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Walkers\u2019, a new restaurant on Greenville Avenue, sells sandwiches on house-made focaccia during the day.<\/p>\n
Dacoge Media<\/p>\n
Diners seeking a good-priced meal should turn to\u00a0Michelin\u2019s Bib Gourmands<\/a>, a list of unfussy neighborhood gems in Dallas-Fort Worth. Some of North Texas\u2019 previously chosen Bib Gourmand restaurants<\/a> are my favorite places to eat, where you can wear what you want, expect great food and leave without feeling like you need a second job to pay the tab.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Restaurants are eligible for a Bib Gourmand in Texas if they sell two courses, plus wine or dessert, for about $50 before tax or tip, a Michelin spokesperson confirmed a few weeks before Texas\u2019 third Michelin Guide, landing Oct. 8, 2026<\/a>. The $50 amount hasn\u2019t changed since last year\u2019s Guide, despite \u201crising costs in the industry,\u201d according to a statement from Michelin\u2019s chief inspector for North America. Michelin, a notoriously secret organization, did not name the chief inspector.<\/p>\n New this year: The $50 figure is \u201cnot necessarily a strict cutoff,\u201d according to the statement.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Good thing Michelin’s definition of a Bib Gourmand is a little looser on price in 2026, because barbecue is more expensive than ever.<\/p>\n Chitose Suzuki \/ Staff Photographer<\/p>\n Although Michelin\u2019s Bib Gourmand list tends to be more useful to casual diners, these value-driven restaurants often take a back seat to Michelin-star winners. The shine goes to the stars, which can be seen as culinary Cliff\u2019s Notes to the finest restaurants in the state. (Notably, in Michelin\u2019s first two years in Texas, no restaurant has received 2- or 3-star awards<\/a>, the company\u2019s highest honors.)<\/p>\n Related: Why doesn\u2019t Texas have any 2- or 3-star Michelin restaurants?<\/a><\/p>\n Former Bib Gourmand winners in Dallas-Fort Worth<\/p>\n Michelin picked its first class of Bib winners in Texas in 2024<\/a>, and it yielded a puzzling but interesting list of barbecue, fine-dining, Italian and more.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n When the list of Bib Gourmand recipients was released in 2025,<\/a> the seven D-FW restaurants named didn\u2019t change. Last year\u2019s Bib Gourmand winners were: Cattleack Barbeque, Gemma, Goldee\u2019s Barbecue, Mot Hai Ba, Ngon Vietnamese Kitchen, Nonna and Lucia. (More on Lucia in a moment.)<\/p>\n If history repeats itself, it\u2019s likely many of last year\u2019s Bib honorees stay put again.\u00a0Who else would I add to this delicious list?<\/p>\n 4 D-FW restaurants that should be Bib Gourmand contenders<\/p>\n I\u2019m rooting for Fond in downtown Dallas. Office workers like me stop in for the $17 lunch deal: a quarter of a Detroit-style pizza and a salad. The cheeseburger, sold at lunch on Fridays only, is another winner, and the kitchen usually sells out of it by 12:30\u00a0p.m. Everybody\u2019s finishing with a cup of $5 soft serve finished with olive oil and sprinkled with flaky sea salt. Fond was once a lunch restaurant with occasional pop-up dinners, and I\u2019m glad to see it\u2019s now serving regular dinner, too.<\/p>\n Fond is at 1601 Elm St.,\u00a0 Dallas.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n One of Fond co-owner Jennie Kelley’s favorite dinner items is roasted half chicken.<\/p>\n Dan Padgett<\/p>\n In Fort Worth, I\u2019m hopeful Michelin critics have eyes for Dos Mares, the seafood spot next to sibling restaurant Don Artemio. Dos Mares just launched a new seven-course taco tasting for $99<\/a>, which could edge it out of the $50-or-less category. But many of Dos Mares\u2019 other lunch and dinner items are more affordable, like the seafood caldo ($11 for a cup), tuna tostadas ($17) and shrimp tacos ($8 each).<\/p>\n Dos Mares is at 3260 W. 7th St., Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Chef Marcial Riojas finishes a taco with black bean puree, macha mayonnaise and beer tempura lobster at Dos Mares.<\/p>\n Imelda Garc\u00eda\/Staff writer<\/p>\n On Greenville Avenue in Dallas, I have two favorites for a Bib.\u00a0Walkers\u2019 is a sandwich shop by day and a New American restaurant and wine bar by night. I said Walkers\u2019 \u201ccould be the next restaurant and bar Dallas needs\u201d<\/a> because its owners are serious about food, but the place also feels intimately East Dallas, with little pretense. Here\u2019s my suggested order: beets and raisins salad ($14), a salumi focaccia sandwich with hot giardiniera mayo called Nonna\u2019s Webb ($20) and a glass of white ($14-19). Bingo: That\u2019s right about $50, Michelin\u2019s Bib Gourmand cutoff.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Walkers\u2019 is at 3016 Greenville Ave., Dallas. Reservations not needed for the sandwich shop. Reservations recommended for dinner<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Walkers’ is a comfortable\u00a0lunch or dinner spot, but it also\u00a0sells wine, snacks and gifts to-go.<\/p>\n El\u00edas Valverde II\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n A few blocks south on Greenville Avenue, I’m impressed by the three-course dinner for $49 at Apothecary. This is a two-sided space, with dimly lit cocktail bar on one side and a cheerier lounge on the other. One side was previously Rye, which won Michelin Recommended recognition twice<\/a> and received an Exceptional Cocktails award<\/a>. It didn\u2019t win a Michelin star, and co-owners Tanner Agar and Taylor Rause closed Rye and turned their creative little den into two cocktail-forward restaurants<\/a>.<\/p>\n Both sides serve the same three-course $49 dinner Tuesdays through Saturdays. On a recent visit, my three-course dinner included a plate of Japanese elotes with bonito flakes dancing on top; a comforting chicken breast with sun-dried tomato cream sauce; and the company\u2019s sauerkraut cake, a dessert so surprising<\/a>, it was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives by Guy Fieri.<\/p>\n Apothecary has two bars called Archive and Alchemy. Together, they\u2019re at 1920 and 1922 Greenville Ave., Dallas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Apothecary’s $49 dinner comes with choices at each of the three courses. I picked Japanese\u00a0elotes as my first course (pictured); other options included a Caesar salad or summer vegetables.<\/p>\n Sarah Blaskovich\/Staff<\/p>\n A word about Lucia<\/p>\n For two years, Italian restaurant Lucia has been on Michelin\u2019s Bib Gourmand list. It felt like a mistake the first year, because the best experience at Lucia is to order course after course of things like housemade salumi for $40, lobster mushroom cappelletti for $33, Wagyu bavette for $46 and more. Lucia is great, but it\u2019s not affordable.<\/p>\n When Lucia landed on the Bib list a second year in a row, I felt Michelin inspectors weren\u2019t paying close enough attention. Please, move this fine restaurant to the Recommended list.<\/p>\n Lucia is at 287 N. Bishop Ave., Dallas. Reservations recommended<\/a>.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Lucia is owned by David and Jennifer Uygur. Their late dog, Lucy, on display behind them, inspired the restaurant name.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n More restaurants for the Recommended list<\/p>\n Beyond Michelin-starred restaurants<\/a> and Bib Gourmands, Michelin offers long lists of Recommended restaurants every year. These restaurants are good, in its critics\u2019 eyes. But they aren\u2019t great enough to earn a coveted Michelin star.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, Michelin\u2019s list of Recommended restaurants in D-FW was its single largest category in 2024 and 2025, and many restaurateurs were proud to display their red Recommended signs.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Charles got a glow-up in early 2026. It looks great.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/Staff Photographer Vadouvan cream is poured over the snow crab six pack at The Charles in Dallas\u2019 Design District.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/Staff Photographer Guests walk through a curtained entrance at The Charles.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/Staff Photographer Chicken Diavolo pie is served at The Charles in Dallas\u2019 Design District.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/Staff Photographer Flaming Semifreddo Affogato, an Italian dessert served with frozen sweet cream mousse, biscotti cookie crumble, espresso and cocoa sprinkles, is a dramatic end to dinner at The Charles in Dallas.<\/p>\n Tom Fox\/Staff Photographer The dinner menu at Fond in downtown Dallas includes a daily croquette, roasted chicken\u00a0entree, salads and Detroit-style pizzas.<\/p>\n Chase Hall<\/p>\n More than 20 restaurants achieved Recommended status<\/a> in D-FW in 2025. Many will likely hold those titles again in 2026.\u00a0<\/p>\n I\u2019d like to offer a few additions:<\/p>\n The Charles: Sibling restaurants Mister Charles and El Carlos Elegante are both Recommended restaurants. The Charles\u2019 refresh in early 2026<\/a> makes it a great contender. The Charles is at 1632 Market Center Blvd., Dallas.<\/p>\n The Chumley House: The same company that runs The Charles owns Fort Worth British-inspired restaurant The Chumley House. It\u2019s Fort Worth\u2019s best restaurant<\/a>. I\u2019d love to see it on Michelin\u2019s Recommended list. The Chumley House is at 3230 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth.\u00a0<\/p>\n Don\u00a0Artemio: I was surprised upscale Mexican restaurant Don Artemio in Fort Worth didn\u2019t make Michelin\u2019s Recommended list in the past. The menu is contemporary Mexican food that feels right at home in Fort Worth. Don Artemio is at 3268 W. 7th St., Fort Worth.<\/p>\n Meridian: One of my favorite East Dallas restaurants, Meridian, deserves a look. Chef Eduardo Osorio reinvented the restaurant after years of changes<\/a>, and its latest iteration balances must-have items, like a cheeseburger, with more interesting bites, like brown butter cornbread topped with foie gras. The restaurant\u2019s one-bite \u201cone-hitters\u201d are especially great.\u00a0Meridian is at 5650 Village Glen Drive, Dallas.<\/p>\n What do you think? Share your thoughts with me on Instagram<\/a> and X<\/a>.Want more\u00a0on\u00a0Michelin’s influence in Dallas-Fort Worth? Go to dallasnews.com\/michelin<\/a>. Chef Eduardo Osorio puts the finishing touches on Snake River White sturgeon in the kitchen at Meridian in Dallas.<\/p>\n Smiley N. Pool\/Staff Photographer<\/p>\n
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