Does Punk Noir seem mysterious? It’s supposed to. The new restaurant will serve one of the most expensive tasting menus ever seen in Dallas.
Samantha Marie
Dallas’ new 20-course restaurant, Punk Noir, opens in the Design District on June 2, 2026. You’re probably thinking what I’m thinking: What does a 20-course dinner in Dallas cost?
Punk Noir costs $295 per person.
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That price tag makes Punk Noir $100 per person more expensive than Tatsu, Dallas’ 1-star Michelin restaurant that serves about the same number of courses. While the number of tasting menus at Dallas’ finest restaurants has increased since Michelin came to Texas, diners have continued to be sensitive to pricing. The owners of a downtown Dallas restaurant, Sauvage, edited their original tasting menu price of $245 to $195 per person. Sauvage closed a few months later, in March 2026.
Punk Noir is its own beast: different in size, cuisine and price than any other restaurant we have seen in Dallas.
A course of food at Punk Noir in the Dallas Design District might be served like this: no plate at all.
Amy Zawacki
Its owners know they’re doing something bold. Owner John McKeel, who is opening the restaurant with his sons, suggests Punk Noir might “redefine the fine dining landscape in Texas.”
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How many people dine here?
Punk Noir’s 20 courses are served to 26 people in a 7,800-square-foot dining room. Why serve so few people in such a large place? The restaurant is designed to be “slightly enigmatic,” according to a news release. Customers will move between rooms during the 20 courses.
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Diners will commune in this room at Punk Noir in Dallas for part of the 20-course tasting.
Amy Zawacki
What kind of food?
Punk Noir’s avant garde menu comes from RJ Cooper, who won a James Beard award for Best Chef: Mid-Atlantic in 2007 in Washington, D.C., at a restaurant called Vidalia. Diners will not choose what to eat; they will be served the 20-course menu created by Cooper and his team. Two early courses of purple sweet potato with huitlacoche (called “Mexican truffles” by some) and blue crab with seaweed and calamansi (a sour citrus fruit) were created to show the relationship between land and sea.
The 20-course menu at Punk Noir in Dallas will change at the chef’s whim.
Amy Zawacki
Since the price is high here, the menu will include luxury ingredients like caviar and Wagyu.
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The cocktails, like the food, are supposed to be “thought-provoking,” co-owner Cole McKeel said in a statement.
Diners are encouraged to “taste, interpret and discover.”
What does the restaurant look like?
Guests will enter dinner through an archway covered in black drapes, “an almost theatrical passage that signals the true beginning of the experience and evokes a sense of mystery and anticipation,” a news release says.
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The restaurant features contemporary artist Michael Shellis’ graffiti work, which is meant to give the room an “irreverent edge,” the news release says, despite the fancy food.
Diners at Punk Noir in the Dallas Design District will not choose an appetizer, entree and dessert. The 20-course menu has been pre-set. Diners experience food, art and cocktails in an immersive restaurant.
Amy Zawacki
Who’s behind it?
North Texas family John McKeel and his sons Cole and Clay McKeel were inspired to open a restaurant after traveling across the world to World’s 50 Best and Michelin-starred restaurants.
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“I was born and raised in Dallas, and after going and exploring these places, I finally was like, ‘Dad, why don’t we bring what we love to Dallas?'” Cole McKeel said in a Dallas Morning News interview in 2025.
They agreed that some of the world’s most expensive restaurants, like one of their favorites, Jordnær in Copenhagen, might seem like too much in Dallas.
“I don’t know if Dallas is really 100% ready for a full-on Jordanær restaurant,” John McKeel said, “but what if we could make something fun, interesting and surprising like that place was?”
Is there a dining option that doesn’t cost nearly $300?
Yes. The lounge at the front of the restaurant has seats for 64 people. They can opt for a mini tasting: three courses for $60, or seven courses for $105.
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Punk Noir’s lounge is a less expensive dinner option in the Dallas Design District.
Amy Zawacki
What else?
According to details on the Tock reservation page, diners are asked to “refrain from strong fragrances and keep mobile phones silenced and out of sight throughout the evening.”
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Dietary restrictions will be mostly honored, but accommodation for allergies to certain ingredients, like soy or seafood, aren’t possible. Vegan menus are not available.
Punk Noir is expected to open June 2, 2026 at 139 Turtle Creek Blvd., Dallas. Reservations here. Dinner only, Tuesdays through Saturdays.