New! Improved! Morton’s Steakhouse To Open in Uptown Dallas Next Month

(weird name, great food) will open their Uptown location on February 24, leaving Dallas with a new, improved Morton’s steakhouse but shuttering their 23-year-old downtown Elm Street restaurant after dinner service on Valentine’s Day, February 14. (We broke the news here.) The Uptown location, on McKinney Avenue, will occupy the old Grotto space. Here’s what the exterior will look like when it’s completed later this month.

An artist's rendering of the new Morton's

I’ve been a fan of Morton’s steaks for quite some time. When I first reviewed the existing Morton’s for the Dallas Morning News, in 2003, I awarded it four stars. Since then, the dining experience has greatly improved. I’ve included it in my lists of best steakhouses in Dallas for both Modern Luxury Magazine, and, before than, at the DMN. I love the speakeasy, subterranean feel, the low ceilings, the classic b&w golf photos on the walls. Those niceties will be left behind in the bigger, brassier Uptown location, but that’s okay. I know the food can carry the load.

Morton’s is entering a crowded steakhouse neighborhood, with chef Samir Dhurandir’s terrific Nick and Sam’s Steakhosue down the road and Capital Grille across the street. (No GM in Dallas works a room better than Cap Grille’s Greg Cavanaugh).

Can Dallas really fill another steakhouse? I think so. In fact, I think the new Capital Grille, which is taking over the Williams-Sonoma space across from Bob’s Steak and Chop House off Legacy Drive in Plano, will do just fine.