A New Omakase Concept From Carte Blanche Owners Will Debut at The Statler, A Favorite Mexican Spot Shutters at West Village, and More Dallas Restaurant News

The Dallas dining scene is forever evolving. To help you stay in the know, we’ve gathered the buzziest openings, the unfortunate closures, and any other food news we might find fitting. The Dallas Dish is your weekly helping of need-to-know Dallas restaurant news — and will hopefully point you in the direction of your next great reservation.

Former Carte Blanche owners debut new omakase concept at The Statler hotel.

Later this summer, husband-and-wife chefs Casey and Amy LaRue (La Rue Doughnuts, Carte Blanche) are opening an intimate, wood-fire omakase experience at The Statler. Sauvage will debut in a suite with street access off Commerce and feature only 10 seats per dinner. They will source meats and seafood from Texas purveyors like wild boar and venison from Broken Arrow Ranch and fish from Minamoto Food in Austin. The menu will change regularly, but will feature dishes such as “a petite housemade Carte Blanche croissant with a smoked crème fraiche and Kristal caviar, an A5 Wagyu ribeye with a black winter truffle, or a Moroccan antelope sausage served with pistachio, fermented harissa, and caramelized yogurt.”

There will be two seatings per night starting at $245 per person, making this one of the most expensive omakase experiences in Dallas.

A West Village favorite closes and will be replaced by a Chinese restaurant.

UnaVida, a Modern Mexican restaurant with a menu from Chef Matt McCallister, has closed in Dallas’ West Village. According to the Dallas Morning News, another spot from the same group (Local Favorite Restaurants), WokStar, will take its place. It is not known why UnaVida closed, but we loved the fresh Mexican spot for its stacked enchilada verde and taco bowls. Founder of the local restaurant group (Meso Maya, Snuffer’s), Mike Karns, tells DMN that Chef McCallister will stay with the company, which he joined after his restaurant, Homewood, closed in 2023.

WokStar debuted its first outpost at The Hill in 2021. West Village will be its second location. The shopping center is changing as a couple of Vandelay Hospitality Group’s concepts will be opening there soon as well.

A favorite pop-up burger joint opens a brick-and-mortar in East Dallas.

Founded by Dave Culwell as a pop-up during the COVID-19 pandemic, Burger Schmurger is now officially open in the former BarNone space in East Dallas. The new spot is in partnership with This & That Hospitality (the concept has been selling burgers at the group’s concept, High Fives, since 2023). A new partner, Jeremy Koeninger (Midnight Rambler and Standard Pour), was also brought on. The space features bright yellow booths, neon red lights, checkered tile floors, a pool table, and an overall retro vibe. It’s family-friendly and a late-night spot.

Diners will find Culwell’s famous The Maverick burger with smoked bacon jam, and American & provolone cheeses on an inverted, butter-toasted bun, and nine other burger options. There’s also pretzel bites, wings, poutine, fried pickles, salads, a chicken sandwich, a hot dog, and more. For cocktails, guests can choose from five house creations, as well as two frozen drinks, and two “Zappers” — an espresso martini and Carajillo.