Jeff Marini
Audio By Carbonatix
The big out-of-town dining concepts continue to roll into Dallas. Aba is a Chicago-born dining concept that debuted in 2018 and was an instant hit. The Mediterranean restaurant, with hints of West Coast influence, was a massive success and has two other locations in Austin and Nashville.
Following its fruitful tap into the Texas market, Aba will open in The Seam, a new mixed-use development in the Design District at 1444 Oak Lawn Ave., later this year.
Aba, meaning “father” in Hebrew, is a year-round summer-in-the-Mediterranean experience. The Dallas location will bring the concept’s signature indoor-outdoor dining to the neighborhood, decorated with all the signature details of the region. Think olive trees, climbing ivy, potted plants and trees, Moroccan-style lanterns, vintage chandeliers and textures that play with neutral and rich tones.
Feels a lot like AVRA, another fancy Mediterranean concept that opened at The Crescent last year.
The Chef
Chef and partner CJ Jacobson is known for his rustic yet refined use of hyper-seasonal, California ingredients and infusing them into Mediterranean dishes. His resume begins at the Le Cordon Bleu-affiliated College of Culinary Arts in Pasadena, California. From there, he cooked his way around California, Copenhagen and Chicago before partnering with Lettuce Entertain You Restaurants on Aba and another Mediterranean concept called Ēma.
The Menu
Every Aba menu looks to offer the same base plates, with a few offerings that appeal to the local market. Expect house-made hummus and spreads, hot and cold mezze plates, kebabs, butcher cuts and seasonal dishes.
A quick glance at the Austin menu could give us a peek at what we’re in for: beef brisket hummus with smoked barbecue sauce, shawarma-spiced prime skirt steak frites and hot honey halloumi.
The most interesting part of the beverage program is the section for ancient civilization wine. Selections follow the ancient Phoenician trade routes through Morocco, Israel, Lebanon, Greece and Cyprus, and are considered rare and/or high-quality.
Everything else is the usual: cocktails, zero-proof cocktails, Old and New World wines by the bottle and glass, after-dinner drinks and a full list of spirits. Happy hour will be Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m., and offers $5 plates, $5 beers, $7 wines and $9 specialty cocktails.
The New Space
Aba is the first of six restaurants opening inside The Seam later this year. When completed, it will be just under 8,000 square feet. There is space for two more high-capacity restaurants and three smaller concepts at the development, but as of now are yet to be leased.
