Joseph Palladino spent years helping build Nick & Sam’s into one of the most recognizable steakhouses in Dallas, then went to New York, opened Palladino’s Steak & Seafood at Grand Central Terminal, watched it become one of the hottest openings in the city — The NY Post, The Today Show, Humans of New York — and then did exactly what everyone who knew him expected: he brought it back to Dallas. The doors open tonight at 5959 Royal Lane, Suite 635 in Preston Royal Village, the 9,850-square-foot former Spec’s space next to La La Land Kind Cafe.
The room was designed by Rockwell Group — the firm behind some of the most recognized restaurant interiors in the country — through a lens that is equal parts New York glamour and Preston Hollow warmth. There are two private spaces worth knowing about. The Aria is a dedicated events venue built around a grand piano and a stage for live programming, named for Palladino’s daughter. The National is an intimate private dining room named for Dallas National Golf Club, where Palladino is a member, with photography from the club throughout — a room that will feel immediately familiar to anyone who has spent time there.
The culinary team is the other reason this opening matters. Executive Chef and partner Sam Hazen is a CIA graduate who also taught there, with a résumé that runs through La Côte Basque, the Quilted Giraffe, Michelin three-star Le Gavroche in London, Tavern on the Green, and a decade at Tao — the last of which explains the sushi program that gives Palladino’s its clearest separation from a conventional steakhouse. Chef de Cuisine Henry Johnson handles the Dallas kitchen day to day — a CIA graduate from Kansas who came up through Café Pacific, Cowboys Club at The Star, North Italia, Flower Child, Bistro 31, and most recently executive chef at EVELYN.
The menu covers more ground than a standard steakhouse and earns most of it. Prime cuts and A5 Wagyu anchor the beef side. The tableside Trolley Treat — a slow-roasted herb-crusted prime rib carved at the table — is the theatrical centerpiece. The Bread Stick Veal Milanese, the Miso-Glazed Chilean Bass, the Maine Lobster Scampi, and a full sushi and Taste of Japan A5 Wagyu program fill out a menu that asks more of the kitchen than most Dallas steakhouses do. The filet mignon sliders with truffle aioli are the late-night move once the bar settles in. Caviar service is available. The rainbow carrot Wellington exists for anyone who wants proof the kitchen takes vegetables seriously.
Palladino grew up with a mother who worked two jobs and a father he has described publicly and honestly. He was a cop who decided he was too soft for it, tried Vegas, came back, and found his way into restaurants. He built Nick & Sam’s. He built Coal Vines. He went to New York and built this. Former NFL safety Darren Woodson signed the back-of-house door before tonight’s opening, which is the kind of detail that tells you what kind of room this is going to be.
The bar opens nightly at 4:30 p.m., dining room at 5 p.m. Closing at 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday. Reservations at palladinos.com or email contactdallas@palladinos.com. Follow @palladinosrestaurants.
