Of the 19 most exciting new restaurants in the United States, two are in Texas, according to Bon Appétit.
Agnes and Sherman in Houston and Le Calamar in Austin are named in BA’s list of great, new restaurants. They span from New Orleans to Los Angeles and from Santa Fe to New York.
None of Dallas-Fort Worth’s most exciting new restaurants made the cut.
Should we feel surprised, Dallas diners? Slighted?
The nation’s best restaurants had “clear perspectives, with the will — and the confidence — to take risks,” BA wrote. Said another way, these chefs know who they are and they’re putting their personalities on the plate, which is also one of the five criteria Michelin critics use when picking star-studded restaurants.
In Dallas, only two restaurants have received Michelin star status, and none in Fort Worth have been honored. So, is some of our newest food “fearless” and “delicious” enough to land on a national stage?
D-FW’s biggest contender for a list like BA’s is probably Mamani, the French-Italian restaurant that earned one Michelin star in 2025. French chef Christophe De Lellis has an impressive resume as a protege of Joël Robuchon. But is Mamani “fearless”? Not exactly.
Mamani’s neighbor, Japanese-Korean restaurant Domodomo Ko, could be another contender as a recently-opened Dallas restaurant, though its bold cooking hasn’t garnered as much outside attention as we expected.
Sushi Kozy in downtown Dallas is also worth a look. Former Georgie chef RJ Yoakum is adding interesting cooked dishes to owner Paul Ko’s mostly raw menu.
Fort Worth’s Chumley House, while wonderful, opened in late 2024 and therefore wasn’t considered for best new restaurant, as it had to have opened between March 2025 and March 2026, according to BA’s methodology.
Dallas’ other big restaurant openings in that time frame include Delilah and Avra, both chains. Let’s say the quiet part out loud: Dallas’ reputation as a hub for out-of-town chains, whether that means a pricey spot like Delilah or more affordable newcomers like PopUp Bagels and Maman, has likely hampered great indie chefs in D-FW from drawing notice on a grander stage.
Refreshingly, some of the restaurants on BA’s list seem extremely unfussy, like Agnes and Sherman, the Houston diner that sells cheeseburger fried rice as its star. “It’s a mishmash of two iconic dishes in their own genres,” the magazine wrote, “but, together, something wholly emblematic of the food that owners Nick Wong and Lisa Lee are putting forth.”
Austin bistro Le Calamar also seems worth the drive from D-FW, in part for its “dynamic update” to the classic steak au poivre.
Topping my list to try from BA is Creepies, a French bistro with a silly name in Chicago. It serves Brie gougères, but make ’em messy, and a plate of gnocchi gallivanting as a “delightfully imaginative update on croque madame.”
Yes, please, then bring them to Dallas.
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This article originally published at 2 Texas restaurants named on best new restaurant list. Did Dallas make the cut?.