Forget Friday night lights. This summer, Dallas will bask in a far more brilliant spotlight when it takes center stage for the world’s biggest sporting event.
With more matches than any other host city (nine), plus the International Broadcast Center (IBC) and one of the largest FIFA Fan Festivals ever planned, the de facto capital of North Texas will become the de facto capital of the World Cup. And the Big D is wearing its captain’s armband with pride.
What was white is now black. What was mid-century modern is now 18th-century Italian chic. And in the kitchen, a bigger-than-ever emphasis on wood-fire cooking.
The Charles facelift may be the most dramatic on this list, and that was the goal of Duro Hospitality in executing this exciting transformation.
My husband and I opted for a seat at the bar on our visit, which is always a favorite vantage point for people watching in the dining room while enjoying attentive service from the bartender (not to mention having easy access to wine refills).
The first restaurant from Dallas-based Duro Hospitality recently unveiled its transformed interiors, which are “richer, sexier, moodier, and more magnetic than ever.” The Charles also debuted a new menu that focuses on dishes prepared on their wood-fired grill, like the rustic and smoky BBQ Pork Jowl with cavolo nero, charred lemon, and black garlic. We revisited the restaurant to taste the newest menu options. Here are our favorite new dishes at The Charles.
Ever evolving to meet the desires of its Dallas patrons, Duro Hospitality has once again delivered a fresh new look. Reimagining its first concept, The Charles, the team has revamped the overall experience for its discerning diners. An updated menu showcases the same bold flavors and cheeky concoctions they’re known for, now paired with a refreshed design that elevates the experience. “When we opened The Charles, we had one goal then, and it’s the same goal now: to be the most iconic, edgiest, best version of ourselves possible,” says founding partner Chas Martin. “This wasn’t about necessity—it was about intention. We felt The Charles deserved it. Staying fresh is how you earn longevity.” Well done, indeed.
Open since 2018, The Charles unveiled a renovation and refresh in February. The new look leans into 18th-century Italian style, with gas lanterns, dramatic velvet drapery, and Murano glass fixtures. The menu was updated as well, with bold additions like focaccia with sliced prosciutto and black truffle honey, grilled wagyu short rib, cappellini with caviar and Meyer lemon, and affogato semifreddo finished tableside with flaming espresso. The restaurant accommodates up to 135 guests for buyouts, while the adjacent Bar Charles features an 18-seat private dining room for more intimate get-togethers.
The Charles opened in 2018, kicking off the mini empire that Dallas-based Duro Hospitality has since amassed in the city. Eight years later, and with guests still filling seats, the group decided to give its first-born a refresh by redesigning the space and tweaking the menu.
This one is unlike any other focaccia you’ll find around town. This is focaccia di Recco, from a small town in Liguria. It’s thin, flat, crisp, cheese-filled, not too unlike a quesadilla. It’s a noticeable departure from the standard thicker versions of focaccia you’ll find around town. It comes stuffed with cheese and sliced up similar to a tavern-style pizza. The regular version is excellent, but if you feel like splurging, do the fancy option with prosciutto, honey, and shaved black truffle. It’s as opulent and indulgent as anything else you’ll find at The Charles, but it’s a splurge you won’t soon forget.
The Charles was the very first concept from Duro Hospitality (Mr. Charles, Sister, and El Carlos Elegante) and has been a staple destination since 2018. Never content to sit idle, Duro has redesigned the space to emphasize an old-world Italian romance with gas lanterns, velvet curtains, embroidered banquettes, and Murano glass lighting. They’ve also refreshed the menu, with a renewed emphasis on the wood-fired grill. New dishes include Focaccia di Charles with prosciutto and black truffle honey; carrots and burrata; Wagyu short rib with baby kale; gorgonzola-crusted Wagyu New York strip; pork tenderloin porchetta with charred okra; cappellini with caviar and Meyer lemon; and gnocchi al ragu with Wagyu beef cheek. For dessert, affogato semifreddo is finished tableside with flaming espresso.
The Charles, at 1632 Market Center Blvd. in the Design District — the very first concept from Dallas-based Duro Hospitality and part the city’s dining scene since 2018 — has unveiled a thoughtfully redesigned space while evolving the experience and preserving the soul that has made it a Dallas staple. Alongside the transformed interiors, the new menu offers a bold emphasis on the wood-fired grill, layered with the beloved classics. More at thecharlesdallas.com.
In a city that loves the next new thing, The Charles has done something far more impressive: it has endured… and now, it has evolved. And gosh, is it ever sexy.
The very first concept from Dallas-based Duro Hospitality, The Charles, has anchored the city’s dining scene since opening its doors in 2018. From the beginning, it stood apart: confident, cosmopolitan, and just edgy enough to feel like a quiet rebellion against the expected. Now, the restaurant is stepping decisively into its next chapter, unveiling a thoughtfully redesigned space and a refreshed menu that leans boldly into live-fire cooking, all while preserving the soul that has made it a Dallas staple.
The Charles, the first restaurant from Dallas-based Duro Hospitality, recently unveiled its transformed interiors, which are “richer, sexier, moodier, and more magnetic than ever.” Corbin and Ross See of Sees Design oversaw the redesign, which was inspired by a Roman bedroom with black walls, mosaic floors, and painted wainscoting.
The Charles — the very first concept from Dallas-based powerhouse Duro Hospitality and a cornerstone of the city’s dining scene since 2018 — is stepping confidently into its next era.
The restaurant unveils a thoughtfully redesigned space while evolving the experience and preserving the soul that has made it a beloved Dallas staple. Alongside the transformed interiors, the new menu offerings place a bold emphasis on the wood-fired grill, seamlessly layered with the beloved classics guests know and love.
Duro Hospitality is one of Dallas’ most successful homegrown restaurant groups, operating The Charles, Mister Charles, El Carlos Elegante, Norman’s Japanese Grill, Sister, Cafe Duro, and, in Fort Worth, Chumley House. But its effortless appearance can be deceiving. What goes into building hit after hit and retaining the best possible talent? What challenges lie ahead for the hospitality business in 2026? How does Duro rate its own business acumen? And, most pressingly, why did they just redesign their first restaurant, The Charles?
D Magazine sat down with founding partners Benji Homsey and Chas Martin, and with operating partner J Chastain, to talk about the reopening of The Charles, secrets of Duro’s success, the state of the luxury economy, and just how much the group spends on uniforms.
Love is in the air, but can you score a table? Dallas Morning News food writer Sarah Blaskovich has tips on last-minute Valentine’s Day restaurant strategies. Plus, several Dallas restaurants have decided to rebrand. Here’s what to expect.
The Charles opened in the Dallas Design District in 2018 as the first-ever concept from Dallas-based Duro Hospitality. After a brief closing recently to enable a redesign, the restaurant has reopened with a new look and new menu offerings and “is stepping confidently into its next era.”
The restaurant unveils a thoughtfully redesigned space while evolving the experience and preserving the soul that has made it a beloved Dallas staple. Alongside the transformed interiors, the new menu offerings place a bold emphasis on the wood-fired grill, seamlessly layered with the beloved classics guests know and love.
Dallas Design District restaurant The Charles made a dramatic move: Its owners scrubbed the restaurant’s Instagram account, deleting years of photos. They closed the dining room for 10 days without explanation.
In a quick turn, this eight-year-old Italian restaurant was redesigned with a moodier dining room and reimagined menu.
The Charles reopened Feb. 9, 2026, more confident than ever. But wait. Why?
The Charles, a Dallas restaurant established in 2018, unveiled a redesigned interior and a refreshed menu this week. The transformation, led by Duro Hospitality, emphasizes a shift toward 18th-century Italian elegance and expanded wood-fired culinary offerings.
The project was led by designers Corbin and Ross See, who introduced more moody and elaborate decor elements to the space to enhance the dining experience. Corbin said the inspiration for the new look came during a visit to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. He noted a Roman bedroom display featuring black walls, mosaic floors and painted wainscoting served as a catalyst for the project.
Since opening in 2018, The Charles—the inaugural concept from Dallas-based Duro Hospitality—has held a defining place in the city’s dining landscape. Now, the restaurant enters its next chapter with a thoughtful redesign and a refined culinary focus that honors its origins while moving decisively forward. The restaurant now takes on a reimagined look and feel.
The Charles showcases zero-proof cocktails with style and precision. Cranberry Frost pairs tart cranberry with warm cinnamon and non-alcoholic prosecco for a festive, wintery sip. Lavender Hour offers a delicate balance of lavender grape, bright grapefruit, and spicy ginger beer, while Blackberry Di Capri blends ripe blackberry, fresh lemon, cooling mint, and Topo Chico for a crisp finish.
Opened in 2018, Duro Hospitality’s the Charles has been the Design District’s resident scene-stealer, serving dreamy Italian-inspired fare with Texas swagger. The housemade pastas and wood-fired meats are reason enough to book a reservation, but the impeccable design, from animal print banquettes, artful light fixtures, and playful patterns to the ever-eclectic Bar Charles, are half the allure. This fall, The Charles introduced a $99 multi-course tasting menu that tours the menu’s finest. The chef-guided lineup spans land and sea with summer salad, grilled Skull Island prawns, lobster ventaglio, Akaushi hanger steak, and a tiramisu that seals the deal. 1632 Market Center Blvd., Dallas, thecharlesdallas.com
The Charles – Expect impeccable Italian-inspired fare, a sophisticated setting, and an elegant way to celebrate with family.
It’s officially time for an update of the Eater 38, a guide to the city’s essential restaurants. At these standout establishments, diners will find a wide variety of price points and cuisines, ranging from the city’s finest barbecue destinations to its excellent date night spots and everything in between.
The 2022 edition of the Dallas 500 made its debut at an exclusive event last night at Fair Park’s Hall of State. More than six months in the making, the 180-page publication includes some of the most recognizable names in business, along with nearly 200 new and emerging leaders.
Dallas restaurants keep searching for new ways to distinguish themselves from the pack: novelty concepts, swanky interior designs, locations like the 49th floor of a skyscraper. So why do so many of them play the same music? A distinctive playlist can help make an unforgettable dining room. But many restaurants around town settle for top 40 hits, pop standards or pre-built lists from services like Spotify. Hip-hop instrumentals and the Pandora station “Hipster Cocktail Party” have become fixtures.
Last year, during one of the numerous peaks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Kips Bay Decorator Show House opened its doors in Dallas for the first time. For those who attended in-person (and for the rest of us who were more comfortable with the virtual experience), the 27 discrete rooms created by 27 world-class interior designers were a wonder to behold. On September 24, the second edition will be unveiled. It’s just the event to impel travel-starved aesthetes to grab their 10-gallon hats and head south. Here are five places no design lover should miss while in Dallas this month.
Bernard Markowicz, owner of Markowicz Fine Art galleries in Miami, Dallas and now California, has quickly made a big footprint in Texas since opening his Dallas Design District gallery in 2019. In fact, his introduction to the Lone Star State came from coordinating the procurement and installation of French-Israeli sculptor Idan Zareski’s Babyfoot at the Oak Lawn entrance of the Design District. And just recently, Markowicz revealed Zareski’s latest sculpture, “La Nena,” on the terrace of the W Hotel.
Charlie’s on Greenville, a new restaurant by the restaurateur behind The Charles, is coming to our neighborhood. The restaurant received a certificate of occupancy for the space at 2808 Greenville Ave. in March. It will be located in the building that used to house longtime Dallas eatery The Grape, which closed in 2019.
As temperatures rise, I thought it would be fun to take a look at some of the best meals you can enjoy that don’t arrive at the table steaming hot. Sure, you can always order a salad or a sandwich, but there’s no reason to eat boring when you can enjoy flavor-packed, elegant cold meals. Here are a few of my favorites:
After a challenging year, PaperCity celebrates leaders, artists, and innovators who kept us hopeful and inspired. Chosen by our editorial staff, the group of 50 comprising The New Dallas Establishment helped shape local culture, from rising beauty brands and fashion designers to inventive restaurateurs. Whether they’re rethinking retail or introducing us to something entirely fresh, each person on this list contributes something valuable to the city, paving the way for entrepreneurs to come. Cheers to a group that makes us proud to call Dallas home.
As far as I’m concerned margarita season starts now. Nevermind that mercury still falls consistently below 60 degrees where I am in New York City. I (and many others) are over winter—not to mention our godforsaken down coats. I’m ready for cocktails that’ll elevate my mood and jolt me out of my pandemic-enhanced cold-weather blues. And enjoying a superbly made margarita does just that and never disappoints: There’s seriously no going wrong here, especially when you consider that margaritas are relatively easy to make.
As a week of historically low temperatures and dangerous power outages continues, many Dallas restaurants, cafes, and coffee shops have been forced to close their doors for days on end. Fortunately, a lucky few have access to the power (and heat!) that so many do not, and are opening their doors during limited hours to offer a bit of comfort during the winter storm.
After a tumultuous 2020, Dallas diners seem hungry for hope. Luckily — and amazingly — the future of our dining scene appears as vibrant as ever. 2021 will bring a delicious bite of nostalgia to the pie-shaped building at Commerce and Cesar Chavez Boulevard in Dallas. Restaurateur Nick Badovinus (Town Hearth, Neighborhood Services) is fascinated with the 100-year-old structure, which opened as a service station in the 1920s. It was home to KLIF-AM radio in the ‘60s and ‘70s. And in 2021, it’ll become National Anthem, a 10,000-square-foot restaurant with a rock ‘n’ roll identity.
Now that 2020 is finally — blessedly — coming to an end, now is the time to think about what comes next for the city’s restaurant industry after an especially brutal year. As restaurants continue to figure out how to operate in this brave new world of limited capacity, takeout and delivery, and an ever-changing slate of regulations, Eater reached out to the city’s top chefs and food writers with an important question: Where should the restaurant industry go next as it rebuilds?
With Christmas on the horizon, there’s starting to be the usual lull in restaurant news that always precedes the holidays. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t a few nuggets to digest. This round of Dallas restaurant news includes winter menus, truffles, and tiki cocktails.
When we first ran this blog post at the tail end of March, it was a slight scramble to get as many restaurants, bars, and markets into this living list as possible. Much like the eateries that were figuring out takeout, we were figuring out how to relay that information to you. As life has now—somehow, somewhat—settled, and many restaurants have reopened, everyone may have established their own personal risk assessments when it comes to dining out. Whether you’re going out, staying in, or doing a combination of the two, the big need for takeout and delivery isn’t going anywhere. It remains the safest ways to support your favorite restaurants. Tip like you’re dining in.
Dallas is the latest Texas city—after Austin and Houston—to secure a brick-and-mortar location of Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, an Ohio-based chain with a strong national following. CultureMap Dallas reported the scoop that an official spokesperson had no details about the timeline of the opening, in keeping with their habit of opening without fanfare. However, we suspect no matter how quietly they open the doors, everyone in Deep Ellum will know. Fans of their specialty ice cream flavors—think goat cheese and roasted cherries or vegan cold brew with coconut cream—can choose between a single scoop or multiple half scoops.
Nearly 50 years after The Grape opened in Dallas, the now-closed restaurant space will get new life. Chas Martin, who operates upscale Italian restaurant The Charles in the Dallas Design District, is working on a new restaurant in East Dallas that’s expected to open in 2021.
This year, the biggest party of the Dallas and Fort Worth food and beverage scenes came right to your living room. CultureMap’s Tastemaker Awards — Virtual Edition brought all the delicious and innovative ideas from our cities’ best chefs and bartenders straight to you, courtesy of Tasting Totes that were brimming with goodies.
The statuses of restaurants are changing regularly, and we’re here to provide an update to the Top 100 Restaurants, a list developed by Observer critic Brian Reinhart for 2020. We will do our best to keep this list up to date (feel free to email us those changes), and we’ll provide information on more restaurants soon. For now, here’s what some of our favorite places are up to these days:
The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards is our annual celebration of Dallas’ top restaurant and bar talent, as selected by their peers. Our mission is to shine a spotlight on the people making the local restaurant scene special and honor their innovation, energy, and creativity.
In a year that has left the food and beverage industry devastated from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dallas-Fort Worth’s talented and hard-working culinary stars deserved — more than ever — to be recognized and celebrated at the 2020 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards
The coronavirus has put much on hold, but it hasn’t defeated the 2020 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, our annual celebration of the best in Dallas-Fort Worth food and drink where we spotlight bars, chefs, and restaurants. It’s our way of honoring the extraordinary spirit of the Dallas-Fort Worth culinary scene.
We may be in strange times right now but that won’t stop us from celebrating, in a mildly wistful way, the best of Dallas food and drink, with our annual CultureMap Tastemaker Awards.
The steady hum of much needed interpersonal connection filled the space, the occasional percussive beats of laughter punctuated the atmosphere, then quieted, leaving a brief pause for me to hear the background music.
On April 27, Governor Greg Abbott proclaimed that restaurants, in addition to other businesses, could open at 25% capacity as part of a phased opening of the state of Texas. That leaves restaurants with a decision to make: try to open up at 25% or keep on keepin’ on.
A slew of Dallas restaurants plan to open on Friday, but there’s also plenty that will stick to take-out for now. Scope out this list of spots that are continuing takeout and delivery service, but choosing to skip dine-in service for now.
While we social distance to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it’s important to stay healthy, hydrated and happy — things you can accomplish by getting exercise and enjoying a good meal. Plus, when you get food to go, you’re supporting businesses that are now struggling every day to make sure they’re still around when we come out of this.
In reporting on our city’s take-out high-end dining options, in a piece that went live yesterday, I plunged, momentarily, back into a world I’d abandoned. A world left in suspension since March when restaurant dining rooms closed and coronavirus shutdowns forced us to halt in our tracks.
When, on March 16, the city decreed restaurants could not serve dine-in customers, some of the city’s most creative chefs adapted, shifting towards takeout. They devised ways to pack up chicken-liver pâté with toast points and housemade ice cream to lay atop elaborate desserts.
A self-proclaimed “Italian-ish” restaurant in the Design District, The Charles serves some of the best pastas in the city. A collaboration between Chas Martin, Sees Design, and chef J. Chastain, the interior of the restaurant definitely has some eclectic vibes with marble and golden fixtures including a snake mirror.
An online Dallas fundraiser is simultaneously supporting area restaurants and feeding children in need. It’s called ‘Kids Save Dallas Restaurants’ and it’s already raised over $60,000. Dallas residents Alexis Smith and Alex Perry came up with the idea.
“We both have friends in the restaurant industry and we just wanted to give back to them,” said Smith. One gesture great into another: helping feed the vulnerable.
While self-quarantining may be a tad boring, our dinner plans certainly don’t have to be. Thanks to new takeout menus, daily specials and curbside pickup and delivery options, fine-dining has never been more accessible. From steakhouses to seafood and sushi eateries, Dallas’ top restos are giving us the luxe experience we’re craving right now.
Something good to read — something that shows the beauty in life — is more important than ever these days. PaperCity magazine’s April print issue is packed with examples of both. It’s also available to pick-up (for free as usual) at numerous spots throughout Dallas.
Just because you’re safely social distancing does not mean you have to go without your physical copy of PaperCity. This month’s issue looks “Onward.” The magazine’s famed style pages focus on the “Abstraction of Color.” We also highlight the successful collaborations of designer Philip Thomas Vanderford and art consultant Jennifer Klos, take a pilgrimage to Liliana Bloch’s new art gallery and deconstruct spring fashion. With Dallas’ restaurant scene reeling from the complete closure of dining rooms as part of the fight to flatten the coronavirus curve, the issue also spotlights some eateries you’ll definitely want to have on your must-visit list for when everyone can go out again.
During Dallas’s unprecedented shelter-in-place times, some restaurants are getting creative by flipping into mini marts as an added revenue stream during the coronavirus pandemic. Along with takeout and delivery menus during the dine-in ban, newly added market essentials and grocery kits are designed to help customers make their own meals at home.
The local food and beverage scene has been hit hard by the public’s inability to visit restaurants and bars. The shift to takeout only—or, for many, temporary closure—has required restaurateurs to move fast and make big, often painful adjustments. Staffing and pay cuts, operating hour reductions, and changes to inventory ordering and menu items are among the many actions food-industry business owners have taken to adapt—and stay afloat.
Dallas, along with an increasing number of cities, has closed on-site dining at all restaurants and bars to prevent the spread of coronavirus. Some have shut down operations entirely, hopefully on a temporary basis. But many are offering part or all of their menus on a takeout basis.
Some restaurants are using third-party delivery services like Uber Eats and Favor. Some are taking on delivery themselves. Nearly all offer to-go, which you can pick up at the restaurant. Some are doing curbside delivery, where you pull up and they bring your order to your car.
Craving Italian fare? Hoodline crunched the numbers to find the most exceptional upscale Italian restaurants around Dallas, using both Yelp data and our own secret sauce to produce a ranked list of where to fill the bill.
A redheaded hostess leads me through a dark parking lot. My friend and I were at The Charles, a swanky Italian-inspired eatery in the Design District, listening to the guy next to us eat octopus and talk about how he got LASIK right before his sister’s debutante ball, when we heard mention of a new club around the corner. We quickly set off with the hostess in search of it. She explains that the owners of The Charles bought the back portion of the locksmith next door and opened Bar Charles there in December.
With an influx of exciting developments, including the addition of new bars (Hi, Bar Charles), restaurants, and the recent debut of Virgin Hotels Dallas, the Dallas Design District is due for its first major live music venue. Thankfully, in just a few short months, Mark Cuban and Live Nation Entertainment will gift the neighborhood with The HiFi (situated in the former furniture store space next door to the Dallas Mavericks’ training facility), which has set out to be as big on sound quality as it is on creating an intimate environment.
Anew, swanky champagne bar has opened behind the Dallas Design District’s most Italian-ish restaurant, The Charles. An expansion of the restaurant that opened in 2018, Bar Charles is located at 1632 Market Center Boulevard.
The new bar provides a place for guests of The Charles to wait for their tables to be ready while sipping on craft cocktails, wine and champagne, as well as small appetizers. It also welcomes people to come hang out separately on their own or with a private event party.
Dallas’ Design District is an oft underrated neighborhood when it comes to food and nightlife. It’s primarily known for its many art galleries, design studios and showrooms. But, did you know that the area also boasts several great restaurants, breweries, coffee shops and entertainment hotspots?
Editor’s note: The Dallas restaurant and bar scene is constantly changing, with new hotspots, must-try places and major food events coming along on a daily basis. Even the most dedicated foodie can have trouble keeping up. Don’t worry, PaperCity has you covered.
With such a momentous food year in Dallas, we can’t forget to recognize the stellar bars that we’ve seen crop up across Dallas-Fort Worth. And there were quite a few. So, in no particular order, we’re ready to crown our own winners of Best New Bars of 2019.
If you’ve ever tried to score one of the dozen seats at the bar at the Charles, the Design District’s swinging party of an Italian restaurant, it will come as very good news that another 60 spots are about to open up.
Anew bar is coming to the Design District. Or, a new bar attached to an existing restaurant to be more specific. Bar Charles is set to open on December 10. This is The Charles restaurant’s new private dining and cocktail and champagne bar.
ADallas Design District restaurant has spawned a new bar. The Charles, the Italian restaurant at 1632 Market Center Blvd. will open a private dining and cocktail/champagne bar called Bar Charles. The bar is nestled on the backside of the restaurant, with entry through the back alleyway.
On Tuesday, December 10, Design District Italian nightly eatery, The Charles, will open its private dining and cocktail and champagne bar aptly named, Bar Charles. The 1,700 square foot space is nestled on the backside of the authentic restaurant – with entry through the back alleyway
Bar Charles, a swanky new addition to popular Italian eatery the Charles, is officially set to kick open the doors next week. The new bar, located in a 1,700 square foot space that’s located behind the Charles’s main dining room, is described by its owners as a “testament to maximalism.” Designed by Sees Design and William Baker, the space is packed with indulgent Italian influenced-pieces, including plush velvet seating, bubble lamps designed by George Nelson, and a sophisticated antique fireplace.
