North Dallas diners have a new favorite destination for sophisticated sips and shareable bites. Palate, a charming and intimate venue where the comfort of connection and the delight of shared experiences shine, is now open at 17390 Preston Road, Suite 246, in Dallas.
Owners Tom Burt and Christopher White felt like all the pieces fell into place when they decided to create a wine bar and bistro adjacent to Lekka Retail Concepts, their popular gift and home décor store. After relocating to Preston Trails shopping center in 2023, they collaborated with the landlord on the vision for the space. A store customer, Roger Pavlovich, agreed to partner with them on the design and buildout. Most importantly, two separate store customers introduced them to their executive chef, Eddie Ledesma-Porter, and general manager, Zach Zielke. It was as if it were meant to be.
But it took more than a series of chance happenings to create Palate. It took intentionality and attention to detail to create this beautiful jewel box of a restaurant. While neither Burt nor White had a background in restaurants, they knew what they wanted Palate to be. As residents of the North Dallas neighborhood where the restaurant is located, they wanted to create a place with a sense of community.
“We wanted a place where we could not only bring our friends, but a place where everyone could make new friends,” explained Burt.
White’s background includes decades with America’s top retailers, including Macy’s, Saks Fifth Avenue and JCPenney. Burt’s career has been in human resources, most recently with Children’s Health.
When the pair acquired Lekka Retail Concepts in 2018, they purposefully found ways to partner with the local arts community, and that artistic inspiration is a clear part of the Palate vision as well. The restaurant’s name references both a culinary palate as well as an artistic palette. The restaurant walls are literally a gallery of local art, all of it for sale. Eclectic hand-blown glass chandeliers bring light and energy to the space. A collection of Ginkgo trees create a sense of space above a wishing well-inspired space for wine corks, collected to preserve memories created while at Palate.
Finding Chef Eddie Ledesma-Porter was a real catalyst for the project. A CIA graduate and certified sommelier, Ledesma-Porter brought an impressive culinary history and a shared vision for the space. Previous experiences at Ritz-Carlton and Cameron Mitchell Restaurants (Ocean Prime) gave him an appreciation for gracious hospitality and fine dining. However, the casual intimacy of Palate allowed the chef to create a menu that celebrates flavor while engaging diners in a more social surrounding.
“Food is meant to be shared,” Ledesma-Porter said. “Seeing Tom and Christopher’s vision for Palate, it was clear that we needed to create a menu designed to create a sense of community brought together by great food.”
While the restaurant offers a complete menu of craft cocktails, the team wanted to celebrate the role that wine can play in a culinary experience.
“For us, wine became the canvas, and food became the paint,” Burt said, echoing the premise behind the restaurant’s name.
Palate’s shareables menu runs the gamut from Mediterranean-inspired dishes like rustico meatballs, Tuscan hummus and patatas bravas to wine country staples such as duck confit sliders, citrus-marinated olives and whipped goat cheese. A curated collection of flatbreads brings big flavors, including a homemade sausage and sage and a pork al pastor with a warming ancho tomato sauce, caramelized onion and lime crema.
An ample array of salads and soups provides the perfect lunch menu. Favorites include a signature house salad with caramel spiced walnuts, goat cheese, tart apple and a Champagne vinaigrette, and a Sirtaki Greek salad, named for the acclaimed dance of that region. Soups include a Southwestern-inspired chicken tomatillo and a creamy vegan cauliflower cashew soup. A collection of handhelds rounds out the entrees.
The restaurant offers a rotating menu of desserts, including the Palate cookie box, a selection of three different house-made baked treats designed to be taken home or eaten in the restaurant.
“So often at the end of the meal, you’re not prepared to have a dessert,” noted White. “However, once you arrive at home, it’s nice to have that little nibble to end the day perfectly.”
The menu offers real meal options for those who are gluten-sensitive, vegetarian or vegan.
Ledesma-Porter is particularly proud of the range and diversity of the wine selection on Palate’s menu. His favorites include a Pierre Sparr Cremant carefully made with whole cluster fermentation and Argyle’s Bloom House Pinot Noir. The restaurant even offers an acclaimed Châteauneuf-du-Pape at under $100 per bottle.
“Every bottle of wine tells a story, and food should also tell a story,” Ledesma-Porter said. “We want to craft it with some love and take our time to make sure that it is delicious and right.”
Palate is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sundays. The restaurant is closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Reservations can be made at PalatebyLRC.com.
Palate by LRC
17390 Preston Rd., Suite 246, Dallas, TX 75252
(972) 863-8182
PalatebyLRC.com