If your Saturday routine runs through Preston Royal for a grocery run, a haircut, or a bank deposit, you've probably driven past the old Spec's building a dozen times without giving it a second look. Same with the space that used to hold Anchor Sushi Bar. Both sat there for years as the kind of storefronts you register without reading. That changed twice in one summer.
Between mid-June and mid-August 2026, Preston Royal Shopping Center swapped out two of its larger tenants for restaurants that Dallas food writers had been tracking for months. Neither opening was a rumor that fizzled. Both happened, both are open now, and together they say something about this particular stretch of Preston Road that a single new restaurant wouldn't.
The Corner That Landed Two Restaurants In Eight Weeks
The first to open was Palladino's Steak & Seafood, from restaurateur Joseph Palladino, a former NYPD officer who built his Dallas reputation on Nick & Sam's Steakhouse and the Coal Vines pizza chain before taking a steakhouse concept to New York's Grand Central Terminal. That New York location became one of the buzzier restaurant debuts anywhere in the country, drawing coverage from Eater and the New York Post. Palladino's Dallas follow-up opened June 16, 2026, at 5959 Royal Lane, in the old Spec's space at Preston and Royal, after the shopping center's landlords approached him directly about the location.
The build reflects that pedigree. The Dallas location was designed by Rockwell Group, the same firm behind the New York restaurant, and the kitchen is run by executive chef Sam Hazen, whose résumé includes stints at the Michelin three-star Le Gavroche and Tavern on the Green. Palladino has said the decision to bring a second location here specifically, rather than elsewhere in Dallas, came down to the neighborhood itself.
"Dallas has played such an important role in my story as an entrepreneur."
Eight weeks later, on August 10, El Molino opened its second location a few doors down at 6025 Royal Lane, in the space that used to be Anchor Sushi Bar. This isn't a smaller satellite of the original Snider Plaza restaurant. Vandelay Companies, the group behind El Molino, built out a larger footprint here specifically to handle demand that the first location couldn't keep up with, according to founder and CEO Hunter Pond, who has said the response to the original since its debut has exceeded expectations.
Here's what changed hands, and when:
| Space | Previous Tenant | New Tenant | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5959 Royal Ln. | Spec's | Palladino's Steak & Seafood | June 16, 2026 |
| 6025 Royal Ln., Ste. 250 | Anchor Sushi Bar | El Molino (2nd location) | August 10, 2026 |
Two operators, neither connected to the other, picked the same shopping center within two months of each other. That's not a coincidence worth shrugging off. A steakhouse group expanding out of Grand Central Terminal and a Tex-Mex concept outgrowing its original Snider Plaza space landed on the identical conclusion about where to put their next bet.
What Moved In Elsewhere In The Neighborhood
Preston Royal wasn't the only address in Preston Hollow to see a kitchen change hands this year. Cantina La Rosa, a new Tex-Mex spot from the team behind East Dallas's Smoky Rose, opened in the former Fernando's space in Preston Hollow. The project pairs Smoky Rose executive chef Rolando Garcia and co-owner Oscar Aroche with first-time restaurateur Cameron Levine and David Tripplehorn Cash, who also co-owns Goodwins. It's a different address than the Preston Royal openings, but it points to the same pattern: familiar Dallas kitchen teams are choosing existing Preston Hollow real estate over building new.
That's worth noting because it's not how most of 2026's headline Dallas restaurant news has read. The Design District has spent the year absorbing splashy new construction like Delilah and Docent Steak. Preston Hollow's version of the same energy has played out inside buildings that were already standing, with names most residents wouldn't have written down until they reopened.
What Hasn't Changed
Not every good meal in Preston Hollow requires a reservation app refresh. A few names have stayed exactly where they've been, and they're worth remembering precisely because the newcomers are getting all the attention.
D.L. Mack's has held its Preston Hollow spot as a warm, elevated dining room built around a strong cocktail and wine list, with the kind of polished woods and comfortable booths that read more like a Chicago neighborhood spot than a Dallas one. Regulars mention the spicy rigatoni with chicken and the honey truffle chicken pizza as the two dishes that keep them coming back, and if you're trying to avoid a wait, weekday lunch or an early evening before the Friday 7 p.m. crowd is your best window.
Bobbie's has been serving hand-cut steaks and seafood in the heart of Preston Hollow with a live-fire grill that burns Texas post oak, a full bar, and a patio with a fire pit. It runs a Sunday night prime rib that's become its own kind of local tradition, alongside a full lunch and dinner menu available all day.
And The Mercury has quietly been one of Dallas's more decorated fine dining rooms since 1998, long enough to predate almost everything else on this list. Executive chef and partner Chris Ward has picked up a Rising Star Chef nod from the James Beard House Foundation and a Best Chef in Dallas title from D Magazine, all while keeping the room itself understated rather than trying to compete with whatever opened most recently down the street.
The Practical Version
If you've been defaulting to the same two or three places for a weeknight dinner because that's what's always been there, Preston Royal now gives you a reason to break the habit without driving anywhere new. The old Spec's building has a steakhouse with a Rockwell Group build-out and a chef who trained under Michelin three-star kitchens. The old Anchor Sushi space has a Tex-Mex concept that outgrew its original home and doubled down on this corner instead of somewhere flashier.
None of that required a construction crane or a rezoning fight. It required two operators separately deciding this particular stretch of Preston Road was worth betting on, in buildings that had been sitting there the whole time.
If a move within Preston Hollow, or into it, ever ends up on your list, the same local read applies to real estate as it does to restaurants: knowing which corner is actually changing, and why, is worth more than knowing the address. That's the kind of ground-level read the team at The B.A.R. Group builds into every conversation about this neighborhood. Contact The B.A.R. Group whenever you're ready to talk specifics.
