When The Saint opened in 2023 on Gaston Avenue near the club corridor off Good Latimer, it was a fish out of water from the start. The concept — an Italian steakhouse with serious food and a sophisticated room — landed in a block full of bars and nightclubs that drew a completely different crowd. Regulars found it. The food was better than the location suggested. But the neighborhood was never right for what the restaurant was trying to be.
In November 2025 it closed the Gaston Avenue location and moved. The new address is 1000 N. Riverfront Boulevard in the Design District — second floor, above Night Rooster, the modern Chinese concept from the same Hooper Hospitality Concepts group — with a view of the downtown Dallas skyline from nearly every seat in the room. It reopened January 3 with a new executive chef and a menu built around him.
That chef is Sergio Esquivel, Dallas-born, trained at the Culinary Institute of America. He grew up cooking beside his grandmothers — the detail his bio leads with and the one that makes sense once you eat his food. He’s worked at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse, Georgie by Curtis Stone, Harper’s, and played a foundational role opening Nuri Steakhouse — recognized as one of the World’s 101 Best Steak Restaurants. He also spent time as the personal chef for the Jones family at AT&T Stadium. His cooking style doesn’t fit a single tradition — he describes it as steakhouse foundation layered with Italian technique, Peruvian brightness, American comfort, and Korean depth. Everything in his kitchen is made in-house.
The room reflects the move’s ambition. 1,800 square feet, 85 seats, dimly lit. The golden-tiled stairway leads up from street level to a landing crowned by an 18th-century gilt chandelier. Inside, saints-and-sinners iconography covers the walls — custom wallpaper, scalloped upholstered booths beneath a 1920s Parisian glass-domed chandelier, a graffitied antique oil portrait tagged by Design District artist Kelly O’Neal. The design splits between heaven and hell, which describes the aesthetic more accurately than any single word would. Floor-to-ceiling windows face the skyline. Arrive near sunset and ask for window seating.
The menu carries over The Saint’s best-loved dishes alongside new ones built specifically for this kitchen. Start with the Texas Wagyu Tartare — truffle carpaccio, balsamic-cured egg yolk, the kind of opener that tells you immediately what register the kitchen is working in. The Shellfish Platter brings Maine lobster, king crab, oysters, and prawns with cocktail sauce — the full raw bar spread for a table that wants to go slowly through the early part of the meal. The Ricotta Gnudi with Pulled Duck has been flagged by PaperCity as the dish not to miss, and reviews back that up consistently.
Pasta runs serious here. The Wild Mushroom and Black Truffle Tagliatelle is the showpiece — housemade pasta, earthy and rich, built for the table that’s not in a hurry. The Brisket and Foie Gras Ravioli is the one that made the move from Gaston Avenue intact because regulars wouldn’t let it go. Both are made in-house every day.\
Steaks are dry-aged from Texas ranchers and Wagyu selections. The 32-oz Bistecca alla Fiorentina anchors the top end of the menu — the Florentine cut, bone-in, cooked over high heat and rested properly, served simply. The bone marrow fries from the sides section have their own following in the reviews. The bar program runs inventive cocktails alongside smoked whiskey decanter presentations — the In Good Faith with Ford’s Gin, Ramazotti Aperitivo, hibiscus syrup, lemon, and sparkling wine is the one to start with at the bar.
The Saint Italian Steakhouse is at 1000 N. Riverfront Boulevard in the Design District, second floor. Open Sunday through Thursday 5 to 10 p.m., Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 p.m. Reservations on OpenTable. Phone: (214) 258-6152.
