Our 4 Favorite New Dallas Restaurants Right Now — What To Order at Puerto Cocina, Rainbow Cat, Sylvestro, and More

From the owners of Oak Cliff’s Xaman Cafe and Ayahuasca Cantina comes a new Baja-inspired restaurant in the Design District. Puerto Cocina & Bar is a seafood-forward concept from Gerado Barrera and Mauricio Gallegos. Designed by Coeval Studio, the space features a “contemporary coastal direction” with handmade ceramics, natural textiles, and a warm color palette. As for the menu, the culinary program was developed in partnership with Oh Hi! Hospitality, a new group from Chef Anastacia Quiñones-Pittman, Victor E. Rojas, and Carlos Marquez.

Recommendations: Ayahuasca Cantina is known for its innovative cocktails, and the drinks at this new spot are no different. Cocktails at Puerto Cocina are not what you would expect, so make sure to read the descriptions. During our visit, we enjoyed the Margarita — a sweet mixture made with tequila, matcha, and yuzu. It’s clarified so it comes out as a light yellow color. We also loved the Negroni with Condesa Gin, Cap Corse Blanc, Luxardo Bitter Bianco, and lemongrass. Also, not the classic cocktail’s regular bright red/orange hue, it’s almost clear.

For starters, we recommend the grilled oysters and hiramasa tiradito. The former comes with a half dozen warm oysters with chicharron, leek, chile de Árbol butter, and lime. The latter is a refreshing and flavorful yellow amberjack with candied kumquats, basil oil, Aji amarillo, pomegranate, and smoked salmon. You also can’t miss the panela salad. The grilled Panela cheese is complemented with Castelvetrano olives, marinated grapes, avocado, purslane, and mustard frill salad. It was our second-favorite bite of the evening.

The wagyu bavette is also a stunner with cauliflower, purslane, and recado negro baste. We paired this with the campanelle pasta (a popular pick at the restaurant). It definitely has a kick, but we couldn’t stop eating the delicious mixture of chiltepin cream, lump crab, epazote, cherry tomatoes, and sourdough breadcrumbs.

Lastly, you can’t leave Puerto without ordering the pot de creme dessert. Our best bite of the night, this dreamy creation comes with bittersweet chocolate, glazed dried cherries, coriander chantilly, and cinnamon crumble.

Chef Misti Norris (Culinary Director of Far-Out) recently took over the kitchen at this East Dallas bar, offering bites from her concept, Rainbow Cat. Opened in Old East Dallas in 2023, Saint Valentine is a collaboration between Gabe Sanchez (Midnight Rambler) and Ryan Payne (Tiny Victories). It’s inspired by the 130-person West Texas town of Valentine and offers some of the best cocktails in the city. Rainbow Cat’s menu features noodles, dumplings, and more creative dishes.

Recommendations: The best way to dine here is to share a few things at the table. Start with the loaded nugs — chicken nuggets with mapo, American cheese, pickled shallots, and a side of burnt scallion ranch. Another must-try dish is the Unicorn Dog with a garlic sticky rice “bun,” smoked pepper sausage, pickled peppers, mushroom mayo, and hot mustard. One bite we’ll definitely be back for is the oxtail Philly corndog. It’s a corn dog filled with smoked oxtail, provolone, peppers, onions, and hot mustard. It’s the most addictive, along with the Cosmic Bar for dessert. A nostalgic offering, this take on the “Cosmic Brownie” features a peanut butter chocolate bar topped with purple potato chips, glitter sprinkles, and a dollop of whipped burnt potato.

A cocktail bar and sister concept to Urbano Cafe right next door, Sylvestro is serving a menu of 11 signature cocktails along with bites from the Italian restaurant’s food menu (until they debut their own menu). The space is intimate with a standing-only bar and nine tables.

Recommendations: Bar Director Joe Shirghio (Bowen House) is mixing up some great drinks, especially the Saffron Martinez — a gin, Azaline saffron vermouth roux, Drambuie, and Angostura concoction, as well as the Everything Espresso Martini with a Japanese twist (Iichiko Shochu). The Fitzhugh Fizz is another favorite with sotol, tequila, lemongrass, black pepper, soda, and a coconut cream topper. While the bar is offering bites from Urbano Cafe, we recommend ordering the arancini, tagliatelle bolognese, and linguini alla scampi. For dessert, you also can’t miss the ricotta ice cream, which seasonally changes flavors.

A cult-favorite pizza restaurant from New York City, Prince St. Pizza debuted its first Texas outpost in the former Fireside Pies space on Henderson Avenue. The spot is known for its “Silician ‘SoHo’ Squares and original Neapolitan pies with a New York City slice shop experience.

Recommendations: If you like sweet with spicy, you must order the Naughty Pie. It’s made with spicy vodka sauce, pepperoni, mozzarella, whipped ricotta, and Zab’s Hot Honey. Another square favorite is the Meat Lovers, while our Neapolitan pizza slice choice of The Green Machine was a delightful decision during our recent visit. Fresh mushrooms, garlic, smoked mozzarella, whipped ricotta, pesto, and pecorino cheese make up this lighter, veggie pie. We also couldn’t leave without grabbing a slice of the New York Cheesecake (actually made in NYC) to enjoy at home later. It was worth it.