The much-anticipated Knife Italian restaurant opens today at the Ritz-Carlton Las Colinas. Knife Italian is Michelin-starred Chef John Tesar’s first Italian restaurant, after winning awards and accolades with seafood and steakhouses in Dallas, Orlando, and California.
The Knife Italian menu is a testament to Tesar’s prodigious culinary skills, heavy with fresh, raw seafood and dry-aged steaks. And pasta. Lord, that pasta.
As many new restaurants do, Knife Italian hosted a friends and family training/dining experience to allow the kitchen and service staffs to implement their training on non-paying guests. I am one of the lucky ones who enjoyed a complimentary dinner before the restaurant opened to the public.
The two most exquisite dishes I tasted were the cacio e pepe and a steak. Yeah, two pretty common menu items, right? They’re uncommonly good here. The house-made pasta was light and creamy and had a unique flavor unlike any other cacio e pepe I’ve had before. The steak was sublime; the server confirmed that Chef Tesar only uses salt and pepper to season the steak. It was packed with flavor and had a nice crust on it. Excellent.
The kingfish crudo in mussel broth and the tuna crudo were also perfect. Though it sounds a little too rustic for the Ritz, the chicken and sausage dish is elevated comfort food and really delicious. Tesar makes the Italian sausage in-house with premium pork and you can tell it’s a high-quality product.
The restaurant looks a bit like the set designer from Poor Things had a hand in it; it’s fantastical and a contrast to the low-key elegance of the Ritz’s lobby bar. It’s a nice place to dress up and soak in the scenery.
The sommelier and wine director, Tiffany Tobey, curated an excellent wine list and has an easy, approachable demeanor for explaining the wines. Knife Italian also offers signature cocktails including Love & Anarchy, a complex drink that pairs herbaceous Averna and Cynar with lemon pea-infused gin and Italicus.
Reservations for Knife Italian can be made on OpenTable. The restaurant is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. And, though I haven’t tasted them, friends say the ricotta pancakes are off the chain good. So, that’s another reason for me to return.
I’ve always loved the resort that’s now Ritz-Carlton Las Colinas. For seven years, I planned the corporate golf tournament my former employer, Bank of Texas, hosted when it was the Four Seasons. I covered every inch of that place in a golf cart and always found it to be a little oasis. I’m really glad to have a reason to return, even better now that it’s the Ritz.
Knife Italian will also serve breakfast and lunch seven days a week. For breakfast, guests will have the opportunity to embark on two distinct culinary journeys: Italiano and Americano. The Italiano menu option will allow guests to enjoy classic Italian breakfast options, while the Americano breakfast will offer a traditional American breakfast. Meanwhile, lunch will showcase key items from the dinner menu along with some lighter fare, such as paninis, specialty salads, and more.
Knife Italian is open seven days a week for breakfast (6:30 to 11 a.m.), lunch (11 a.m. to 2 p.m.), and dinner (5 to 10 p.m.). Reservations will be available on OpenTable. For more details, visit Knife Italian’s website and follow along on Instagram @knife_italian.