Dallas’ Most Intriguing New Restaurant?

A Converted, Historic Machine Shop With a Kitchen Whiz Creates Major Buzz

By Linden Wilson Jobe // Dec 28, 2015

Photography Robert Strickland

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Filament is closed for good. It's not easy to make it on the Dallas restaurant scene.

What was once a 1900s-era machinist shop on the edge of Deep Ellum has morphed into one of the city’s most intriguing new dining destinations. Filament is the second concept from chef Matt McCallister, whose much-lauded first restaurant, FT33, won the kitchen whiz recognition as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chef Southwest in 2014.

Whereas McCallister’s FT33 is a formal dining destination in the Design District, Filament rests on the more casual side of the dress-code spectrum, reflecting the urban-cool vibe and industrial decor. Exposed-brick walls and wood ceiling beams give way to a row of cobalt-blue booths and a well-stocked, centrally located bar, where whiskey is the liquor of choice. But Filament’s focal point is undoubtedly an antique drill press discovered during the building’s renovation that commands attention near the entrance.

The menu’s modern Southern fare is a collaboration between McCallister and Filament’s executive chef Cody Sharp. Inventive dishes include ember-roasted onion dip, sunburst trout fritters, wood-grilled octopus and Appalachian fried chicken thigh.

All that comfort food is complemented by creative cocktails with monikers such as Farmer’s Tan, The Old Quarter and, appropriately, The Machinist. Filament, 2626 Main St., 214.760.1080.