Semifinalist · Best New Restaurant

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