This recent onslaught of 100-degree days might have stopped you from going outside or doing much of anything, but it hasn’t stopped the cavalcade of enticing new restaurants from opening their doors and beckoning diners in with good food and cold A/C. The latest crop includes a French bistro from celebrity chef Graham Elliot, who you might know from his Michelin-starred turn in Chicago or many TV appearances. There’s also new Italian and seafood, plus a vegan fine dining spot for when you need a break from Italian and seafood. These are the five most exciting new restaurants in Texas.
Le Margot
Fort Worth
Graham Elliot joined forces with Fort Worth restaurateur Felipe Armenta, and together they created this fun-loving French bistro that’s adorned with pops of pink, maroon and black and sports a chef’s counter to go along with the dining room and bar. The menu plays the hits, with classics like steak frites, Dover sole and lobster thermidor, but you’ll also find a section of tarte flambées (flatbreads), a brie-topped burger and a raw bar that’s slinging oysters, crudos and caviar. If you don’t want to make decisions, request a seat at the chef’s counter and leave your fate in the chefs’ capable hands.
3150 S Hulen St., Fort Worth (map)
Fabrik
Austin
Fabrik, from chef Je Wheeler, is a well-traveled affair, drawing on influences from Nordic, Korean, Japanese and other cuisines — as well as Wheeler’s time staging at Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and cooking at Juniper in Austin. The vegan menu incorporates local, seasonal ingredients and features lots of housemade items, including pastas, breads and non-dairy creams. Dinners are prix fixe only, with options for five- or seven-course meals and dishes like yakitori-grilled oyster mushrooms with mushroom cream, tamari caramel, Madeira and brioche. Wine pairings are available to accompany each course.
701 E Martin Luther King Jr Blvd., Austin (map)
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Via Triozzi
Dallas
Dallas’s Italian blitz continues, with Via Triozzi on Lower Greenville. The new restaurant comes from chef-owner Leigh Hutchinson and is inspired by her Sicilian-American upbringing and her time living in Italy. The space is warm and homey, with a sage green bar and photo-lined walls, and the menu includes fresh pastas, freshly pulled mozzarella, antipasti, salads and other things you want to eat, like the bistecca alla Fiorentina for two. The drink list is anchored by Italian wines and a barrel-aged Negroni.
1806 Greenville Ave., Dallas (map)
Elro Pizza + Crudo
Houston
When Pass and Provisions closed, Houston was sad. But the time for mourning is over because chef Terrance Gallivan has something new up his sleeve. Elro is a casual spot with a whimsical design featuring animal-print wallpaper and a terracotta-tiled bar. The menu has all the hot pizzas you want, like one topped with mortadella, pistachio pesto, balsamic onions and Parmesan, plus sourdough bruschetta and arancini. When you need to cool off, there’s a Caesar salad, spicy cucumbers and crudos, including oysters, tuna on toast, and smoked kampachi with shiso, pumpkin seeds and yuzu koshu.
2405 Genesee St., Houston (map)
Walloon’s
Fort Worth
Walloon’s occupies a 1920s-era building on the popular Magnolia Ave. strip, and it’s where chef Marcus Paslay (Clay Pigeon, Provender Hall) transformed an old beauty salon into a handsome, Southern-leaning seafood restaurant. The raw bar turns out oysters, shrimp cocktail and seafood towers, so that’s a good place to start. Then move to beer-battered redfish beignets and “church lady” deviled eggs before working on larger plates, like a lobster roll, moules marinière and grilled trout. If you need some iron in your life, try the Chicago-style Italian beef sandwich, which is loaded with braised sirloin, giardiniera and provolone.
701 W Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth (map)
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