Dinner and a Lemur Anyone? Steaks and Exotic Animals at Oak Meadow Ranch

Just when you think there isn’t a restaurant concept you haven’t heard of, here comes Whitehorse Steakhouse at Oak Meadow Ranch. At this property about an hour north of Dallas, diners get a chef-prepared meal followed by some snuggle time and photo opportunities with exotic animals including red kangaroos, an African serval, ringtail lemurs, sloths and more.

The "Dinner and Animal Experience" is $150 per person and includes a set four- or five-course dinner that rotates every two weeks. There's also a two-course brunch at noon on Sundays with live music for $100. Reservations are a must and, for now, they're booked through October.

“Normally in those dinners, there's fire, there's cotton candy, there's lots of glitter and different fun things like that,” said Kristin Navarro, part-owner. “He [husband and chef Eduardo Navarro] pretty much makes a twist on every type of menu that you can think of.”
The current menu includes Cowboy Candy Cracker Bites (homemade cream cheese spread with candied jalapeños over crackers), roasted beet and cottage cheese salad, Citrus Cotton Candy Steak with potatoes and french cut green beans. Have a slice of chocolate cake to wrap things up.

Both brunch and dinner experiences include a meet and greet with the ranch’s USDA licensed exotic animals, which visitors can hold and take photos with.

“It's not just a zoo. These animals are my personal animals. They're my babies for sure. They're spoiled rotten,” Navarro said.

The animals aren’t the only attraction on the ranch. The Navarros also have several Airbnb’s on the property, a wedding venue, ax-throwing and yard games as well as a fishing pond coming soon.

“I take a lot of pride in what I do. I take a lot of pride in my husband for being able to have a passion in the kitchen and create what he creates,” Navarro said. “We're just a duo team that's just out there killing it and having a lot of fun together.”