All aboard Le PasSage, Dallas’ newest restaurant opening Oct. 18, 2024 on the edge of the Katy Trail.
The French-Asian restaurant is designed to taste like a trip outside of Dallas, as if the Orient Express rolled down the Katy Trail and welcomed curious gourmands into a luxury dining room. The menu is mostly Asian cuisine, but owner Stephan Courseau drew no boundaries. An evening at Le PasSage could include steamed Japanese eggplant, Vietnamese spring rolls, Cambodian ravioli, Chinese baby back ribs and Peking duck on the same table.
It’s not a fusion restaurant, Courseau said on a tour through the monochromatic room splashed in shades of plum. It’s an Asian restaurant — a glamorous one — that highlights the chefs’ favorite dishes from dozens of parts of the continent.
We called Le PasSage one of the most exciting restaurants to open in Dallas in 2024. It anchors The Terminal at Katy Trail, a new building with 16 luxury condos above it.
Next door to Le PasSage, the Rose Cafe is Courseau’s casual lunch and dinner spot that serves coffees, cocktails and after-dinner desserts. The Rose Cafe maintains similar flavors to Le PasSage — pork bao buns, lemongrass skewers and dumplings, to name three — but passersby can walk in off of the Katy Trail in workout clothing.
We can already picture garden parties at the Rose Cafe, with its windows and doors flung open to let the outside in. Glass cases with croissants and a soft serve ice cream machine bring charm to this all-day cafe.
This tandem of restaurants, one casual and one chic, will likely become two of Dallas’ most sought-after spots in late 2024. And that’s saying something, because within 2 miles of Le PasSage there’s the new $20 million Nuri Steakhouse, the flashy Mar y Sol, coming-soon Catch and others luring in Dallas diners. The time is right for Dallas’ bustling restaurant scene that will soon have Michelin attention for the first time.
Courseau is confident but not arrogant.
“We are very particular,” he said. “On everything.”
Risk and reward
French-born restaurateur Courseau took a risk with Le PasSage never before seen at his other restaurants, which include Georgie, Le Bilboquet, Knox Bistro and coming-soon Frenchie.
“It’s outside my comfort zone,” Courseau said of opening an Asian restaurant.
In the several years The Dallas Morning News has been discussing this restaurant project with Courseau, he’s been hiring chefs and convincing them to move to Dallas.
“What really mattered was finding the right people,” he said.
Bruno Davaillon, a fellow Frenchman who moved to Dallas originally to work at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, has been on Courseau’s team since 2020.
Courseau hired Hong Kong native Hou Lam “Dicky” Fung to be Le PasSage’s executive chef. Fung left a job at Mr. Chow in Las Vegas — one of Courseau’s favorite restaurants — enticed by the opportunity to work with the even-tempered, skilled Davaillon.
Also on the team is executive pastry chef Dyan Ng, who previously worked for Davaillon during his time in Vegas.
Dallas bartender George Kaiho, who left West Dallas bar Jettison (now closed), will work behind Le PasSage’s stunning white onyx bar. The restaurant’s menu includes 350 wine labels, more than 50 sakes and an emphasis on sake cocktails and Japanese whisky.
For those paying attention, Courseau has assembled a team of all-stars.
What to eat at Le PasSage
Le PasSage’s menu is Fung’s recipes, but they’re influenced by Davaillon’s French training.
Fung “has the audacity to try something new,” Courseau said.
He believes the resulting menu is challenging for the culinary team and curious for a diner.
Fans of Mr. Chow might find comfort in Le PasSage’s green prawns ($34), a dish of shamrock-colored shrimp made in homage to a similar stir-fried dish from Fung’s past job at Mr. Chow.
Shaking Beef ($56), made with cubes of filet mignon in a lime sauce, feels like it’s made for Texas carnivores. The five-spice duck breast ($42) is similarly intriguing and served with caramelized mango.
Chefs have added several vegan dishes to the menu. The steamed Japanese eggplant ($14) with crispy chili soy glaze and a punch of Thai basil is so comforting — spicy but not painful — you may overlook it’s also meat- and dairy-free.
“You can come here, eat vegan and don’t feel like you’re being punished,” Courseau said. Braised tofu with black shiitake mushrooms ($24) is another example.
If it seems like every Dallas restaurant these days are designed for sharing, they are. And Le PasSage plays along.
After a table enjoys steamed dumplings in shrimp (ha gao) or pork (shumai), large-format dishes are available, like whole fried snapper ($85) or ginger-scallion lobster ($95), which feed two, or Peking duck ($160), which feeds four.
Just call ahead on the duck: They need a few days’ notice.
Courseau encourages diners not to skip dessert. He’s right. Ng’s enthralling options include a brioche doughnut that’s proofed for more than 50 hours to develop its softness, then butter-poached and fried in beef fat. (Holy cow!)
Le PasSage and the Rose Cafe, located on the first floor of The Terminal, are at 4205 Buena Vista St., Dallas.
Le PasSage serves dinner seven days a week and lunch/brunch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Reservations are recommended.
The Rose Cafe serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and cocktails, seven days a week. No reservations.
