As one of the top steakhouses in the city, Al Biernat’s is definitely a splurge, but it never disappoints. It’s a special occasion restaurant, a business deal lunch spot, and sometimes even the place for celebrity sightings. The staff delivers impeccable service—one might see Al himself making the rounds in the dining room—along with tender prime rib and more than 700 wines. Those who aren’t into steak will love the restaurant’s many seafood and vegan dishes.

Chef Gabriel DeLeon opened Mi Día From Scratch in Grapevine in 2010; it’s since been such a runaway hit among locals that he’s opened two more locations. His success stems from an ability to represent many different sides of Mexican and Tex-Mex cuisine. Arranged in regional sections, the menu offers New Mexican dishes, Tex-Mex favorites such as fajitas, Mexico City street-style tacos, and original creations including tequila-infused enchiladas.

For an interactive dining experience, meat-lovers in Plano and Carrollton head to this Korean barbecue spot. They choose from a long list of meats and watch the cooking process as they enjoy soju and banchan (side dishes). The menu is split into multiple sections: beef, pork, and for the more adventurous eaters, intestines. Ari made the prestigious Eater 38 this year because the cuts of meat the restaurant uses are so impressive—that’s high praise in a city filled with serious meat connoisseurs.

Fresh pasta lovers have flocked to this neighborhood favorite since chef Julian Barsotti opened its doors in 2007. In the ensuing years, Barsotti opened three more Italian restaurants and a Tex-Mex spot in Dallas. But Nonna remains a favorite among locals, a hidden gem in an off-the-radar strip mall. Housemade pastas may take center stage, but those in the know always add an order of the white clam pizza. The small restaurant can fill up quickly, so reservations are a good idea.

A family-owned modern Greek restaurant known for its warm customer service, Ziziki’s has been slinging gyros, moussaka, and spanakopita to Dallasites since 1994. Classic touches, such as checkerboard flooring, white tablecloths, and chandeliers, lend a playful, old-world vibe. The wine program, however, is distinctly modern, featuring organic and biodynamic flights from unsung Greek wine regions. Locals love Sunday Champagne brunch and never end a meal without an order of baklava.

A cozy, all-day New American bistro with a light international touch, Sloane’s offers market-driven comfort foods, including brûléed brie and charred tomato bisque. When it opened in 2019, Sloane’s swiftly became a popular lunch and happy hour spot for the downtown office worker crowd (as beloved as owner Ji Kang’s first restaurant, Dakota’s Steakhouse). The restaurant’s riff on a hot fried chicken sandwich is a must.

Ten miles west of DFW Airport sits a chic Thai restaurant tucked into the back of a shopping center. Beautifully prepared entrees such as fresh red snapper in ginger sauce and pan-seared day-boat scallops served over coconut-lemongrass risotto sit alongside crowd pleasers, including pad see ew, pad Thai, and green curry. Check out the cocktail list for specialties such as the Phuket colada, the restaurant’s twist on a piña colada with the citrusy addition of sour mix.

This lively neighborhood sushi spot is marked by its black and off-white modern décor and its menu of creative rolls, including the Green Hulk (fried shrimp, fried crawfish, crab, avocado, wasabi, and eel sauce) and the French Rainbow (spicy crab, asparagus, cucumber, “chef’s select fish,” and French ginger sauce). For diners who aren’t in a sushi mood, the restaurant also offers robata, or Japanese barbecue, featuring skewers grilled over charcoal and served with a variety of dipping sauces.

This chic but cozy Indian restaurant comes to Plano by way of Sanjeev Kapoor, also known as the “Indian Wolfgang Puck” with over seven million YouTube subscribers. The Yellow Chilli has been the celebrity chef’s popular chain in India for over 20 years, with outposts cropping up in the U.S. since 2016, but this is the first one in Texas. Plano has no shortage of Indian restaurants, and by comparison to most, The Yellow Chilli is a splurge.

Shortly after the hospitality group T2D Concepts (founded by Tom Foley and Top Chef contestant Tiffany Derry) opened Roots in 2021, the local and national accolades started pouring in. Among the most prestigious were nods from the James Beard Foundation and a spot on The New York Times’s 2021 Restaurant List. The praise registers as a no-brainer to anyone who has tasted Derry’s cast-iron cornbread with sweet potato butter or her gumbo that incorporates chicken, sausage, shrimp, and blue crab.

Texans are particular about their barbecue—anyone you ask will claim a different favorite spot. But pitmaster Dwight Harvey’s South Dallas stalwart comes up frequently. Harvey started his career in catering, then quickly earned such an avid following that he opened a brick-and-mortar restaurant in 2009. As the name suggests, pecan wood-smoked ribs fall “off the bone,” the pulled pork sandwiches are juicy, and regulars adore the deep-fried corn on the cob.