Three new restaurants and bars opened July 26, 2023, with the JW Marriott Hotel in the Arts District in downtown Dallas.
Executive chef Jonah Friedmann is overseeing the openings of Margaret’s, Vincent’s and 800 North.
Friedmann has been featured on NBC’s Texas Today and was the 2022 CultureMap Dallas Tastemaker Awards’ “Rising Star Chef.” He trained at the Culinary Institute of America and has years of experience in the hotel restaurant industry.
General manager Mike Culver said he hopes the restaurants attract locals in addition to hotel guests. The hotel is a few blocks from Arts District staples like the Dallas Museum of Art, Nasher Sculpture Center, Crow Museum of Asian Art, Meyerson Symphony Center and Winspear Opera House.
Margaret’s
Margaret’s, named for Dallas arts philanthropist Margaret McDermott, is a “ranch-to-table” restaurant on the hotel’s 11th floor. Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and brunch on the weekends, Friedmann said dishes are meant to be shared — and Instagrammed.
Local partners providing ingredients include Texas Fungus, Heartbrand Ranch, Yelibelly Chocolates and more.
The restaurant is also home to a hydroponic garden growing a rotation of herbs, such as lavender, rosemary and basil, that will be used in dishes and drinks.
One of Friedmann’s favorite Margaret’s dishes is a crispy octopus starter: “When you get it, it looks like the sea,” he said.
Another is a beef carpaccio topped with grapefruit zest, truffled horseradish crema and balsamic pecorino, served with a house barbecue sauce and jalapeño elote.
Vincent’s
Vincent’s is an outdoor rooftop bar that has a pool as well as direct views of the Arts District. Its menu consists of drinks and small bites.
Drink highlights include cocktails like “Welcome to the Arts District,” which has Aperol, Hendricks gin, foaming St. Germain and lemon; and “Texas Wild Flowers,” a mix of Grey Goose vodka, butterfly pea flower, lavender, soda and lemon.
Friedmann, who spent some time living in Maine, said one his favorite dishes from Vincent’s is the lobster roll. Another is the Wagyu beef musubi and crab cake.
Culver said he pictures people coming to Vincent’s for an evening happy hour, or to spend afternoons working remotely on the patio.
800 North
Friedmann’s favorite dish at 800 North, a ground-floor bar, is cattle corn. That’s caramel corn tossed in liquid nitrogen that creates a “dragon breath” effect.
“As you eat it, it’s cold, it’s refreshing, and smoke is coming out of your mouth,” he said. “It’s just fun, and it makes you smile.”
There are also truffle fries and cowboy toast, which is brioche bread topped with chicken liver mousse and a berry compote.
Friedmann said drinks at 800 North attempt to appeal to a broad audience, with more classic cocktails.
“We want things that are just as unique as well as composed as Margaret’s, but a little bit more of a smaller scale — easy to eat, easy to drink,” he said.
The JW Marriott Hotel is located at 800 North Harwood Street. Reservations for Margaret’s can be made at margaretsdallas.com. Both Margaret’s and Vincent’s are available to be booked for private events.
