Dallas Will Get a New Seafood Restaurant Called Water Grill Next Year

Sometimes I have a hard time getting excited for restaurant imports from California. Even if they work out the financial side of things they often don't seem to get the Texas vibe. The latest spot I ribbed on was Eureka! the burger bar. It just seemed crazy that a bunch...

By Scott Reitz

August 3, 2015

[
        {
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Inline Content - Mobile Display Size",
          "component": "18855504",
          "insertPoint": "2",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "2"
        },{
          "name": "Editor Picks",
          "component": "17105533",
          "insertPoint": "4",
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "1"
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - MediumRectangle - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105532",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 8,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "7",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Inline Links",
          "component": "18349797",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        },{
          "name": "Air - Leaderboard Tower - Combo - Inline Content",
          "component": "17105535",
          "insertPoint": "8th",
          "startingPoint": 12,
          "requiredCountToDisplay": "11",
          "maxInsertions": 25
        }
      ]

Sometimes I have a hard time getting excited for restaurant imports from California. Even if they work out the financial side of things they often don't seem to get the Texas vibe. The latest spot I ribbed on was Eureka! the burger bar. It just seemed crazy that a bunch of West Coast restaurateurs were going to succeed telling Texans how to do burgers. (And yet, the place is mobbed.)

Water Grill, the LA-based seafood restaurant scheduled to open on McKinney Avenue next year, on the other hand, seems like a good idea for Dallas. A California-based restaurant group ought to know a thing or two about seafood, and Dallas could use more restaurants with a fresh approach to fish. They nabbed 10,000 square feet of dining space just north of Klyde Warren Park.

What's better is Water Grill seems to be doing well in California. Our sister paper LA Weekly gave the Santa Monica location a positive review a few years back. Besha Rodel noted a few errors in execution but loved the decor and the raw bar. And LA Magazine added Water Grill to its list of 75 best restaurants.

The only bad thing about the place is the long wait. 2016 is a long time to fantasize about spot prawns, oysters on the half shell and sea urchin served whole. I suppose I'll hit one of my old standbys in the meantime

Become A Member

BEFORE YOU GO...
Can you help us continue to share our stories? Since the beginning, Dallas Observer has been defined as the free, independent voice of Dallas — and we'd like to keep it that way. Our members allow us to continue offering readers access to our incisive coverage of local news, food, and culture with no paywalls.