13 Dallas Area Hidden Gem Restaurants

The obvious restaurants that make Dallas a great place to live and eat will always be close to our waistlines, but discovering hidden-away spots, a bit off the beaten track, is what keeps us looking for more. Dallas' nuanced culinary landscape has many underappreciated restaurants, and here are just a few of the many to be found.

Pho Chau

1640 W Mockingbird Lane

Sometimes, you bite into an egg roll that makes you tear up a little. Pho Chau serves these emotionally charged appetizers and pho broth that’s simmered for hours in their quaint restaurant between Harry Hines and 35. The interior feels lived-in, and the menus are likely unchanged from when the restaurant opened over a decade ago. The menu sports a variety of Vietnamese staples like pho and banh mi, but they also serve other Asian staples, some with a Vietnamese twist, and others left as is. The shrimp tempura is crispier than most you’ll find in the city. The banh mi has a dreamy crisp on the bread with balanced toppings, and while we haven’t tried it, the 4R lemongrass chicken wok looks like a winner, as does anything under the fried noodles section.

Ba Lee Sandwich Shop

1927 E. Belt Line Road

When Subway swindled us all and got rid of the $5 footlong, they secretly passed the torch to Ba Lee Sandwich Shop. At this mini portal to (almost) Vietnam, seven different banh mi styles go for $5 before tax, and can be ordered with a variety of classic Viet drinks, including fresh-pressed sugar cane juice. For a sandwich this cheap, you’d think you’re robbing them, but you shouldn’t feel that way unless you buy five sandwiches, because then you get one free. Not only are the banh mi being served at a bargain price, but they’re made with an exceptional level of detail. All of the pork, beef and pâte are rendered in-house, as are the condiments and the perfect baguettes. One bite takes you on a journey of crispy, pillowy, sour, salty, sweet, savory and rich in a single go. The only con is that they’re only open Tuesday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Lyari Cafe

11641 Harry Hines Blvd.

Lyari Cafe is a colorful cafe that brings an entire subcontinent of cuisine to West Dallas. They specialize in fine Indian and Pakistani cuisine inspired by the flavorful streets of Lyari, a street in Karachi, Pakistan. The value you receive versus what you pay here is win-win if we’ve ever seen one. Fresh, hot baskets of naan sell for only $1.99, and the plates to accompany all average under $16. It gives you the opportunity to go all out on a feast, which is the only proper way to enjoy a meal here. The Behari beef has an entourage of flavors married with insanely tender, Halal beef. Samosas come in a few different flavors with table sauces to bring them up a notch. And the best part is that you don’t need to be familiar with the food to feel comfortable ordering. The staff can explain anything and help you discover something you like that you’ve likely never had before. Don’t forget the mango lassi made in-house and kheer for dessert.

John's Backyard Grill

17604 Davenport Road (inside Chevron station)

Tucked away inside a gas station, always a good sign for a hidden gem, John’s Backyard Grill serves up Mexican food such as breakfast tacos and burritos as well as stellar burgers that are priced to move and include above-average fries. The burgers totally capture the flavor and memory of the charcoal grills found on backyard patios everywhere. The only thing missing is the buzz of an AM radio playing a late-August baseball game and a couple of tiki torches. Check out our social media editor’s visit last October.

Tortilleria el Maizal

5528 Alpha Road, No. 105

This joint is hard to find in a small strip center that’s difficult to navigate, which is more of a feature than a bug for a hidden gem. Tortilleria el Maizal is a small taqueria that specializes in masa-based warm drinks such as atole champurrado; taco plates offering proteins like pastor, barbacoa, tripa, nopalitos and carnitas; and a really large machete – a long, slender tortilla stuffed with cheese and the protein of your choice that could feed a family of four. Sure, you can’t throw a rock in this city without hitting a pretty decent taqueria, but save yourself a rock hurl and check this place out.

Overseas Market

1101 S. Walton Walker Blvd.

Overseas Market is a Lao and Thai market off Walton Walker where you can buy staples liked rooster sauce, rice and fish sauce, as well as a pound of jerky, Lao sausage or a 50-pack of pork nam. There are a couple of tables hidden in a back alcove behind boxes of unshelved stock where you can sit and order a freshly prepared meal from a menu of traditional Lao and Thai dishes. The Lao deep-fried jerky with fat is a decadent indulgence, but there is also kau kai, a Lao-style omelet, and laub with your choice of protein, one option being raw beef. Overseas Market also offers the requisite pad Thai, as well as aum see (beef stew), salads with papaya and fried rice.

Sophia's Haitian Cuisine

Food truck, check online for location

Kavin Adisson runs this Haitian food truck based in Celina, but check Facebook and Instagram for its location all around North Texas. It’s worth the effort. Much of the menu is focused on pikliz, a sort of condiment and salad created with pickled cabbage, carrots and hot peppers. You can order it on a hotdog here, or as a topping for some loaded plantains. Platters abound as well, featuring goat, pork, chicken or veggies served with rice and plantains, all vibrantly seasoned and fork-tender. Seasonal Haitian favorites such as joumou soup are available around special occasions.

Albaghdady Bakery & Cafe

327 Greenville Ave, Richardson

This place has two separate buildings, a bakery and a café. You’ll find a fantastic Iraqi dish called tashreeb:  a broth-soaked flatbread topped with meat and veggies. It’s a large, deep bowl with a huge bread serving covered with chickpeas, broth and spices then topped with a generous portion of shredded beef and lamb. Also try Albaghdady's kabobs and the huge pieces of tandoor-cooked bread the size of a manhole cover.

Brazil Latino Market

4727 Frankford Road, No. 409

In Farthest North Dallas, stop by Brazil Latino Market, a small grocery store reminiscent of the hundreds of bodegas you find in New York City. After you’ve picked up a few Brazilian or Portuguese dry goods or something from the butcher,  head to the counter and order something to eat in the store from a menu of items that are their take on Brazilian street food. Sandwiches, pastels, fritters, breads and pastries can be had for around $5 each. The pastel is a thin-crust fried pie filled with such goodies as lamb, beef, cheese, codfish or catupiry, a creamy dairy spread that’s a Brazilian comfort food. Take home a bag of pao de queijo bread while you’re at it.

Khao Horm Thai

2525 Inwood Road

Speaking of comfort food, Khao Horm Thai serves up a bunch of the Thai and Lao varieties, complete with all the wonderful aromas that accompany them. Traditional favorites such as tom yum soup and pad see ew are available, as well as white pad Thai, duck roti and kra pao kai, a traditional Thai basil stir fry with minced chicken in a brown sauce. But the star of the show at Khao Horm Thai is the crispy duck noodle soup, a pretty large bowl full of egg noodles and crispy sliced duck all hanging out in a wonderfully rich and nuanced broth.

HOJA Bubble Tea

812 W. Spring Creek Parkway, Plano

Here’s some more street food, this time from Taiwan. So many of these hidden gems try to capture and share the street food of their country of origin, which is great for those of us without the time, bank balance or adventurous spirit to visit all the side streets and bazaars where the dishes originated. HOJA offers a plethora of teas in the form of lattes milk foam, slush and milk with all the requisite additions and toppings such as boba, jelly, popping boba, jam and chia. But we were here for the food, which includes some crispy fried king oyster mushrooms, braised pork rice with pork belly and the scrumptious g-pie, a crispy chicken-fried chicken breast with a hint of five-spice that is eaten straight out of the paper wrapper with the hands. It's heavenly.

Turan Uyghur Kitchen

2001 Coit Road, No. 163, Plano

The Uyghurs are a Turkic ethnic group residing within the borders of Northwest China. Their cuisine is hard to describe, but it is closer to Middle Eastern food than what we in the States picture when we think of Chinese food. Turan Uyghur Kitchen is one of the few places in the country that offers this cuisine, and we’re lucky to be able to sample these unique flavors here in North Texas. Korma chop has an interesting flavor profile; it comes in a bowl of hand-pulled dry-fried noodles with beef, onions, bell peppers, chilis and chives. The headliner, however, and what you should not pass over is the big plate chicken, available in two sizes. The small, which was huge and was enough for two of us with leftovers for the remaining week, is prepared with bone-in chicken stew served on a bed of flat noodles and loaded with potatoes, onions, garlic and red and green peppers. Seasoned with star anise, cinnamon, clove and white and black pepper, this dish is full of Quique savory flavors deep in character.

Edmond's Burgers

2919 W. 15th St., Plano

We could easily fill a complete list with hamburger hidden gems, but we’ll limit it to two this time. Edmond’s doesn’t attempt to capture the flavor and experience of the Weber backyard grill; instead it goes for a really affordable burger cooked perfectly in a variety of forms such as Hawaiian, Southwest and their signature burger, the Jaden. It's fully loaded with beef bacon, Swiss cheese, a fried egg and grilled onions on Texas toast. The Jaden can be ordered as a single or double patty, which we appreciate. The single combo meal goes for about $10. Edmond's has excellent sandwiches as well, the short rib with caramelized onions and provolone being a favorite.