Tim McEneny, of NL Group (DISH Cedar Springs, Front Room Tavern, Dakota’s) announces DISH Preston Hollow – located at 8611 Hillcrest Avenue (northwest corner of Hillcrest and Northwest Highway) – will open to the public for lunch and dinner service (weekend brunch begins opening weekend as well) on Tuesday, February 24th with chef Andrew Bell as executive chef.
This neighborhood destination is a sharp, sophisticated and inviting restaurant with a focus on fresh, simple, well-executed seasonal American comfort food in a vibrant space. Chef Bell will add several unique dishes to the Preston Hollow location while executing the signature dishes of the original menu from Cedar Springs. Bell says, “My goal is to keep it consistent with great quality food and service;, I want the neighborhood to know what to expect and keep coming back. Garreth (Cedar Springs executive chef) and I share similar philosophies of using fresh, simple ingredients to make great tasting, straight-forward rustic yet refined dishes.”
Bell has worked in some of the most respected kitchens in both Dallas and Austin. Bell worked as a sushi chef at Citizen and sous chef at Mercury before moving to Austin to work as chef de cuisine at Wink then moved on to work as a sous chef for Tyson Cole at Uchi. After moving back to Dallas in 2006, Bell was contacted by notorious chef Avner Samuel and accepted the chef de cuisine position at Aurora and worked there until 2008. In 2008, Bell opened Dr. Bell’s BBQ in the heart of downtown Dallas. Bell closed Dr. Bell’s BBQ in 2010 and joined Avner again at Nosh Euro Bistro as sous chef for the Oak Lawn location. In 2012 Bell took over Bolsa Mercado and ran the catering and daily menu offering in the market. After a short stint at The Mansion on Turtle Creek as banquet chef, Bell returned to Bolsa to act as executive chef. In 2015, Bell reached out to the NL group and was hired as executive chef for the Preston Hollow location.
Creator and owner, McEneny says, “We plan for this to be a stable, long-lasting concept that we can expand into other cities, but for now we are very excited to open this location. The feel of the space is also quite different than the Cedar Springs location. It is a softer, brighter design using a lot of different textures from wood, granite, glass to polished steel and ceramic tiles. It is a beautiful restaurant that is perfectly appropriate for the neighborhood. Our new management team is extremely knowledgeable and the food is really on point.” Totaling 5000 square feet, the interior dining room seats 110 guests. The patio seats 34 including the outdoor bar.
McEneny opened DISH Cedar Springs in 2009. Garreth Dickey took over the kitchen in 2013, where he remains executive chef. McEneny’s intent is to continue opening more renditions of the DISH concept in other neighborhoods across the country, creating a slightly different identity for each one based on their location and demographics. Also, having a dedicated executive chef in each DISH location allows the menu to have its own life, while keeping true to the original vision of the concept.
Pastry chef Allison Morse (Front Room Tavern) created the dessert menu for chef Bell. Although Morse is on-premise is at Front Room Tavern, she acts as head pastry chef for both DISH Preston Hollow and Front Room Tavern. Trevor Landry, NL Group’s Beverage Director, created the bar menu boasting several unique handcrafted cocktails. Landry earned many accolades for his bar work after completing the National BarSmarts certification in 2012.
photos by Kevin Marple
