9 new Dallas restaurants and bars on Greenville Avenue in 2022

In 2021, the southernmost sector of Greenville Avenue in Dallas saw a dramatic rebirth. Some of East Dallas’ most upscale restaurants opened, to much fanfare from food-lovers in the area.

There’s Shoyo, an omakase restaurant that serves beautiful Japanese food in a tiny, 12-seat room. Rye serves a menu of surprising food next-door to Apothecary, one of Dallas’ most intriguing cocktail bars. Carte Blanche sells beautiful pastries.

The eating’s never been better on Greenville Avenue in Dallas.

Jon Hetzel, partner at real estate company Madison Partners, has placed many of the new restaurants on the block, and he’s actively adding more small businesses.

“I believe Lower Greenville is one of the best fine dining restaurant spots in the city. We haven’t had this concentration of fine dining on Lower Greenville, ever. I think that’s a testament to how the area has evolved,” he says.

The movement on Greenville extends north, too, as far as University Boulevard. Here’s a look at what’s coming.

Restaurants coming in 2022 to Greenville Avenue in Dallas

Start on Upper Greenville, around University Boulevard and Greenville Avenue in East Dallas, and move south.

Gone is Caribbean’s Shark, a “drive-through beachy seafood” restaurant that opened in March 2021 but didn’t last long. (Before it, a fast-food place named Start served healthy food to East Dallasites until it closed early in the pandemic.) Here, Project Pollo is expected to move in and serve vegan chicken sandwiches, CultureMap reports. It’s expected to open at 4814 Greenville Ave. in February 2022.

On the other side of Greenville Avenue, Filipino fast-food restaurant Jollibee is expected to open in a former Jack in the Box. Jollibee has been called the “McDonald’s of the Philippines,” valued at nearly $5 billion. The things to get are fried chicken, spaghetti topped with hot dogs and cheese, and peach-mango pies. It’s expected to open at 4703 Greenville Ave., in late 2022.

Moving south on Greenville Avenue, just a block west on SMU Boulevard, Goodbye Horses is a sports bar we called one of Dallas’ most exciting new spots of 2022. Owner Julian Barsotti — who operates Italian restaurants Nonna and Carbone’s — wants it to feel like a timeless college hangout, with big schooners of beer and classic bar food. It’s expected to open at 5629 SMU Blvd. — not on Greenville Avenue, but oh so close — in February 2022.

Now, speed down Greenville Avenue 2 miles. Lowest Greenville is a flurry of activity.

Chinese restaurant Fortune House is expected to move into the former Gung Ho restaurant space, next to HG Sply Co. Owner John Kim operates Fortune House in Irving and saw an opportunity to sell Shanghai staples like soup dumplings and fried pork buns in a Dallas neighborhood that needs more Chinese food. The original chef will be part of Fortune House’s expansion into Dallas. (Of note, Fortune House’s originating owner Yong “Lucy” Bei-Wang-Murphy — who was arrested in connection with a prostitution ring in 2019 — has not owned it since 2017.) The new Fortune House is expected to open at 2010A Greenville Ave. in April 2022.

Cocktail bar Hide is moving from its former home in Deep Ellum to Lowest Greenville. The new space will be two and a half times larger and will have a rooftop patio, taking over the former Eastside Social spot (which was formerly Nora, an Afghan restaurant Guy Fieri visited for an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Nora moved to Oak Cliff.) The construction and permitting for Hide in East Dallas have been delayed, but owner Nick Backlund hopes to get the bar open by April 2022. It’ll be at 1928 Greenville Ave.

After years of rumors, we now have confirmation that Starbucks will open on Lowest Greenville, in place of the longtime Taco Cabana, as first reported by the Advocate. A spokesperson from Starbucks confirmed the location to The Dallas Morning News and noted that it will have a drive-through. Longtime Dallasites might remember that spot on Greenville Avenue as Tango, a nightclub owned by restaurateur Shannon Wynne, who, today, operates Rodeo Goat, Meddlesome Moth and a few dozen other restaurants. In the ‘80s, six mechanical frog sculptures from artist Bob “Daddy-O” Wade were placed atop Tango, where they remained until late 2020. Starbucks is expected to open at 1827 Greenville Ave. at an 2022 unknown date.

An unnamed Italian restaurant owned by North Texas resident Leigh Hutchinson is expected to open in 2022 at 1806 Greenville Ave. No more is known yet.

2 new bars open now on Greenville Avenue

Meyboom Brasserie is a Belgian beer bar that’s serving drinks on the patio only, for now, weather permitting. This is the bar that was supposed to move into the former San Francisco Rose but then relocated a few blocks south, to 2100 Greenville Ave., formerly the Ragin’ Crab. Meyboom is open Thursday through Sunday until the renovations on the interior are complete.

A sultry upstairs bar named Milli opened at 1914 Greenville Ave. in September 2021. It a sibling concept to Leela’s Wine Bar. Owner Elias Pope also operates several other bars and restaurants in the neighborhood, including HG Sply Co. and Standard Service. Milli is a cocktail bar open just four nights a week, Wednesday through Saturday, from 7 p.m. to midnight.

Milli is one of the newest spots on Greenville, but many eateries opened in mid-2021 and were part of this dramatic new face of the neighborhood. Check out this story from June 2021 for a look at the high-profile eateries that opened before fall 2021.

Other news to know on Greenville Avenue

Construction crews are preparing three new spaces on Lowest Greenville, just south of HG Sply Co., near Oram Street. None of those spaces are expected to be restaurants.

But go a few blocks farther south, closer to Wabi House, and there’s room for several new food-related concepts. Ice cream? Cocktails? Time will tell. Those shops will be neighbors with The Gym of Social Mechanics, a fitness studio that is now located inside the former Good Records.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.