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Dallas’s Italian cuisine scene will get even stronger with the arrival of Monarch, a swanky new eatery with Michelin star cachet that’s set to open its doors in Downtown next month.
The restaurant will make its debut on the 49th floor of the National building at 1405 Elm Street on March 10, according to a press release. It’s the first Dallas restaurant from Chicago chef Danny Grant, who helmed the kitchen at RIA when it earned a Michelin star in 2011. Currently, Grant is the executive chef off the much-lauded Maple & Ash, which Eater Chicago describes as one of the city’s best steakhouses.
At Monarch, look forward to a menu of dishes centered around the restaurant’s wood-fired grilled, ranging from roasted jumbo prawns charred with fennel pollen, salsa verde, and Calabrian chile to wood-roasted wagyu tomahawk steaks and fire-roasted octopus. Freshly made pastas, including “giant” bucatini cacio e pepe and oxtail-stuffed mezzaluna, are also on the menu. The restaurant will even boast its own saltwater shellfish tank, where diners can choose their own whole live Alaskan king crabs to be roasted over fire and served with crab butter, chili pepper jus, and “savory crunchies.”
Monarch isn’t the only eatery that’s soon set to debut inside the National. In the coming weeks, it will be joined by Kessaku up on the 50th floor of the National, a small 60-seat restaurant that will focus on sushi flown in from all over the world and an extensive selection of sake. It’s expected to arrive sometime at the end of March.
And because there’s still a pandemic going on, diners will be required to wear masks inside Monarch unless they are eating or drinking. Capacity will be limited to 50 percent in keeping with current Dallas County guidelines.
When it opens, Monarch will be open for dinner service 7 days a week, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations can be made via the restaurant’s website.
