Mediterranean restaurant Aba is expected to open in a Dallas Design District development called The Seam in late 2026.
Plans for the 160,000-square-foot project on Oak Lawn Avenue call for retail, fitness and restaurants. Aba is the first restaurant announced at The Seam so far.
Aba started in Chicago and has expanded to Nashville and Austin.
Its Mediterranean menu is right on time in Dallas-Fort Worth: High-end restaurant Avra is one of the biggest Mediterranean restaurants to open recently in North Texas. In late 2025, high-end Lebanese restaurant Babel opened in Uptown Dallas. Mediterranean spots Alara and Aba will be next, and both are on Oak Lawn Avenue in the Dallas Design District. Also expected this year is Corsaire, on Dallas’ Greenville Avenue.
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Hummus is not just an appetizer on Aba’s menu, it’s an entire section. Among the five hummus options is the smoky garlic, pictured here.
Jane Kim
Chef-partner CJ Jacobson’s menu at Aba is full of shareable dishes with ample vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options. Lunch and dinner can start with five hummus options, ranging from classic with paprika to brisket with barbecue sauce.
Other signature dishes, according to the menu, include whipped feta, yellowtail crudo and shawarma-spiced skirt steak frites. Sides of roasted cauliflower, hot honey halloumi and falafel are other shareable options.
Aba also has a kebabs section that offers grilled mushrooms, salmon and a lamb-and-beef mix.
Aba’s parent company, Lettuce Entertain You, arrived in Dallas-Fort Worth first with its barbecue and music festival, Lone Star Smokeout. The festival will return in 2026 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Aba will be the Chicago-based company’s first restaurant in the Dallas area. But will they open others? The Dallas Morning News has asked. Lettuce Entertain You operates more than 100 restaurants in the United States, including Wow Bao in Chicago, Happy Camper in Las Vegas and Joe’s Seafood, Prime Steak & Stone Crab in Chicago, Las Vegas and Washington, D.C.
In the Dallas Design District, Aba joins one of the fastest growing restaurant neighborhoods in the region. Restaurants like Delilah, Night Rooster, Puerto Cocina and Bar and Jo’Seon opened recently in the Design District.
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“We’ve been humbled by the positive response from our guests in Austin, and we are excited to expand into the Dallas market,” said Marc Jacobs, executive partner and divisional president of Lettuce Entertain You, in a statement.
He said he hopes Aba “transport[s] guests to a vacation in the Mediterranean.”
Aba is expected to open at 1444 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas, in late 2026.