For food- and wine-loving locals and visitors, the news is good: the Dallas–Fort Worth area has made it clear that its fine dining, with an enduring bit of Texas swagger, is alive and kicking—and at a level that would make many cities envious. Dallas cooking is indelibly infused with Southwestern spices and techniques, but the city also offers a wide range of dining options, from steak-house fare to premium sushi to refined French cuisine.
Here are 12 restaurants in the city with outstanding Wine Spectator Restaurant Award–winning wine collections. To discover more wine-and-food destinations, see our more than 3,700 Restaurant Award–winning picks, including all 190 in Texas and the 95 Grand Award recipients that hold our highest honor (63 of which are in the United States).
Do you have a favorite you’d like to see on this list? Send your recommendations to restaurantawards@mshanken.com. We want to hear from you!
Pappas Bros. Steakhouse Dallas
10477 Lombardy Lane, Dallas
Telephone (217) 366-2000
Website pappasbros.com
Grand Award
With three Grand Award winners, the Pappas Bros. Steakhouse family is among the brightest stars in Texas for wine lovers: The wine cellar at Pappas. Bros Steakhouse Dallas—overseen by Steven McDonald (who directs programming at all Pappas Bros. locations) and wine director Jon Walker—is the largest, at 4,100 labels. Highlights include a collection of fortified wines from the 1800s, verticals of Guigal’s three “La La” wines and more than 500 large-format options, the largest being a 15-liter nebuchadnezzar of Billecart-Salmon Champagne. The restaurant also hosts regular wine dinners that pair custom tasting menus with lineups provided by visiting wineries. (Recent dinners featured Heitz, Château d’Yquem and Château Les Carmes Haut-Brion.) Chef James Johnson’s menu centers on classic steak-house fare—with filets, rib eyes and New York strips dry-aged using the restaurant’s proprietary process—and sides such as potatoes au gratin, onion rings and creamed spinach. Beyond beef, seafood options include Australian lobster tails, broiled salmon with lump crab and shrimp in a white wine sauce, and starters such as fried oysters and deviled eggs with lobster.
Al Biernat’s
4217 Oaklawn Ave., Dallas
Telephone (214) 219-2201
Website albiernats.com
Best of Award of Excellence
In the 1970s, Al Biernat was a busboy at the Palm in Dallas. In time, he worked his way up and opened two locations of the Palm in Texas before launching his namesake steak house, Al Biernat’s Restaurant, in 1998 in Dallas’ Oak Lawn neighborhood. Biernat died in 2024, but his people-focused approach lives on at the restaurant: Wine director Miguel Arias notes that “Al was an inspiration … he built a place where guests feel like family, where every meal is an experience, and hospitality is an art.” The wine program, which has won 17 Wine Spectator Restaurant Awards, boasts 700 selections. (The restaurant’s sibling location, Al Biernat’s North, is an Award of Excellence winner in North Dallas.) California Cabernet is a primary strength, with verticals from Staglin, Peter Michael and Far Niente. If you’re looking local, there’s Cabernet, Tempranillo and other picks from Texas producers like Lost Draw and William Chris. The steaks come largely from ranches around Texas, though Japanese A5 Wagyu is also available. Many toppings are on offer, including the “Oscar Style” option, which adds béarnaise sauce, jumbo lump crab and asparagus. Chef Miguel Cauich and the culinary team prepare seafood and shellfish plates, plus vegan dishes, as well.
Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine
4259 Bryant Irvin Road, Fort Worth
Telephone (817) 738-5489
Website bonnellstexas.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Founded in Fort Worth’s Riverhills neighborhood in 2001, Bonnell’s is the namesake restaurant of chef Jon Bonnell. Here, the Fort Worth native combines North Texas roadhouse fare with fine-dining influences. Some of his signature dishes include elk tacos with green chile cheese grits and pico de gallo, tequila-lime game hen with black beans and hominy, and a pepper-crusted buffalo steak with grilled asparagus and truffled potato pavé. Bonnell also directs the Best of Award of Excellence–winning wine program, which includes more than 400 labels. These primarily come from California, but about 30 are from Texas, with wines from Messina Hof and Becker. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet blends are prominent—represented by bottlings from acclaimed Napa Valley wineries like Stag’s Leap, Groth and Frank Family—as are Rhône-style reds.
Carbone
1617 Hi Line Drive, Suite 395, Dallas
Telephone (469) 290-6009
Website carbonedallas.com
Best of Award of Excellence
In the Design District, Best of Award of Excellence winner Carbone is the Dallas outpost of New York–born chef Mario Carbone’s glamorous Italian restaurant, part of Major Food Group, along with its three Restaurant Award–winning siblings. Executive chef Edward Sura prepares a menu that draws from Carbone’s Italian heritage, and many plates are meant to be shared; expect dishes like spicy rigatoni vodka, spaghetti puttanesca, veal parmesan and lobster fra diavola with a side of spicy broccoli rabe. In a dining room inspired by Venetian palazzos, guests sip wines from the 1,000-selection list led by corporate beverage director John Slover. The main strength is Italy, particularly Piedmont and Tuscany, with notable bottles like Giacomo Borgogno & Figli Barolo Riserva and Biondi-Santi Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. France and California are represented by selections such as Château Latour Pauillac and Beaulieu Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley Georges de Latour Private Reserve.
Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
2323 Olive St., Dallas
Telephone (972) 490-9000
Website delfriscos.com
Best of Award of Excellence
With 17 Best of Award of Excellence–winning locations across the United States (including four in Texas), Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse is a leading name in steak-house dining. The Downtown Dallas restaurant is located in the heart of the Harwood District, a shopping and residential area near the downtown Historic District and destinations such as the Dallas World Aquarium and the Dallas Museum of Art. The restaurant features a 5,000-bottle, 1,080-selection cellar overseen by wine director Jeff Jett. The program’s main strengths are California, Bordeaux and Champagne, plus other regions in France and Italy. Expect picks from well-known wineries like Harlan Estate, Futo and Diamond Creek.
The restaurant offers a shellfish tower, caviar service, beef carpaccio and shrimp cocktail, but steaks form the core of chef Misa Santos’ menu. These include a 12-ounce filet mignon, a 22-ounce bone-in prime rib eye and a 32-ounce prime tomahawk.
Ellerbe Fine Foods
1501 W Magnolia Ave., Fort Worth
Telephone (817) 926-3663
Website ellerbefinefoods.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Regional, seasonal and sustainably grown ingredients are the focus of Ellerbe Fine Foods in Fort Worth’s lively and restaurant-filled Fairmount area. Executive chef and co-owner Molly McCook’s American-cuisine menu taps these products for dishes like roasted Demases Farms winter beets with citrus and Greek yogurt dressing, Berkshire pork schnitzel with mushrooms and sauerkraut, and cioppino with Texas redfish and peas. Wine director and co-owner Richard King offers a wine list of 625 global selections. France and the United States are primary strengths, with bottles from Champagne’s Salon, Burgundy’s Leflaive And Napa’s Scarecrow. Diners can also expect acclaimed bottles from other regions, including Penfolds Shiraz South Australia Grange and Bodegas Vega Sicilia Ribera del Duero Unico.
Grace
777 Main St., Fort Worth
Telephone (817) 877-3388
Website gracefortworth.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Best of Award of Excellence winner Grace is located in Fort Worth’s bustling Sundance Square. For the restaurant’s dining room and outdoor patio, chef Blaine Staniford serves a classic steak-house menu that shows contemporary cuisine influences. Cuts include a New York Strip and a dry-aged bone-in rib eye, both offered with béarnaise, chimichurri and horseradish sauces, or toppings of lobster, thick-cut bacon and blue cheese. Other dishes range from butter-poached oysters to chicken karaage (Japanese-style fried chicken). Wine director Tony Fino-Fraser manages the 900-label list, which has strengths in California, France and Italy. The Champagne section stands out with names like Bérêche, Taittinger and Dom Pérignon. There are also U.S. sparklers from California’s Schramsberg and Texas’ Pheasant Ridge. The Cabernet collection includes reds from Daou, Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Silver Oak, as well as international selections from Bordeaux’s Château Pontet-Canet, Château Cobonnieux and Château Talbot.
The Mansion Restaurant
Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek, 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd., Dallas
Telephone (217) 366-2000
Website rosewoodhotels.com
Best of Award of Excellence
Best of Award of Excellence winner the Mansion Restaurant is housed in the historic Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek in Uptown Dallas. Inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture, the mansion was built in the 1920s; the Rosewood Corporation bought the building in 1979 and renovated it as a 143-room luxury hotel. In 1980, the Mansion opened its restaurant, where guests now enjoy French-accented dishes from chef Charles Olalia. This includes smoked salmon–filled gougère, Atlantic lobster thermidor, and a Nebraska beef tenderloin with ancho chile béarnaise. Wine director Brian Huynh offers a list of more than 700 selections, many from California, France and Italy. Guests can expect picks from leading names like Napa’s Opus One, Burgundy’s Marquis d’Angerville and Piedmont’s Giuseppe Mascarello & Figlio.
Waters Restaurant
01 Main St., Fort Worth
Telephone (817) 926-3663
Website waterstexas.com
Best of Award of Excellence
In Sundance Square, fresh seafood stars at chef Jon Bonnell’s Waters Restaurant, which earned a Best of Award of Excellence for its wine list in 2024. Executive chef Anthony Felli helms the kitchen, using wild-caught seafood to prepare Southern-influenced dishes (seafood gumbo, for example), as well as raw bar options. Larger plates include Cajun diver scallops with smoked serrano puree and avocado crema, and Arctic char with lemon crab cream and grilled asparagus. Wine director Kalvin Rhone’s 500-label wine list is strongest in Californian selections to complement seafood, such as a Napa white from Stags’ Leap Winery and Sonoma and Carneros Chardonnays from Aubert. Lighter-style reds include Russian River Valley Pinot Noirs from Paul Hobbs and Merry Edwards.
Avanti Restaurant
2720 McKinney Ave., Dallas
Telephone (214) 871-4955
Website avantirestaurants.com
Award of Excellence
Set between Dallas’ Uptown and State Thomas neighborhoods, Avanti Restaurant is a Best of Award of Excellence winner within walking distance of Griggs Park and the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas. In its dining room and on its outdoor patio, the restaurant offers Italian cuisine and Texas steak-house fare, accompanied by live music seven nights a week. Chef Mario Sanchez prepares dishes like farfalle carbonara with prosciutto and scallions in a Parmesan-garlic sauce, gnocchi arrabbiata, stuffed mushrooms with spinach and béchamel, and jumbo lump crab cakes with Dijon mustard sauce. Wine director Virginie Naigeon-Malek oversees a 115-label list of primarily Italian wines, including bottlings from Piedmont’s Gaja, Massolino and Marchesi di Grésy and Tuscany’s Argiano, Ricasoli and Poliziano. For a local sip, the Lone Star State is represented by wineries like Duchman Family Wines and McPherson Cellars. Naigeon-Malek also highlights wineries farming sustainably, organically and biodynamically, as well as wines from women winemakers.
Don Artemio Mexican Heritage
3268 W. Seventh St., Fort Worth
Telephone (817) 470-1439
Website www.donartemio.us
Award of Excellence
In Fort Worth’s Cultural District, Don Artemio Mexican Heritage highlights not only the cuisine of northern Mexico, but also the region’s wines and design. (It has an Award of Excellence–winning sibling restaurant in the Mexican city of Saltillo.) The dining room is lined with clay bricks imported from Mexico, while the wine cellar, which holds about 1,300 bottles (representing nearly 150 selections), was designed by Mexican architect Luis Alberto González Díaz de León. Many of the wines hail from northern Mexico’s Cohauila region (which borders Texas), including Cabernet made by Casa Madero and Shiraz from Tuma. Wine director Martin Quirarte Jazo’s Award of Excellence–winning list also has ample selections from California producers like Aperture and Chimney Rock, as well as Spanish wines from Vega Sicilia and Bodegas Ordóñez. Northern Mexican cuisine and ingredients are the focus of chef and culinary director Rodrigo Cardenas’ menu, which includes dishes like ceviche tatemado with cured white fish and octopus, beef tongue tacos with salsa verde and confit duck chilaquiles de pato with Chihuahua cheese.
Lavendou Bistro Provencal
19009 Preston Road, Suite 200, Dallas
Telephone (972) 248-1911
Website lavendou.com
Award of Excellence
Step from the South into the South of France at Lavendou Bistro Provencal, a Northern Dallas Best of Award of Excellence winner. Owner Pascal Cayet focuses on lighter fare inspired by France’s Provence region. In the restaurant’s brick-lined dining room and on its spacious terrace, he and executive chef Miguel Hernandez offer a salade Niçoise, trout sauteéd with almonds, coquilles St.-Jacques with tomatoes and basil, and grilled lamb chops with seasonal vegetables, plus hearty bistro fare like “Left Bank” onion soup and escargots à la Bourguignonne. Cayat’s nearly 400-label wine list prominently features France, and it begins with the wines of Provence. Expect bottlings from noteworthy southern French producers like Domaines Ott and Gérard Bertrand’s Cigalus. The list is rounded out by wines from Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa, Italy and the Lone Star State itself.
Edited by Collin Dreizen, Chris Cardoso, Julia Larson, Olivia Nolan and Greg Warner.
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