Cuisines include Japanese, Tex-Mex, new American and more. Are cocktails a cuisine?
For years, Lowest Greenville has been one of Dallas’ most vibrant dining districts, but it’s also been a revolving door for restaurants that perennially open and close.
The pandemic might have accelerated some of those closures, taking out Asian restaurant Gung Ho; patio spot Laurel Tavern; rooftop patio Eastside Tavern; Tacos Mariachi and more. But nearly all of those leases have been nabbed, with hungry new restaurateurs actively moving in.
This summer, Lowest Greenville will be a flurry of activity. Here’s a look at all the new restaurants opening in the neighborhood this summer.
Restaurants are listed in order of when they’re expected to open in Lowest Greenville, which is defined as the Dallas neighborhood that lies south of Belmont Avenue on or near Greenville Avenue.
Carte Blanche
When husband-wife chef team Casey and Amy LaRue moved to Dallas just before the pandemic hit, they hosted intimate pop-up dinners in Airbnbs. They’d pack their own dining room table, glassware, plates and cookware in one car, then serve a seven to nine course dinner to strangers, in somebody else’s home. All that cooking’s going to be a lot easier now that the LaRues have a lease in the former Mudsmith Coffee on Greenville Avenue. They’re calling the restaurant Carte Blanche, and it’s a 4- or 12-course tasting dinner menu with optional wine or tea pairings. The items I’ve seen in person are beautifully prepared and intricate, like the wild boar belly served with snap pea romesco and Marcona almond foam. (And that would be just one of 12 courses: Prepare your stomachs!) In the morning, Carte Blanche will operate as a bakery, and Amy LaRue, the pastry chef, will sell house-made croissants, danishes, doughnuts and bread. There’ll be drip coffee — no espresso — and tea lattes.
Carte Blanche is at 2114 Greenville Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to open June 15, 2021. Reservations are open now on Tock.
Shoyo
We called it one of the most exciting restaurants to open in Dallas in 2021, and after seeing chef-founder Jimmy Park and executive chef Shinichiro Kondo in action inside their new Greenville Avenue omakase restaurant, Shoyo has the potential to be exquisite. It’s a 16- or 17-course Japanese tasting menu, and the restaurant has just 12 seats. In the two-hour dining experience, the chefs will hand customers each bite, teaching them how to eat it. For instance: Chef Kondo placed salmon belly atop warm rice, then finished it with a dab of basil pesto and a small piece of mozzarella cheese. “One bite,” he instructed. It was silky and rich, with a ping of garlic from the pesto — the kind of bite you don’t want to end.
Shoyo is at 1916 Greenville Ave., Dallas. It opens June 22, 2021. Resy reservations should be available by mid-June.
Manpuku Japanese Yakiniku Grill
This Japanese grilled meat restaurant was founded 70 years ago in Tokyo. Manpuku on Greenville Avenue will be the first one in Texas. The CEO of the parent company describes the dining experience as fun and bustling, as customers are served raw protein and vegetables, which get cooked at the table on hot grills. That’s why Yakiniku is in the name: that means grilled meat. Customers can order food a la carte or spring for an omakase meal priced at $40 to $100 per person. One of the signature dishes is negi shio yakiniku, or sliced beef topped with grated garlic, sesame oil, green onions and sesame seeds.
Manpuku Japanese Yakiniku Grill is at 2023 Greenville Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to open June 29, 2021. Reservations are open now on Open Table.
Rye and Apothecary
This one’s a twofer. Rye is an American restaurant in McKinney that’s expanding to Lowest Greenville in the space previously held by Laurel Tavern. Dishes like cacio e pepe and burnt orange-braised pork belly lollipops are some of the best-sellers at the original, and they’re expected to make the menu in Dallas. Apothecary will be Rye’s cocktail bar located next door where the Wah Wah Room used to be. CEO and co-owner Tanner Agar describes it as an avant-garde cocktail bar that’ll serve creative cocktails that didn’t quite fit at Rye. Apothecary will also have light bites.
Rye is at 1920 Greenville Ave., Dallas; Apothecary is next door at 1922 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Apothecary opens first, on July 7, 2021. Rye is expected to open in August 2021.
Eddie’s Tex-Mex Cocina
Restaurateur Eddie Cervantes, who started the famous Primo’s Tex-Mex restaurant on McKinney Avenue in Uptown three decades ago, is opening a restaurant with his name on it. Eddie’s Tex-Mex Cocina will move into the core of Lowest Greenville, where Tacos Mariachi was. Cervantes tells CultureMap he’s “always liked Greenville Avenue” and that the menu will be similar to his other restaurant, E-Bar Tex Mex on Haskell Avenue in East Dallas.
Eddie’s Tex-Mex Cocina is at 2018 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Opening date TBD; “now hiring” signs are up.
Hide
Dallas cocktail bar and restaurant Hide is ditching Deep Ellum in favor of Lowest Greenville. We like this quote from owner Nick Backlund in a story we wrote in April 2021: “Our crowd was more of a chill cocktail vibe and less of a rageface party vibe,” he says, comparing Lowest Greenville to Deep Ellum. Hide will take over the former Eastide Social, a two-story bar that never really took off. (Before that, it was Nora, an Afghan restaurant that Guy Fieri visited for an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.) Hide will have a heavy cocktail focus, with food. In a sweet coming-home story, Backlund got his first job as a server at HG Sply Co. a few doors down. He also met his wife in the neighborhood. “I have great memories of Lower Greenville,” he says.
Hide is at 1928 Greenville Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to open in August 2021.
Feng Cha
Feng Cha is a fast-casual teahouse that sells coffee, tea, smoothies and dessert. Master franchisor Yan Chen brought the franchise to the United States in 2017, and there’s eight Feng Cha shops in Dallas-Fort Worth and 18 nationwide. Shops are coming soon in Southlake and Forney, and the Addison restaurant celebrates its grand opening on June 12, 2021. Popular items at Feng Cha include the classic milk tea; strawberry overload fruit tea and the Dirty Boba, a milk drink made with brown-sugar caramel, cheese milk foam and crème brûlée on top.
Feng Cha is at 1917 Greenville Ave., Dallas. It’s expected to open in mid-July 2021.
Bonus: Buddy’s Booze
Buddy’s Booze is moving into the former Don Chingon restaurant. We don’t know more about it at this time. A “coming soon” sign is hanging on the building and crews are remodeling the space now.
Buddy’s Booze is at 2237 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Opening date TBD.
And that’s not all! At least two other restaurants are expected to open in fall 2021 on Lowest Greenville. Information on those will be published in the future.