Texas Monthly adds and updates approximately sixty restaurant listings to our Dining Guide each month. There’s limited space in the print issue, but the entire searchable guide to the best of Texas cuisine is at your fingertips online!

Below are a few highlights from the new restaurants reviewed in our October 2021 issue. Click “More Info” for further detail on each restaurant:

Marfa

Para Llevar

The name, Spanish for “takeout,” is apt for this West Texas outpost. Opened just weeks before the pandemic, the self-described bodega and deli was wise to make its “dining room” a tree-shaded courtyard. Wood-fired pizzas are the main thing here, with the occasional sandwich or salad on offer. We chose the Margherita and the smoked chicken and pesto, both of which arrived with high-rise, wood ash–dusted crusts. The house-made tomato sauce on the Margherita was a revelation, but it was the pickled red onions and roasted peppers atop the chicken pie that made that one our favorite. Order the spicy pimento cheese dip with a plain pie crust. Inside find tempting takeaways like prepared meals, pastries, and beer and wine. 

Pizza | ⭑⭑ | $$ | More Info

Dallas

Loro

Austin’s Aaron Franklin (of barbecue fame) and Tyson Cole (Uchi) have blessed East Dallas with the first outpost of their Asian smokehouse. Wonton chips with Thai green salsa make an addictive starter, perfect with a frozen gin and tonic. The pricey brisket is exceptionally tender and sold à la carte with tangy-sweet chile gastrique and fresh Thai herbs. Even better is the grilled bavette steak topped with a vibrant shishito pepper salsa verde. A rice bowl with oak-smoked salmon nests a moist filet in coconut rice with pickled cabbage and a tangle of bright herbs; a chile-shallot-vinegar sauce adds zing.

Asian | ⭑⭑⭑ | $$ | More Info

The curried brisket rice at Loro in Dallas.
The curried brisket rice at Loro in Dallas. Courtesy of Hai Hospitality
An assortment of cocktails at the Moon's Daughters in San Antonio.
An assortment of cocktails at the Moon’s Daughters in San Antonio. Courtesy of Thompson San Antonio Riverwalk
San Antonio

The Moon’s Daughters

Sleek and sexy, with an expansive view and a bustling bar, this new twentieth-floor spot in the Thompson hotel is a romantic addition to downtown. And the food shines far brighter than standard bar nibbles. From the high-concept Med menu, consider the pillowy hay-and-straw gnudi, crunchy calamari laden with preserved lemon, and sesame-coated chicken schnitzel on a challah bun. Reservations are a must, as this is the rooftop to land upon these days.

Mediterranean | ⭑⭑⭑ | $$$ | More Info

Austin

Sammie’s

You may miss Hut’s, but you’d be remiss if you didn’t pay a visit to this upscale red-sauce joint. As you’d expect from McGuire Moorman, every detail is attended to, from the lampshade chandeliers and vintage family photos to the red-jacketed servers. As for the enticing menu, best of luck choosing. Or do like we did and order almost all of it, a decision that resulted in our waddling out the door laden with to-go boxes full of luxe pappardelle with black truffle, grilled prawns awash in vinegar and butter, at least a pound of chicken parmigiana, and even a few house-made mozzarella sticks.

Italian | ⭑⭑⭑ | $$$ | More Info

Houston

Da Gama

This sparkling Heights restaurant in the M-K-T development, brought to you by the geniuses behind Oporto, is a magical mix of Anglo-Indian and Portuguese food by way of colonial Goa. Bullet naan (a spicy take on the original) comes swiped with garlic butter sauce and is perfect for scooping up the aloo gobi bravas (crispy fried potatoes and cauliflower), creamy Goan fish stew (snapper, shrimp, and crab in a turmeric-coconut curry masala), and mishkaki, East African–inspired skewers of beef tenderloin with yuca and raita.

Indian | ⭑⭑⭑ | $$ | More Info

Rating System

Our reviews are written by critics who live in the cities and regions they cover. They remain anonymous to ensure that they receive no special treatment. The magazine pays for all meals and accepts no advertising or other consideration in exchange for a listing. Comments? .