Cedar Springs Road at 1:30 in the morning operates on its own set of rules. The bars are still going, the sidewalks are still busy, and at some point everyone on that strip remembers they’re hungry. Most of the kitchens in Oak Lawn have already called it. Zio Al’s hasn’t.
The Cedar Springs location at 3851 Cedar Springs Rd. runs until 3 a.m. every night of the week, full menu, full kitchen, no half-measures after midnight. That’s not a gimmick. That’s a kitchen built around the people who actually populate that neighborhood after dark — bartenders finishing a shift, hospital workers heading home from Parkland, the after-show crowd that ended up on Cedar Springs without a plan. Zio Al’s has become the last stop that’s actually worth making.
The pizza is the thing, and it’s good — hand-tossed, fresh dough, made to order. The Signature Pizza is the New York-style thin crust that regulars come back for, and the Gyro Lover’s Pizza — tzatziki sauce, gyro meat, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, black olives, and mozzarella — is the one that surprises people ordering it for the first time. The Pepperoni Lovers with blue cheese is the move if you want something straightforward done right. The cheese bread with its long pull has its own following.
Wings run boneless or traditional, and the mango habanero is the one people mention when they talk about the wings — enough heat to mean something, enough sweetness to keep you going back. The pasta side is real: fettuccine alfredo, chicken parmigiana, lasagna all hold up, which matters when you need something more substantial than a slice at midnight.
Halal across the menu. Delivery runs well into the early hours and covers Cedar Springs, Oak Lawn, Uptown, and surrounding neighborhoods. Dine-in is open the same hours. The vibe is unpretentious in the best possible way — come as you are, order what sounds good, and eat something worth remembering from a night that probably already has a few stories in it.
Zio Al’s is at 3851 Cedar Springs Rd., Dallas, TX 75219. Open daily 11 a.m. to 3 a.m. Phone: (469) 677-0016. Order online at zioals.com.
