Famed Chef Goes for the Gold with a Fancy New French Restaurant Downtown: It’s a Bullion Dollar Move

Downtown Dallas is going for the gold with the much buzzed-about September opening of chef Bruno Davaillon‘s new restaurant, Bullion — a moniker that refers to gold bullion and was inspired by bullīre, the Latin verb “to boil.”

We all remember when Davaillon, longtime executive chef at The Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, announced he was leaving in 2015. We waited with bated breath, wondering what his next move would be.

Once it was revealed Davaillon would not only remain in Dallas but also open his own restaurant, effectively resurrecting a sleepy part of downtown, the excitement began to build.

Bullion is located within the Hartland-Mackie family’s newly restored, 17-story 400 Record building (once called the Belo Building when it was built in the ’80s), which will also soon house a fitness center, conference space, and Thomas Hartland-Mackie’s City Electric Supply company offices.

“I loved the food [Davaillon] prepared at The Mansion,” Hartland-Mackie says. “I have the utmost belief that the restaurant will enhance the amenities offered in the building to our tenants, be a great destination for Dallas residents, and create a national buzz for culinary excellence.”

When it opens in the fall, Bullion will feature a menu that’s a true testament to Davaillon’s signature French cooking style: roasted whole birds; escargot beignets with green garlic aioli; salmon rillettes served with horseradish and warm scallion bread; braised rabbit torte; potted duck confit and foie gras with passion-fruit gelée and grilled sourdough; and Dover sole meunière with confit potato and warm sauce gribiche.

The restaurant’s design is also something to behold. Martin Brudnizki Design Studio is fashioning a contemporary space that recalls mid-century glamour, with a glittering gold exterior.

Bullion has a 98-seat dining room; its 28-seat lounge area features a bespoke lozenged patterned floor in dark timber, decorated silk rug, and bar crafted of high-gloss wood and woven leather.

Bullion, 400 S. Record St.