Tag Archives: Uptown

by | October 9, 2026 · 4:41 pm

Brunch at Mercat Bistro

Weekend brunch at Mercat Bistro feels a lot like a long Saturday in Paris, only with valet parking. It is a European-style bistro in the Harwood District, and Michelin recommended the place and brunch is one of the easiest ways to see why.

Before you order, know one thing that sets this kitchen apart. Mercat cooks only with beef tallow, rendered in-house from the Harwood District’s own premium beef program, and it uses no nut or seed oils at all. The restaurant calls it a whole-animal, zero-waste approach. It matters most with anything fried, so pay attention to the potato galette and the frites.

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by | October 7, 2026 · 12:45 pm

Dallas Iconic Dish: Dean’s Tortilla Soup at Fearing’s

The bowl comes to the table almost empty. A neat little pile of smoked chicken, shredded cabbage, radish, avocado, cheddar and tortilla strips sits in the bottom, and then a server pours the broth over all of it right in front of you. It is a small bit of theater for a soup that has been part of Dallas dining for more than four decades. Dean’s Tortilla Soup at Fearing’s is one of the most famous bowls of soup in Texas, and it took a long road to get here.

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by | September 23, 2026 · 3:39 pm

Weekend Brunch at Avra: Caviar, Cinnamon Rolls and a Little Greek Island in Uptown

Somewhere between the second mimosa and the whole grilled fish, Uptown Dallas starts to feel a long way off. Sunlight fills the glass walls of Avra’s Conservatory, plants hang overhead, and at the next table somebody is working through a tower of oysters at 12:30 on a Sunday without a trace of guilt.

Welcome to weekend brunch at Avra Estiatorio.

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by | September 23, 2026 · 2:31 pm

Marlowe Debuts in Uptown Dallas | New Elevated Lounge Experience

The old brick building at 2912 McKinney Ave., near Howell, was Theory Nightclub for a while. Today it opens as Marlowe, a lounge that would like to handle your entire night, from a 6 o’clock martini to closing time at 2 a.m.

It isn’t quite a restaurant and it isn’t quite a club. Come early for drinks and a few plates, swing by after dinner somewhere else, or settle into a banquette and stay while the lights come down and the music comes up.

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by | September 1, 2026 · 11:38 am

S&D Oyster Co. Celebrates 50-Year Anniversary

S&D Oyster Company turns 50 on September 16, and it’s throwing itself an anniversary week worth planning around. The Uptown seafood spot has been serving the same stretch of McKinney Avenue since 1976, and five decades in one location is rare enough on its own to be worth celebrating properly.

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by | August 26, 2026 · 11:18 am

Burrito Bellas in Uptown Dallas with a Creative Twist on Mexican and Italian 

Burrito Bellas just opened on McKinney Avenue, and it’s doing something Uptown hasn’t quite seen before: putting Mexican and Italian food in the same burrito instead of picking a lane.

Shawn Horne is behind it, a longtime figure in Dallas dining with a resume that runs through Star Canyon, Aquaknox, and the Green Room. The idea is straightforward once you hear it. Take the comfort of a burrito and build it around the flavors of a classic Italian dish instead of the usual fillings. That gets you a chicken parmesan burrito, a sausage and pepper burrito, and a spaghetti and meatball version wrapped in a tortilla instead of served on a plate, alongside more traditional burritos and quesadillas for anyone who wants to keep it simple.

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by | August 26, 2026 · 10:50 am

Élephante to Bring Coastal Southern Italian Dining to Uptown Dallas September 1

Élephante opens its doors in Uptown Dallas on September 1, and the whole idea behind it traces back to a rock. Back in the summer of 2014, Wish You Were Here Group founder Nicholas Mathers was traveling through Pantelleria, a small volcanic island off the coast of Sicily, when he came across a natural stone formation called the Arco dell’Elefante, a shape carved by wind and water that stretches out into the sea like an elephant reaching for a drink.

That image stuck with him. It became the name, and more than that, it became the whole feeling the restaurant has spent years trying to bottle: long afternoons, unhurried food, the particular kind of ease that only shows up when nobody’s checking a watch.

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by | August 21, 2026 · 5:50 pm

Why Parliament Still Owns Uptown’s Cocktail Scene

Lucky

Parliament opened in August 2014 in the old Four Lounge space on 2418 Allen Street, in the State Thomas Historic District, and more than a decade later it is still the same low-lit, red-walled room where Eddie “Lucky” Campbell built his name pouring drinks most bartenders would need a cheat sheet to remember.

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