Updated on Aug. 16, 2024 to include additional restaurants.
Last week, I asked readers of our Eat Drink weekly newsletter what long-gone North Texas restaurant they would resurrect if they could. The responses, diverse and passionate, poured in. People shared memories of nearly 150 beloved restaurants, from date night spots to childhood haunts, that have been lost to time.
One reader reminisced over 94th Aero Squadron, which was designed to look like a World War I military headquarters and had control tower radio chatter from Dallas Love Field Airport piped in for ambient noise while diners slurped French onion soup.
Another reader told tales of Old San Francisco Steakhouse where hunks of Swiss cheese and sourdough were brought out to start the meal and employees dressed in saloon attire soared above the bar on a giant swing.
The question prompted reader Lauren Law to dig through the restaurant matchbook collection she started in the 1980s.
“When I saw your email asking for restaurants we loved and wish could come back, I remembered my match collection and dumped it out on the sofa. My husband and I went through all of them and decided on all our favorites,” Law said.
Out of all of the reader responses, two restaurants were mentioned and mourned more than any others: Southern Kitchen and Steak and Ale. Dozens of readers wrote in to share their decades-long heartache over the departure of these two restaurants from Dallas’ dining scene. It’s probably no coincidence that the most missed restaurants were both known for offering good bang for your buck.
Southern Kitchen, described in a 1986 Dallas Morning News list of restaurant recommendations as “some ‘60s ideal of fine dining,” had an all-you-can-eat menu of shrimp, oysters, fried chicken, baked potatoes, hush puppies, biscuits and cinnamon rolls. The restaurant, which had two locations onNorthwest Highway, closed in 1987, according to The News’ records.
Steak and Ale, which was founded by Norman Brinker in Dallas in 1966, was widely loved for its salad bar, beef barley and laid-back atmosphere. It had hundreds of locations around the country in its heyday, but the brand took a nosedive and folded abruptly in 2008.
Southern Kitchen is long gone, but there’s some good news for the many fans of Steak and Ale. My colleague Sarah Blaskovich, who’s been following the planned return of Steak and Ale, says although it’s taking longer than expected, the steakhouse is still set to reopen in North Texas.
Here is the full list of departed North Texas restaurants readers miss the most, some of which were submitted more than once:
- 20 Feet Seafood
- 94th Aero Squadron
- Abacus
- Agnew’s (the original)
- Andrew’s
- Annie’s Santa Fe
- Atlantic Cafe
- August Moon
- Aurora
- Baby Doe’s Matchless Mine
- Baby Routh
- Balls Hamburgers
- Barbec’s
- Beats Biscuits
- Birraporettis
- Black Sea Pizza
- Black-eyed Pea
- Blue Goose
- Bob White’s BBQ
- Bob’s Big Boy
- Brass Rail
- Bullion
- Cardinal Puff’s
- Casa Milagro
- Casa Rosa
- Casa Rubia
- Chateaubriand
- Chez Girard
- Clara’s Kitchen
- Clare de Lune
- Club Schmitz
- Crazy Crab
- Cry Wolf
- Daddy Jack’s
- Daddy’s Money
- Dalts
- Deep Ellum Cafe
- Eight.0 Bar
- Fishmonger’s
- Flora Street Cafe
- Fran’s
- Frankie’s Little Europe
- FT33
- Gershwin’s
- Goff’s Burgers
- Good 2 Go Tacos
- Good Eats
- Great American Hero
- Greenville Avenue Bar & Grill
- Gus’ BBQ
- Hibiscus
- Highland Park Cafeteria
- Hofstetter’s
- Homewood
- Hotdog House
- Houston’s
- Humperdinks Brewpub
- Il Sorrento Old World Italian Cuisine
- Jagerstube
- Jamie’s Hamburgers
- Jay’s Marine Grill
- Jennivine
- Judge Bean’s
- Kathleen’s Art Cafe
- Khao Noodle Shop
- Kip’s
- Kirby’s
- La Duni
- La Trattoria Lombardi
- La Tunisia
- Lakewood Yacht Club
- Laszlo’s
- Lawry’s Prime Rib
- Les Saisons
- Little Bit of Sweden
- Little Gus’
- Loma Luna
- Lucas B&B
- Luna de Noche
- Mariano’s Mexican Cuisine
- Mario y Alberto’s
- Mario’s Chiquita
- Matt’s El Rancho
- Monica’s Aca y Alla
- Mr. Pepe’s
- Nazca Kitchen
- Nero
- Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head Sub Sandwich Shop
- Ninfa’s
- Nosh
- Off-Site Kitchen
- Old San Francisco Steakhouse
- Oporto’s
- Orleans
- Our House
- Ozona’s
- Pancho’s
- Paul’s Porterhouse
- Peggy Sue’s BBQ
- Perry’s
- Pizza Inn
- Pizza Villa
- Ports O’Call
- Prince Burgers (Prince of Hamburgers)
- Pyramid Room
- Raphael’s
- Rapscallion
- Ratcliff’s
- Red Barn
- Red Bryan’s
- Remington’s
- Ristorante La Piazza
- Routh Street Cafe
- Ruggeri’s
- Salve
- Sam’s Cafe
- Sambuca
- Samar
- Snookies
- Sol’s BBQ
- Southern Kitchen
- Spaghetti Warehouse
- Spanish Village Mexican Restaurant
- Stampede 66
- Star Canyon
- Steak and Ale
- Steve’s Ice Cream
- Swan Court
- Sweet Endings
- Taboo Room
- The Bronx
- The Castle
- The Dixie House
- The French Room (old version)
- The GACC (Greenville Avenue Country Club)
- The Grape
- The Green Room
- The Magic Pan
- The Mecca
- The Original Filling Station
- The Prohibition Room
- The Railhead
- The Randy Tar
- The Rib
- The Riviera
- Three Vikings
- Trader Vic’s
- Uncle Tai’s Hunan Yuan
- Vehon’s Half Shell
- Vern’s Place
- Victoria Station
- Vincent’s Seafood
- Wild About Harry’s
- Windjammer
- York Street Cafe
- Youngblood’s Fried Chicken
- Yutaka
- Zuider Zee
- Zuzu
