Jonathan Thompson, author of The Best Digital Nomad Neighborhoods in Dallas, shares his picks for the city's top restaurants and bars, plus the best places for digital nomads to get work done like laptop-friendly cafes and hip coworking spaces.

The Best Restaurants in Dallas for Digital Nomads

Meridian: This popular high-end Brazilian restaurant serves thoughtful, beach-inspired dishes in a sleek environment. 

Pecan Lodge: Whichever way you cut it, BBQ is king in Texas–and Pecan Lodge is the place to enjoy it in Dallas. Order five pounds of meat or more and you can skip straight to the front of the line too. 

Knife: A buzzy steakhouse located inside the Highland Hotel, this restaurant serves divine dry-aged meats and boasts a creative cocktail list.  

Boulevardier: This legendary Bishop Arts eatery offers upscale French bistro fare, including an out-of-this-world bouillabaisse.

Mia’s Tex-Mex: A beloved no-frills Tex-Mex superstar, the quesadillas here are overflowing with ingredients and the chimichangas are bigger than your face. 

Monarch: The flagship restaurant at the stellar new Thompson Hotel, Monarch boasts a menu as mouthwatering as the views from its 49th-floor perch. The black truffle risotto, in particular, is absolutely delicious.

Neighborhood Services: A cozy neighborhood pub on Lovers Lane that punches considerably above its weight in the food category. Save some room for dessert—ideally the butterscotch pots de creme.

Petra and The Beast: Situated in an old service station in East Dallas, this multi-award-winning establishment serves a quirky menu featuring ingenious fermented and pickled elements. Join the serious foodies for the reservation-only six-course tasting menus on Saturday nights.  

Lucia: A tiny, chef-owned 36-seat restaurant buried in the pretty Bishop Arts District, that’s been serving some of the best Italian food in Dallas for more than a decade.  

Desert Racer: California-inspired plates are served in a glitzy taco garden at the lowest end of lively Lower Greenville Avenue. 

The Best Bars in Dallas for Digital Nomads

Midnight Rambler: Inspired by the dark glamour of old-school rock and roll, this popular speakeasy is tucked beneath The Joule, a hotel that is buzzing until 2 a.m. every night. 

The Tipsy Alchemist: High-end and hipster in equal measure, this Uptown hotspot produces delicious cocktails that look like they’ve been crafted by a mad scientist. Think test tubes, funnels, and liquid nitrogen. 

Truck Yard: Fun, retro beer garden with seating fashioned from old trailers, and eats from a rotating roster of upscale local food trucks. 

Lakewood Landing: Styling itself as “an upscale dive”, this bar doesn’t look like much from the outside but is magic within. It’s filled with warmth, laughter, and local characters—not to mention the best onion rings in Dallas. 

Parliament: A welcoming neighborhood cocktail bar in the heart of Uptown, Parliament’s patio is a popular people-watching spot. Its head bartender, the larger-than-life, fedora-wearing Lucky Campbell, is a bonafide Dallas legend. 

Libertine: A relaxed gastropub on buzzing Lower Greenville Avenue, boasting a superb selection of draft beers and great sharing plates. 

Apothecary: A sleek, avant-garde bar with a cocktail menu that will challenge your palate and blow your mind. Think drinks that numb your tongue, contain a dangling octopus tentacle or are fashioned from pasta sauce. 

Playground Bar: This quirky Uptown hangout has a seesaw, swings, and arcade games, where you can unleash your inner child over cocktails and tacos. 

Ebb and Flow: A high-end cocktail joint in Deep Ellum, this bar has a unique flower-covered ceiling and a legendary brunch menu. 

The Harwood Arms: An excellent, easygoing British-themed pub in Uptown, where you’ll not only find a fine selection of beer but also the best fish and chips on this side of the Atlantic. 

The Best Digital Nomad Cafes in Dallas

Sip Stir Coffee House: The pastries are superb at this modern, airy hangout at the base of the lively Mondrian building in Uptown.

Weekend: A hip, bright coffee space with plenty of tables and sofas at the back of Dallas’ coolest boutique hotel, The Joule. 

Toasted Coffee and Kitchen: Luscious coffee and creative grilled sandwiches are served in this airy, rustic-industrial space and there is a popular happy hour at the end of each day. 

Murray Street Coffee Shop: This is a legendary Deep Ellum hangout serving fantastic breakfast sandwiches, bagels, and kolaches, with loft-style seating upstairs for freelancers to enjoy. 

Fiction Coffee: A beautifully-appointed spot in the newly-renovated Continental Gin building, with plenty of cozy working nooks and cocktail service for when a day’s work is done.

The Best Coworking Spaces in Dallas for Digital Nomads

WeWork: The undisputed king of the DFW coworking scene, WeWork has seven locations in the area, including its flagship in a stellar Uptown perch on McKinney Avenue. 

‍FLOCC: A hub for creative freelancers in hipster-friendly Oak Cliff, FLOCC is full of local photographers, artists, and writers. It even has a shared photo studio on site. 

Caddo Lakewood: Tucked away in pretty Lakewood, Caddo’s Gaston Avenue location is within walking distance from some brilliant cafes, bars, and restaurants. It’s an excellent value for money and it has free garage parking on-site too. 

Common Desk: Airy, light, and welcoming, Common Desk locations have been a big hit across Texas. The stand-out star is this dynamic Deep Ellum location, where one of the city’s oldest buildings, the Continental Gin Building, has been reimagined for the future of work. 

Industrious Arts District: Brilliantly located in terms of both driving and public transportation access, Industrious’ Routh Street building also features best-in-class services and amenities.