Elephant East, the Harwood District’s New Pan-Asian Eatery, Is Now Open

Dallas is home to literally hundreds of restaurants, and even in the midst of a pandemic, new spots are popping up constantly. It’s tough to keep up with every single new eatery that’s debuted in recent weeks, but here are six brand new openings to know about right now.

Harwood District, the ultra-walkable development known for restaurants like Harwood Pub, Magnolias Sous Le Pont, and Mercat Bistro, adds another restaurant to its roster with the opening of Elephant East, a playful pan-Asian eatery. Chef Thomas Griffin, who previously ran the kitchen at Asian restaurant Banyan Bar in Boston, has created a menu of dishes like house-made bao with pork belly, cucumber, pickled shallots, and apple char siu; Korean-style popcorn fried chicken with soy garlic sauce, gochujang BBQ, furikake rice, and kimchi; and Singapore noodles with Chinese sausage, Napa cabbage, snow peas, and yellow curry. Elephant East opened October 21 in Harwood’s La Rue Purdue, or “hidden street”, the European-inspired alleyway at the base of the office tower Harwood No. 10. 2850 N Harwood Street, Suite 120

Check out more DFW openings below:

Hot Chicks

Dallas’s Nashville hot chicken trend continues with the third location of Hot Chicks, which opened October 18 at 5609 SMU Boulevard. Expect scratch-made, Halal, dairy-free, peanut-free hot chicken with heat levels varying from none to “Hot AF.” 5609 SMU Boulevard

Stix Icehouse

McKinney’s newest hangout is a massive 14-acre indoor/outdoor bar and restaurant complete with a disc golf course, wiffle ball, corn hole, ping pong, swings, and a tree house. The menu features dishes like grilled bourbon salmon, fish and chips, and chicken fried chicken. 301 Eldorado Parkway

Spatch Kitchen and Cocktails and Sonny and Sons

Focusing on Southern food, Spatch, which opened Tuesday, October 26, includes dishes like haystack fries with bacon and sour cream, chicken meatballs, sugar beet salad with berries and goat cheese, and blackened redfish. Sibling concept Sonny and Sons, which shares the building at 5000 Belt Line Road, is a fast-casual restaurant serving all manner of chicken, from half and quarter roasted birds to tenders, sandwiches, and more. No word yet on an opening date for Sonny’s, but Spatch is already serving dinner and lunch on the weekends. 5000 Belt Line Road

Hawkers

This street food restaurant, inspired by the cuisine in countries like China, Thailand, and Malaysia, will open in Deep Ellum on November 3.

As previously reported, the restaurant was founded in Orlando, Florida by four friends who were inspired by regular trips to Asia over the years. Two of those friends have roots in Hong Kong and Malaysia, and their families’ recipes help make up some of the menu. Diners can expect dishes like roti canai, curry laksa, Korean-style wings, and udon. 2800 Main Street

Malai Kitchen

The beloved small Dallas chain known for its modern Thai and Vietnamese cuisine is opening a fourth location at Preston Center on Tuesday, November 2. Diners can expect dishes like banh mi, pad Thai with wok-seared shrimp, Vietnamese-style char-grilled meatballs, and Thai Tacos (a choice of seared pork or shrimp tucked into a crispy wonton and topped with pickled bean sprouts). 6130 Luther Lane