Best fine dining in Dallas?

[dtilston]

We are spending next weekend in Dallas and I can't decide where to make a dinner reservation. Friday night we are eating at Craft, as we are staying at the W hotel and will arrive late. Saturday is our anniversary so we want to have a great dining experience somewhere. Some of the places I'm considering are:

Aurora

Lola

Luqa

I have read some great and some not so great things about all three of these places. In order of importance, we are mainly looking for:

1. food - obviously, high quality is very important (I'm a culinary school graduate ), but we like all different types of cuisines and appreciate creativity in cooking

2. atmosphere - we are younger (>30) and prefer a stylish, contemporary atmosphere BUT certainly not a place where the noise level prohibits carrying on a conversation

3. service - mediocre service can be overlooked but I have no problem walking out of a place with poor service

4. value - cost is not an issue but we do not want to pay a small fortune if the overall experience is not a memorable one

I haven't found a lot of discussion here on Dallas fine dining restaurants so I really appreciate any feedback on these places or recommendations for anywhere else!

[joiei]

I would recommend going over to Ft Worth to Lanny's Alta Cucina Mexicana, it isn't tex-mex by a long shot. Here is the web site

[Qwerty]

I wouldn't go to Luqa. Aurora and Lola are both fine choices, but I think currently my vote goes to Bijoux. It was named Dallas Morning News's best new restaurant in dallas for 2006, and should be a fantastic meal.

[dtilston]

Thanks for the feedback . Lanny's sounds great and I would love to go there but I don't know that we will want to make the drive over there (isn't it about a 30 min drive from downtown Dallas?).

Bijoux looks promising. Anyone else have an opinion on it?

Someone else recommended Nana. It's in the Hilton (or Wyndham?) which doesn't really excite me because I tend to not go for "hotel style" restaurants but the menu looks pretty interesting and it seems to have a great view. Has anyone had any experiences dining here?

[Mike C. Miller]

How important is great wine at a great price?

If that is very important, go to Lola. If not, I'd say it's a toss up between Lola and Bijoux. Food at both is very good with perhaps a slight nod to Bijoux. Wine list at Bijoux is not extensive and will have a high range typical restaurant mark up.

However, if you're into wine and food, my God man, why are you even hesitating. Go to Lola!!! Fairly extensive wine list -- very extensive by Dallas standards with amazing prices. I don't really like to broadcast it too widely, but some older vintages are selling for under current retail. And not all wines are expensive. There's even a section on the list called Twenty$omething that is for wines under $30.

Service at both is fine. A bit less formal at Lola, which if frankly more to my taste, but none the less very professional.

Might also check out some reviews on York Street. I think that these are the three restaurants in Dallas with the best food, and I eat out quite a bit when I'm in Dallas.

[Kevin72]

Coincidentally, we had our best meal yet at York Street just this past Friday.

With dtilson being a culinary school grad, though, he might be more impressed by the efforts of Bijoux or Lola.

[dtilston]

So, it sounds like we couldn't go wrong with Lola, Bijoux or York Street. I can't find a website for York Street though. I'd like to get a better feel for the menu and what the place looks like. Kevin72, what were the high points for you?

Any comparison on the ambience and decor with these places would be great to hear. Like I mentioned before, we prefer something a little more contemporary in style (but it is our anniversary so romantic would be OK too:).

Many thanks for the feedback!

Mrs. dtilston :laugh

ETA: I'd still like to hear if anyone has an opinion on Nana, www.nanarestaurant.com., as the menu looks interesting.

Edited February 5, 2007 by dtilston (log)

[Kevin72]

Sorry for the gender error there!

York St. is kinda in the Chez Panisse mold: seasonal, arch-regional ingredients. It's good, reliable food. Friday when we went there I had an oyster sampler and braised beef shortrib, my wife had a crab salad and Berkshire pork chop.

I can't speak for Nana or Bijoux (apparently the chef is a vet of Lola, though), but Lola is a bit more of an "experience": multi-course tasting, several hours, really nice setting, etc. I've been there once and there were some stumbles, but I've also found myself craving a return visit ever since. I think for an out of town visit with limited nights to try places, Lola would be the most bang for your buck, particularly with a professional culinary background, though again I can't compare it to the similarly themed Nana or Bijoux.

[matttx76]

The French Room is a great choice for a romantic place to go & was voted the best hotel restaurant by Zagat's a while ago.

Edited February 5, 2007 by matttx76 (log)

[Mike C. Miller]

York Street has no web site. Comparison to Chez Panisse is apt in terms of the philosophy of the selection of ingredients. However, the preparation is more interventionist that CP -- not as simple and unadorned. Of course, that may well be because the quality of ingredients available here in Dallas doesn't compare to those available to CP. Atmosphere at YS is only so-so in my opininon. Room is small and a bit cramped. While still good, among the three, I like the service here the least. Nothing specific that I can put my finger on that I don't like, but nothing I can put my finder on that distinguishes it, either.

Bijoux is probably the least modern in terms of decor or atmosphere. It is in a shopping center on the edge of Highland and University Park -- old money enclaves of Dallas. And the decor and a lot of the clientel matches the neighborhood. The food is in a traditional French vein with American ingredients. Probably the most traditional of the three, although none lean far toward the highly modernist camp. You won't find Wylie Dufresne WD-40 green pea foamed anything at any of them, for good or for ill.

Lola, my personal favorite as the best all around experience, is in an old house. It is really two restaurants in one. The main restaurant and The Tasting Room where they serve only a multi course tasting menu. Atmosphere is relaxed, with some in sports coats, but some more casually dressed. The staff is well trained and knows the menu well. The owner himself runs the front of the house and knows the wine list like the back of his hand. The sample menu that you can find on their web site lola4dinner is likely representative. Classic preparations, but seasonal American ingredients. When I ate there last weekend, they had one dish with boudin noir and another with a home made black pudding. Don't know if you consider that modern or traditional.

Frankly, you can't go wrong at any of the three. I think York Street shines more in the summer when Texas grown ingredients are more in season. The quality of the culinary technique at Bijoux is extremely high -- maybe a touch higher than the others -- but this is a hard call. (And in fairness, I've only eaten at Bijoux twice, while I've eaten at York Street dozens of times and Lola probably twenty a year for quite a few years.) But the wine list at Lola is spectacular and the food is extremely close to on par with the others, and at least since David Uygur has been back in the kitchen, perhaps the equal of the others. My vote goes to Lola, but all are great and I plan to eat at all three in the future.

[dtilston]

Thanks for all the great info and advice everyone! We have reservations at Lola so I will report back on our experience. Looking forward to it!

Thanks again:).

[Kevin72]

You specified the Tasting Room, right?

[dtilston]

Actually, they were completely booked in the tasting room at Lola and only had 1 table left in the regular dining room (9pm), so I had to take what I could get.

I tried Bijoux as well and they only had one (5:30pm, which is too early for us). Maybe since Valentine's Day is next Wed, most places are especially busy this weekend?

[Kevin72]

Well, crud. Though their regular menu sounds pretty good as well. Maybe call and ask if you can still do a tasting menu? All the chefs reading that suggestion are probably taking down my name.

[Kevin72]

How'd it turn out?

[dtilston]

Ahhh, I wish I had an answer for you, Kevin72. Unfortunately, our trip was cut unexpectedly short and I had to cancel our reservations at Lola at the last minute . I was so dissapointed! In any case, it is tops on my list for our next trip to Dallas and next time I will be sure to secure a table in the tasting room!

Thanks again for all your advice!

[hemingway]

I thought I would weigh in on some of my local favorites and answer some of the questions presented in this thread.

Aurora--Chef Avner Samuel plays to the money crowd and does pay close attention to his regular diners. But all I can say is every meal I have had there has been outstanding. What he is really good at is copying exactly dishes from three star restaurants in Europe. He gets it exactly right and even though his restaurant is in a strip mall, you will think you are in Paris. If you want a special tasting menu of such dishes, just call the restaurant a couple of says inadvance and it can happen to you. Well worth the effort. The regular menu is well thought out as well.

Mansion--Well I can look out my office window and see the Mansion and have been there many times. And I always loved Dean Fearings cusine until he left last year. I am anxious to try his near restaurant at the Ritz when it opens later this year.

However I am very happy with the new chef, John Tesar. I like the menu changes he has made and have had great meals since he arrived. On June 4 of this year the restaurant and bar area is getting major changes. A $20 million face lift is in the works that will be done by early fall. The dining room meals have been moved to the middle area that is between the hotel and restaurant in the meantime. I am excited about the changes and will report on things when completed.

62 Main Street--My favorite restaurant in the area, 10 minutes west of DFWairport in Colleyville. The chef/owner is David McMillian, who was at the reins when Nana was at its peak and left to open his own non corporate place. His restaurant is more a Napa Valley casual elegant place right here in DFW. I call it our own French Laundry. McMillian is from Northern California and and early job of his was at Chez Panisse. I don't go here for little tasting portions but regular, well thought out apps and main courses. His bar next door is a perfect place to begin and end an evening as well.

French Room--The food is top notch and always exact there. You always know what to expect and it is five star quality. Dont expect any David Burke dishes to make the menu. It is a very formal elegant room and you feel you are eating in some Eastern Europeean orante Palace. But there is a time and place for all that and the French room is in my rotation even though I prefer the casual upscale feeling of 62 Main.

I thought Mr. Miller's comments were right on for Lola and York Street but I will add a few thoughts.

York Street--It is not a stretch to say you go there for the cooking and not the surroundings or interior. And that is fine by me. I will eat a meal there any day and love Sharon's concept. It is a small room, the tables are close together, the menu changes often and there are not dozen of choices--but the choices you do have are well thought out and I wish I could try them all. I could eat here every week

Lola--I can't add much to Miller'scomments. He is got it right and I can see why it is his favoirte place. The food, wine and setting is hard to beat.

Bijoux-Chef Scott Gottlich used to be in charge at Lola and many of the concepts threre are transfered to his new place. He is right in the middle of the Highland Park money crowd and I think the room there is trying to be more formal than Lola without beeing too fussy.He also was at Le Bernardin in New York which I love and his menu reflects many thought out ideas. My two tasting meals there have been very good. But to tell you the truth, I am not as comfortable there as in other places. I think he is trying to give the "money crowd" what he thinks they want in a top of the line place. But the place is new and maybe they are just figuring it out. This is not a knock on his food but probably reflects my own personal taste.

Mia's/Mannys--Two establishments run by different people from the same family.

Great Mexican and the tacos mentioned earlier are great. It is a place I frequent often for lunch.