If 2024 was the year inflation altered how often we dined in Dallas-Fort Worth, 2025 will be the year we take back our seat at the table. Mark your calendars, my list includes 19 restaurants I think are worth visiting in the new year. GET READY FOR ALL-DAY CAFES One interesting throughline is an uptick in all-day cafes. These are places that will open at or before breakfast, then they stay open for lunch, dinner and drinks. Some will be open 18 hours a day, or more, which is rare. Since COVID, restaurants cut back their hours and we’re seeing a reversal fo that. EAST DALLAS ITALIAN STEAKHOUSE SERRITELLA All these places are so interesting. But if I have to pick one, I’m excited for an Italian steakhouse called Serritella opening in East Dallas. It’s where Matt’s Rancho Martinez served Tex-Mex on Skillman Street for nearly 35 years in Dallas. Serritella will have an all-day market but it will also have a steakhouse and a speakeasy. FORT WORTH’S VIETNAMESE RESTAURANT DUONG DEVILLE A Vietnamese restaurant called Duong DeVille is opening in Fort Worth by the end of 2025. The story behind the name is sweet: The owner’s dad bought a Cadillac DeVille in the ’80s. He was so proud of it, but he died shortly after he bought it and the car became something they remembered him by. Duong DeVille, the restaurant, will honor this woman’s father and will sell dumplings and other Vietnamese staples. COMING FIRST IN 2025: VAQUEROS IN ALLEN As for how long you have to wait for new restaurants, not long. In January, a barbecue joint called Vaqueros opens in Allen. This barbecue business started as a food truck in Grapevine, and the CEO of Mi Cocina took a liking to the food and offered to partner with the owner to open the first permanent Vaqueros restaurant. It’s first on my list, chronologically, but it’s also the only barbecue place on the list. This is one of my biggest writing projects of the year. There are 19 restaurants I named among the most exciting to open in D-FW in 2025, but I had more than 30 restaurants I wanted to include. And I interviewed at least 50 people for this story. I hope it’s a fun read.