Texas Monthly Declares Gemma, Knife, San Salvaje, Le Cep Amongst Best New Restaurants

Texas Monthly just released its annual list of the best new restaurants in Texas, and there's at least one surprise pick in there. First, it should be noted that to make TxMo's list, "a restaurant must have opened between November 1, 2013, and October 31, 2014, and it must be a first location." (That rules out places like the new Pecan Lodge, Lockhart Smokehouse in Plano, and Neighborhood Services Addison, all of which made the Dallas Morning News's recent best new restaurants list.)

Henderson Avenue's Gemma snagged the third spot, while Stephan Pyles' San Salvaje came in at number six, with John Tesar's Knife (which was notably absent from Leslie Brenner's list) just behind it in the seventh slot. Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, Fort Worth's refined French restaurant Le Cep grabbed the last spot in the top ten; it received a very positive review from the Star-Telegram but has gotten almost no attention from the Dallas food media.

Also noteworthy are the "honorable mentions," which include meaty Lower Greenville bar Blind Butcher, Oso Food & Wine, and Fort Worth's Clay Pigeon and Righteous Foods. The full ranked list, below:

No. 1 Caracol
Houston
No. 2 Olamaie
Austin
No. 3 Gemma
Dallas
No. 4 Pax Americana
Houston
No. 5 Odd Duck
Austin
No. 6 San Salvaje
Dallas
No. 7 Knife
Dallas
No. 8 Coltivare
Houston
No. 9 Starfish
San Antonio
No. 10 Le Cep
Fort Worth