5 Dallas Restaurants and Chefs Are Named 2025 James Beard Finalists

Each spring, the James Beard Foundation names its Restaurant and Chef Award finalists in anticipation of the big event in the summer. Established in 1990, with its first award ceremony taking place a year later, the foundation recognizes extraordinary chefs and their restaurants across the nation (from fine dining to casual concepts). For the 35th anniversary, the James Beard Awards will take place on June 16 at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.

In the winter, nominations were narrowed down with 10 North Texas restaurants and chefs being named 2025 Restaurant and Chef Awards semifinalists. We noted how over the past few years, we’ve seen repeats of many names like Misti Norris (Petra and the Beast, which recently closed) and Lucia’s David Uyger, but that only Regino Rojas of Purépecha for Best Chef: Texas was a repeat this year. Also, Fort Worth was excluded altogether.

Earlier today, the 2025 James Beard Award finalists were announced and five Dallas spots made the cut including RJ Yoakum, who took over as Executive Head Chef at Knox Street’s Georgie in the summer of 2023 — named a finalist for Emerging Chef. Yakitori omakase restaurant from former Teppo owner Masayuki Otaka is a finalist for Best New Restaurant. Favorite bagel spot in Lewisville and downtown Dallas Starship Bagel made the cut for Outstanding Bakery. The inventive cocktail bar from the owners of Namo, Bar Colette, is a Best New Bar finalist. And Regino Rojas is finally named a Best Chef: Texas finalist (he was a semifinalist in 2023 and 2024) for his Mexican tasting room experience, Purépecha.

A delightful addition, Cafe Momentum‘s Chad Houser won the Humanitarian of the Year Award. Since 2015, the downtown Dallas restaurant has been known for creating “opportunities for justice-involved youth through an ever-expanding network of award-winning restaurants and training programs.” Several months ago, Cafe Momentum broke ground on a new flagship location in Old East Dallas so that the nonprofit can help even more at-risk youth, which will open in 2026.

“It has been the honor of my life to work alongside more than 1,200 justice-involved youth who have transformed their lives with the support of Café Momentum,” Houser says in a statement. “This award reflects the power and potential of every young person when we believe in them. When we provide the tools, resources, and opportunities they deserve, they rise every single time. Together, we are proving that every young person deserves a seat at the table.”

In 2024, zero Dallas restaurants and chefs earned a James Beard Award. Hopefully, things will be different on June 16.