A Weekend Guide to Dallas Eats

Planning a trip to Dallas soon? Or are you a local just looking to try new places? Whatever the case, I’ve got you covered with this list of my favorite Dallas restaurants! Having lived there for two years and visited often after that, I feel I have a pretty good “taste” for the local grub. HA. I crack myself up.

Anyway.

I picked only my very favorites for this list (I have so many favorites!) so that you wouldn’t have TOO many choices. Sometimes that’s worse than not having enough! I’ve sorted them into categories so you can get the gist of what each restaurant has to offer. Here goes!

Brunch

(Lets be real. The most important food category.)

Ida Claire – They have a ton of interesting food, but the atmosphere is the BEST! My favorite item on the menu is the chicken and waffles. It’s literally the best thing in the whole world. Bacon in the waffle batter, coffee-infused maple syrup… I’m drooling just thinking about it. And if you decide to split it with someone else (which might be a good idea – it’s a lot of food!), they’ll bring it to you already halved and on different plates! That’s what mine is below – just half.

Bread Winners Cafe & Bakery – With several locations around Dallas, it’s pretty easy to find one close by! My best friend (Hannah) and I ate there right after getting tickets to meet Ian Harding, so you could say we were living our best lives at the time. 😉 My favorite thing (lol I’m telling you, carbs are bae) is the plate of bread before your meal! It’s just several different kinds of sweet bread for you to snack on while you wait and they are ALL wonderful.

Snooze AM – Oh my gosh. Okay, I know this is a chain. But still. The pineapple upside down pancakes are incredible and you HAVE to get them.

Burgers

Twisted Root – SO. GOOD. Complete transparency, I’ve never actually had a burger on a bun there. BUT I have had their salads with the homemade peppercorn ranch, and they are truly amazing. You can add whatever patty you want on top, too! Make sure to get one of the root beers they make in house – they’re always changing!

Hopdoddy Burger Bar – Go to the Uptown location if you can! It’s right at the center of everything so it’s a great place to people watch if you sit outside. Be sure to order the truffle fries!!

Southern Comfort Food

Whiskey Cake – I went here for my birthday dinner last week and it was delicious! We shared the goat cheese and sourdough bread, and our waiter was awesome and brought us soooo much extra bread probably because he could tell Hannah and I were Carbies. They have such a wide variety of southern foods, but the Mac and cheese was my favorite (I’m a child).

Whistle Britches – You have not LIVED until you’ve had a biscuit from here. They are the melt in your mouth kind of good that’ll make you stand up and slap your grandma!!

Miscellaneous

COFFEE: George Coffee + Provisions – This is a little bit out of the way (it’s technically in Coppell) but so so worth it. Besides being incredibly Insta-worthy, they make DELICIOUS coffee!! Seriously love the vibes every time I go here. It’s a great place to grab a drink with a friend (or by yourself) or get some work/studying done!

DESSERT: Chocolate Secrets – Okay, pro tip: go when it’s cold and get the salted caramel hot chocolate! They also have BOMB truffles and such, but they’re definitely pricey so bring your checkbook (hahahaha jk who uses checkbooks anymore). Also check and see who is performing when, because they have live music on the weekends! Usually jazz, so you really can’t go wrong.

Joy Macarons – The best macs in Dallas, hands down. I would know, trust me. I have a whole post devoted to all the best macaron places in the Dallas area!

TACOS: Torchy’s Tacos – Once again, I know, it’s a chain. But it’s a necessity. The Democrat is my JAM. And don’t pass on the nookies!!!

 

GRILLED CHEESES: Dallas Grilled Cheese Co. – Prrrrime location in the Bishop Arts District. After getting your GC, walk around and visit all the shops!

PIZZA: Zoli’s Pizza – If you love Star Wars and carbs, you’ll love this place! It’s got such a unique, fun vibe and absolutely mouthwatering pizza. We got the NY white pizza and it absolutely did not disappoint (I actually liked it better than Lombardi’s white pizza, but Hannah disagreed). And the garlic knots are a must!

BBQ: Pecan Lodge – Once again, the best location. Deep Ellum!! It’s across from this crazy awesome vintage-y candy store so if the wait is a little long, you can go there to kill some time! It’s 1000% worth the wait though. Besides my uncle’s, it’s the best BBQ I’ve ever had!

If you have any questions about recs for specific kinds of food not mentioned here, please feel free to comment or DM me on Instagram! Bon Appétit!

Candidly,

Kristianna