Lauren Drewes Daniels
Audio By Carbonatix
Does your girlfriend not know where she wants to eat?
Not anymore. Send her this list.
Plenty of new talent opened in Dallas last month, including an upbeat Australian Cafe, a live-fire European cafe and more places with creative new drinks to try.
We welcome those and more, but say goodbye to Lower Greenville’s resident tiki bar, a longtime Thai restaurant and a few other staples.
OPENINGS
Gigi’s Bar & Lounge
7300 Lone Star Drive (Plano)Gigi’s Bar & Lounge is a new Latin-inspired restaurant in The Shops at Legacy North. It features nightly entertainment from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m., themed weekly events like Noche de Despecho on Thursdays and food options that start at brunch and take you all the way to late-night favorites.
Prime Materia
3000 Grapevine Mills Parkway (inside Meow Wolf)A bar is exactly what Meow Wolf needed.
Frenchie
8420 Preston Center PlazaFrenchie was one of the most anticipated restaurant openings in 2025. It’s an approachable, all-day quintessential French brasserie. The concept is by Travis Street Hospitality (Stephan Courseau and chef Bruno Davaillon), which is also behind Georgie, Knox Bistro and others. Coffee and croissants in the morning transform into steak frites and escargot by night.
Peaberry Coffee
660 Fort Worth Ave. Peaberry Coffee has been a staple of the Oak Cliff community since 2019. Because of complications at the original location, they’ve temporarily relocated to the bar inside Another Round. The pop-up (branded Peaberry On Ice) is open daily from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and serves every drink cold for $6.50.
Two Hands
2681 Howell St.This Aussie outpost opened its first Dallas location last month, and it was the perfect addition to the roster inside The Quad in Uptown. It’s open all day and is known for Australian cafe favorites made with local ingredients. A full look is coming soon, but until then, we leave you with this: get that pavlova.
Monkey Bar on 9
1949 N Stemmons FreewayBeloved Highland Park Village watering hole Monkey Bar opened its second-ever location on top of the Tru Hilton Hotel right off the Stemmons Freeway. An interesting choice, to say the least. Does it measure up to the original? We’ll have to take a look and see.
Neko Yubu
1499 Regal RowYubu is a Korean-style Japanese sushi where they take a fried tofu skin pouch and fill it with white rice and a variety of salty, sweet or savory fillings. Neko Yubu just opened and is takeout and delivery only, but that doesn’t stop people from forming a line out the door. Arrive and plan accordingly.
Flamant
5880 State Highway 121, Plano (The Boardwalk at Granite Park)One of the 2025 summer openings we’ve been waiting for has finally arrived. The team behind Rye and Apothecary opened this European live-fire cocktail bar and bistro rooted in the culinary traditions of Portugal, Spain, France and Italy. For them, we’ll consider something north of 635 a part of Dallas. Just this once, though.
Capital One Cafe
3700 McKinney Ave.This may be exciting news for maybe four people, but the new Capital One Cafe in Uptown is finally open and welcoming everyone to come in and enjoy the new workspace. If you’re a Capital One Cardholder, you can get a free drink on Mondays and 50% off all items every day. They’re also doing $3.60 drinks on Fridays for commoners (those without a Capital One card).
Pane Nostro
508 W Seventh St.Pane Nostro took over the old CocoAndre Chocolatier space, spruced it up with white and blue paint and opened a family-run Italian restaurant. The menu has a generous pasta section, a mostly Italian wine list and, by the looks of it, cannolis, but we hope for tiramisu as well.
The PoBoy Shop
8421 Westchester DriveThe PoBoy Shop is Evan’s Meat Market’s new sister concept. This fast-casual sandwich shop is located in the Preston Center off Northwest Highway and serves Louisiana-style hot and cold po’boys, house-prepared deli meats and Cajun sides.
Boxed & Brewed
400 N Ervay St.Boxed & Brewed is a new grab-and-go cafe on the cusp of downtown Dallas inside the historic U.S. Post Office at 400 N. Ervay. They serve all your favorite espresso-based drinks, other staples like matcha and quick meals like sandwiches, salads and sweet treats.
Ella Dine + Drinks
7949 Walnut Hill LaneChido Taco Lounge, rebranded Ella Dine + Drinks, opened recently in North Dallas. It brings a roster of acclaimed talents like Julian Shaffer, who was recognized by the Michelin guide last year for Exceptional Cocktails at Rye. The place has a feminine, forward feel, and there’s also a speakeasy upstairs called Customs.
In Good Company
308 S. Akard St. (inside Exchange Hall at AT&T Discovery District)In Good Company is Easy Sliders’ sister concept that opened inside the Exchange Hall in downtown. Its signature is lunch counter classics like hamburgers and hot dogs in a good-vibes setting.
JD’s Chippery
6025 Royal Lane, No. 101This buzzy Preston and Royal intersection just welcomed JD’s Chippery to its roster of favorite shops and restaurants. This cookie shop has been serving the Park Cities and SMU neighborhoods for four generations.
Little Joy
2105 S. Edgefield Ave. B-Side Coffee was rebranded to Little Joy Coffee after regulars Russell Tibbits and Allison Macalik claimed ownership of the cafe space. The Elmwood coffee shop opened just shy of a year and a half ago, and despite the rebrand, it has the same food and beverage menu, and baristas working to create new drinks.
Campo Verde
2918 W Pioneer ParkwayCampo Verde, a Tex-Mex staple with about a quarter of a million Christmas lights, reopened this month with fewer lights and much better food. It closed at the end of January 2025 but was reopened by the new owners, Mouhssine “Moose” Benhamacht and Liesl “Li” Best of Barbary West Hospitality.
CLOSINGS
Swizzle
1802 Greenville Ave.Swizzle is giving up its spot on the edge of Lower Greenville to revert to its roots as a pop-up. The beloved tiki bar opened its first brick-and-mortar in 2020, and despite giving it their all to keep it afloat, it will officially close on Saturday, July 19, after five strong years.
Bangkok at Greenville
4503 Greenville Ave. After 32 years of serving homestyle Thai cooking in Lower Greenville, the owners, Joe and Sunny Pumphaung, have decided to close the restaurant due to increased operational costs and to spend more time with their aging parents. It closed for good on Monday, June 30.
CheapSteaks
2613 Elm St. The restaurant and bar by day and music venue by night is closed temporarily for a bit of sprucing, as Dallas restaurant and bar veteran Jeff Beihler gains full ownership. It originally opened in 2021, and despite the neighborhood’s current growing pains with construction, it will reopen soon as Dusty’s and will focus more on music.
Niwa BBQ
2939 Main St. “Thank you for 9 amazing years, Dallas,” read Niwa Japanese BBQ’s farewell post on Instagram. The destination for izakaya-style fare in Deep Ellum officially closed on Saturday, June 29.
Pizzeria Testa
3525 Greenville Ave.The highly acclaimed Neapolitan pizzas from Pizzeria Testa are no more. Its June 29 closure ended a seven-year run in the building across the street from Sundown at Granada. The torch is being passed to Austin Rodgers and Jeff Bekavac, co-owners of Goodwin’s on Lower Greenville and the nearby Alamo Club, who will open a new concept in the former pizzeria space.
