Belly & Trumpet

Full disclosure– we used to go here a lot. I don’t know why it’s taken me so long to get around to reviewing Belly & Trumpet. I loved everything about it, and unfortunately now it’s closed.

Fabulous! Great service and great food! The drinks are amazing! Recommend the pre-​fixed menu for the restaurant week, OMG so good!
Watermelon salad is a big big surprise, worth trying !
Highly recommended

Went here for restaurant week for a girls night out! Had a sampling of quite a few items. .
To start we had the tuna tartar and watermelon salad. The tuna was delicious, just enough to make us want more but not to fill us up. The tuna was light and flavorful and went great with the dressing. The watermelon was a little spicy (im not into spicy), but very tasty and had a lot of flavor with the nuts and chili!
The gnochi was very good. I especially liked the tomato, it had some kind of balsamic flavor to it and the combination of all with corn was tasty! It did have goat cheese in it, which I took out bc I don’t like goat cheese.
The hanger steak was oh so yummo! It was cooked medium rare with a pink center, very tender and moist and delectable to the palate.
The branzino was excellent and paired well with chimichuri sauce and couscous and veggies!
For dessert we had the bananas with a coconut sauce. I don’t like bananas but this was very good and sweet! The chocolate mousse was lite and fluffy and tasted just right! !

Came by with a friend for dinner and it didn’t disappoint either. I highly recommend this culinary gem in Uptown!

The dining experience at Belly & Trumpet was good.
Items ordered:
— Peach Sangria
— Tuna tartare
— Lobster /​Pork Belly
— Whole Branzino
The atmosphere is modern, cozy and unpretentious.
Wait staff was knowledgeable and attentive.
Cocktails: Peach Sangria is a must order for the hot summer days here in Texas. It was full of flavor. They topped it off with a sprig of mint and an ice cube with a slice of peach frozen within the cube.
Starter: Tuna tartare was exquisite, fresh. It came with a sliver of bok choy and sauces that complimented the fish.
Mains: Lobster /​Pork Belly: was good. The flavor is Thai coconut. Yummy. The Pork Belly was the star here. It had a crisp outer layer. Overall taste was smoky. Yum. Salted to perfection. But portion size was small. If you’re hungry, choose another dish.
Whole Branzino: Someone mentioned it wasn’t whole. It is. Well presented. Tasty. Fresh. Healthy. I would order again.
I may return. But at present B&T isn’t on my top 10 list. Top 30 more likely. This isn’t a knock against B&T. Just that Dallas has an abundance of foodie competition.

A must eat!
Adorable house that they renovated into a restaurant that has a fun patio along McKinney Ave.
They have very healthy but delicious meals. They also have a small herb garden that borders the patio/​deck that they use in the specials of the day.
Best of all, their eclectic style of food is AFORDABLE! Most dishes are under $ 30.

My friend and I had both been wanting to try this place. We get to have girls night only once and while so its fun to try new places. The restaurant itself is modern and quaint. Our server was very friendly and helpful with suggestion. We started off with the shishito peppers and peeky toe crab beignets. The shishito peppers were fair at best, not much favor and not blistered well enough. The peppers also came with macrona almond and olives which were delish. The crab beignets were nothing to brag about, they tasted just like battered fried crab with no seasonings so thank goodness for the pernod aioli.
For our second round we shard the gnocchi which was AMAZING, by far the best thing we had. Triple the order of that dish, make it about 27 bucks and I would come back for that as my main dish! All the favors were on point, the grilled paneer was a bonus to the dish, very yummy! Obviously I would recommend this dish!
For our main dish my friend and I shared the flank steak. It was very good! Cooked perfectly, the steak was served with an omelette kimchi and bok choy. I love kimchi but it was served in an omelette which was a little too different for me but my friend liked it. The bok choy was prepared very nicely and a good pairing with Asian style flank steak.
All and all our service was great but our food was ok! Lets just say I won’t be rushing back to eat there unless they serve me a HUGE bowl of gnocchi!

This place had potential! I love how they renovated then old Lumi. It’s more of a open space now. What so strange to me about this place is that we showed up 15 minutes early but the hostess had us waiting at the bar (the place wasn’t busy at all) because they didn’t want to offset the timing of the kitchen for our dinner. Perhaps it’s because we had a 4 course tasting? Anyhow, while we were at the bar we got the «Revolution Pimm» and «So Cal Flurry» and let me tell you I don’t care how bad or good it tasted I was just so amazed at the meticulous work that was put into the drinks. By the way… The drinks were pretty bomb.
Now let’s talk food!
We got the starter oyster that was from Massachusetts and adorned with I don’t know it’s called what but it was so good, it was like a white radish. Also the oyster was sitting on a huge bed of celery salt to keep it in place. Talk about presentation!
Smoked quail had the skin off and wasn’t gamey at all. Quail is a small bird so i was pleased that it wasn’t dry!
Branzino (European sea bass). Was flash fried whole with the head on and was light and flakey! It came with a side of couscous and a tomato and cucumber salad. I was very pleased with this light dish.
Filet with kim chi egg. Sliced filet on a flat omelette with a Kim chi mixed in, what can you go wrong with that right?
Our service was impeccable as well. We got our silverware changed with each course, water filled with only a few ci he’s below the rim of the glass, and extensive verbal descriptions of each dish!

My husband and celebrated our anniversary here. From the moment we walked in the door we were treated so well. We were immediately greeted with well wishes and complimentary glasses of champagne (very nice surprise!). We were dining off an abbreviated menu due to a groupon so we weren’t really given a choice on what we ordered, but what we had, from the first course through dessert was tasty and inventive. And yes, I know… anniversary AND using a coupon… pure class! But who are we trying to impress at this point?
We started with the baby beet salad and the gnocchi. Both delicious and very interesting. Then came the cornish game hen and the branzino. Again, nice combination of flavors and both very good. We then finished with goat cheese and the banana fritter. Third verse, same as the first (and second).
The service from Rebecca was flawless. She recommended the perfect wine that went well with each and every morsel that went in our mouths, from salad to dessert.
The look of the restaurant is lovely. As I said, the service was wonderful. The pacing of the courses seemed a tad quick for us, but not off-​putting or anything that made us feel like they wanted to rush out of there. I just would’ve prefered a slower dining experience in a place like this. I thought they could use some sound proofing in there since it got really loud, and that was just from conversations around us.
Overall it was a nice experience, but the portions were really too small to share and are overpriced for what you get.

We saw belly and trumpet in d magazine’s top ten restaurants so we ventured to dallas to try it. It is nestled in a cozy home in the midst of busy mckinney ave. The inside is eclectic yet quaint. Having read such markedly different reviews, we wanted to form our own opinion.
I am pretty sure there were only two waiters for the whole place. It took almost thirty minutes for us to get wine and the food took awhile to come out also. So service was poor… not because our waitress was bad but she was just overwhelmed and trying her best. I would think that a fine dining restaurant would have mastered some aspect of service. It was way too casual.
The wine list was sparse. They were out of the wine we ordered and they tried to substitute it with a much more expensive bottle. We tried several items such as the crab beignets, shisito peppers, foie gras terrine, steamed bun sliders, gnocchi, hanger steak, cornish hens, and beet involtini. The foie gras terrine was rich and luscious, the beet involtini had a different flavor and the cornish hens were cooked well. Nothing else blew us away and I was sad with our salty, dry gnocchi.
So I doubt we will be back. They need to improve on service big time and I understand that servers love to have more tables since it equals more money, but if you are trying to establish yourself as a «go to» fine dining establishment, you cant have these types of silly hiccups. The kitchen also needs to set a better pace for the meal. It shouldnt take three hours for the equivalent of three or four courses.
Oh…and there is only one bathroom each for males and females. Yikes.

We had quite a few dishes (too many to remember all!) and generally enjoyed our experience at Belly & Trumpet. The wine menu was good, and the stand-​out dish was the steamed buns. The décor was darling (but they should change their name – using the word «belly» in an upscale restaurant is just odd!).
I wish I could give it a higher star rating, but I just wasn’t super impressed – if I was that impressed, I would be able to remember more of the dishes we ordered. Overall, it was good but not fabulous, at least for that price tag.

Service was great, atmosphere was lovely, menu was interesting, portions were small, prices were high.
Ordered:
–Smoked Quail
–Beef Tongue Steam Buns
–Kentucky Ham
–Chicarrones
–Monkfish
–Half Rack of Lamb
–Cornish Game Hen
Everything was cooked and presented well enough, but nothing really stood out to me and impressed me, which is disappointing at this price point and how interesting the dishes sound on paper.
Some thoughts:
–Sauce in the beef tongue steam bun was too strong for me. It overpowered the flavor of the other elements.
–Cornish Game Hen was the best dish I tried. However, it seemed strange to me to order a cornish game hen, but then have it cut up & de-​boned already. I always thought that since it basically tastes like chicken, the whole purpose of using cornish game hen instead of chicken was for the presentation of serving a whole bird. Perhaps I am wrong about the taste, and more enlightened palates can taste the difference.
–Menu labels dishes as ‘whole’ cornish game hen & ‘whole’ fried branzino. What is served are actually just portions of the animal.
–Dessert options are limited and uninteresting.

EVERYTHING IS AMAZING!!!
I came here with a couple of friends so we can share everything.
Share plates we ordered Crab Beingnets and Steamed Buns w/​wagyu beef tongue. The crab was bite size with great flavor. The steam buns were moist and mouth watering.
Large plates we ordered the whole cornish game hen with foie gras; amazing! and the Spinach Cannelloni, I can be vegetarian and eat this everyday.

If there were ½ points I would probably make this a 2.5 (only for food ingredients quality). The place is trendy and has a nice interior and a great outdoor patio area. The indoor bar is completely inadequate with only 6 seats. I give this place less than 50% chance of still being in business this time next year. I am from Houston and could list at least 50 comparably priced restaurants that are across the board better. I could probably name 25 in Dallas.
So, this is a small plates place that concentrates on the fusion of flavor and texture. Four of us shared 10 different plates and 80% were very well done, but, the portion size (small) to price (high) were too far out of proportion. We had 2 mid-​level bottles of wine with dinner and all in with tip we spent $ 415!!! The dessert we had (peanut/​chocolate thing) was well below average.
We visited on a Friday night and later in the evening the crowd became more like a nightclub crowd that filled up the restaurant (crowded next to our table) because of the lack of bar space coupled with a delightful 100+ degree temperature outside.
The service was excellent until the end when it «appeared» that our server was at odds with another over getting food out or something. We had to take our bill to the bar to get closed out.
Three better choices in Dallas would be Stephen Pyles, The Meddlesome Moth or Toulouse Café.

I think it is fair to say that I am OBSESSED with B&T. You will be too — just go in with the understanding that delicious, unique food costs a bit more and you don’t have to be stuffed to have had a good meal. Prepare your taste buds for the Uptown journey of their lives!
I have been three times in the last two months, one time managing to drag my entire friend group of 12 people along with me. B&T never fails to impress and I have a whole host of new converts. Be sure to sit on the porch — the people-​watching is awesome and the too-​loud music from the restaurant next door is at the perfect decibel from this vantage point.
FOOD:
I have had most everything on the menu (including the antelope heart tartar) and EVERYTHING is incredible. Luckily they switch the menu up very frequently so there is always something new and exciting for me to try!
My favorites include:
— Pork Shoulder — savory, melt-​in-​your-​mouth fantastic. I LOVE this dish!
— Naan Bread with Chermoula Tahini — such a flavor-​packed little salty-​sweet spread!
— Spicy Yellowfin — high quality fish with jalapeño and a delightful little asian sauce. I could eat this forever
— Chickpea Fries — yummy, crispy, unique, and a great starter full of exotic flavors!
DRINKS:
The wine list is awesome and very reasonably priced. Cocktails are to die for but the real reason to come here is the food.
SERVICE:
I have never had anything other than top-​of-​the-​line service. Yes, sometimes it is busy but I have had the same server every time and she is incredibly efficient and knowledgeable.
I am SO happy to have an alternative to the warmed up bar food that most other Uptown locations seem to offer.

I walked in with a friend and immediately was greeted by the hostess and what I think was the GM (he was wearing a different outfit than the waiters – they all matched – and the hostess). We had a reservation and were seated immediately.
After sitting down we had someone give us water immediately. Then a few minutes later we had a waiter come up and take our drink order. Maybe a minute after he left, another waiter checked our table and asked if our drink order had been taken. Even at a nice steak restaurant I have not had this much attention on our table. We both ordered one of their signature drinks. I cant remember the name but it was the second column, third drink down. Tequila, spicy, tart but semi sweet. It was really good!
For food we ordered the Merguez sausage, Green tomato oysters, and Antelope heart. I have eaten a lot of interesting things but never an animal heart. Ill be honest, it was pretty darn good. Once you let go of the idea of it being a heart and focus on the ingredients, its pretty great. The oysters were amazing. Sweet, salty and spicy all in one. I can honestly say ive never had a more fun, flavorful oyster in my life! I saved the best for last… the sausage! Honestly it was great! The hummus like dipping sauce (not hummus) complimented it well.
After our meal we decided to order a dessert. We asked our waiter what he recommended. He told us the goat cheese apple. I cant even begin to describe how weird and amazing it was. Who knew you could brulee an apple? It was really an interesting flavor but great.
My only complaint is that each item is split in 3; except the oysters. There were two of us so we had to split every third item. Think about who comes to get tapas, 2 people or a group of 4. Why would you put 3 items on the plate and make it awkward? AND food portion compared to price doesnt add up. There are many other tapas places that we could go with a cheaper price and more food on the plate. Our meal totaled to $ 147. A bit pricy considering I wasn’t completely full.
Overall a GREAT place for drinks. Food was good but expect to go home hungry and having paid more than necessary. The price of food and drinks is $ 3 higher than should be. Ill most likely come back for the drinks but not for the food. I just cant understand paying $ 60 for food and coming out hungry. Just isnt worth it.

First off would probably rate 3 ½ but gave 4 to be kind. The food and drinks were very good however lost major points for the overcooked poached egg.
Starting from the beginning:
Came for brunch with mother. Pitcher of honeydew mimosas. Outstanding. Perfectly balanced and not too sweet. 5 stars for that.
Service. Good, prompt, kind. 4 ½ stars.
My meal: smoked salmon, potato, fennel and hollandaise. 3 stars. Great flavor, loved the fresh dill and sauce. However potatoes were too greasy and egg overcooked. No yolk running which is the best. I think a perfectly poached egg is one of life’s greatest things so this was a disappointment.
My mothers dish was steak with kimchee omelet. She gave 5 stars. Great flavor, meat and egg cooked well.
Ambiance. 5 stars. Beautiful porch.

I wrote down a ton of adjectives to describe the place, but I realized something: the chef had boiled it down to the 5 tastes:
1. salt
2. sweet
3. bitter
4. sour
5. umami
I could see how he checked each of these off the list with each dish we ordered. Example: house cured lardo (mouthfeel/​salt,) anchovies (salt, umami,) tomato «jam» (umami, sour/​sweet,) micro greens (bitter/​color,) and some brined capers (salt/​semi-​bitter, sour.) There was a crisp of sorts on top which I looked to be a Parmigiano frisco, but wasn’t (bland, no hard cheese flavor… clearly there for texture alone.) The waiter called it a «crostini» but he had no idea what it was. I would say that the lardo was the highlight of the meal. Bravo, chef!
Every dish we tasted clearly had been thought out with these tastes in mind. We had the branzino, the «green soup,» the branzino, the game hen (a masterpiece, chef) and both the chocolate tart and the panna cotta. The hen deserves its own review, but see the Dallas Obsever for details.
Textures were addressed too, with perhaps the exception of the vegetarian zucchini rolls («curls» of sorts filled with the tomato reduction again, like a sushi roll, topped with gruyère and placed under the salamander… too much cooking left the zucchini mushy, though tasty.) The tartare was also a bit lacking in texture… yes, I expected diced raw meat, egg,…all the traditional «soft» ingredients. That being said, I wanted the heart to be a tiny bit chewy, like a good beef heart robata version might be. Not so: the heart seemed to have been marinated (not complaining… tasted great) but was as soft as the diced foie gras that accompanied it. The (actual) crostini… waiter take notes here… was crisp/​crunchy and helped a lot to overcome the soft mouthfeel. There was not enough «crunch» left over to cover the serving, and we couldn’t get the waiter’s attention to bring us a few. more, so ¹⁄₃ was wasted.
However, I am NOT complaining… this was a great experience, truly pleasurable, and non-​fussy. A few months of refinement and this will be a true gem.
I am very excited to come back again and try the rest of the menu choices… I believe this is going to be a Top 10 Dallas restaurant in 6 months.
That being said, I am hesitant to return for a solid reason: towing of cars. This is not under the control of the restaurant, per se, so I cannot blame them except that their website advertises «free parking.» The lot the website directs you to charges $ 15 (across from Primo’s) or $ 10 in the lot next to Belly/​Trumpet. I assumed I read the website incorrectly because I was SURE it said free parking. I pulled the site up on the tiny iPhone I own and it appeared the «free» parking lot they were referring to was over by Tx Land and Cattle. We parked there…$ 175 cash and a long taxi ride to the barrio later, I am reassessing my dining choices. This is one time where I would actually agree with providing a valet. I usually despise the «forced» valet in Dallas, but that’s a soapbox for later.
Grats on the restaurant, chef.

I was in Dallas visiting family, as I seem to do quite a bit, and my sister and I had the opportunity to have a rare dinner together. It was decided that we would be adventurous and try something new, and this was the first menu we browsed that captured our attention.
We rolled into the restaurant just in time for our 645 reservation, and were seated out front on the patio. This was perfect. I love the atmosphere of the place: modern but retro, sophisticated without being stuffy. The seats we had on the patio were among the most comfortable I’ve ever had at a restaurant, which is good because we kept the seats warm for a few hours.
We got a bottle of prosecco while we waited for our plates to arrive. I was impressed with the wine list: it covered all the interesting bases but was small enough to be approachable. It was tough to decide what to eat because everything sounded wonderful, but here’s what we ended up with:
Shisito peppers with almonds: I always love shisitos, but the almonds stood out for me here. Orange flavor usually turns me off on dishes like these, but I absolutely loved it here. Olives added an extra hint of that savory flavor.
Oysters: These were raw with a sauce of jalapenos and green tomatoes that accentuated the freshness of the oysters and really made everything pop.
Antelope heart tartare: The dish that I was most interested to try, it ended up being the hit of the night. Organ meats are the best, and the foie gras added just the right amount of creaminess. Beets on the side added a nice bit of sweetness.
Steamed buns: Great use of beef tongue, as its meatiness really shined here. Probably my second favorite dish of the night.
Pork belly: Really liked the Asian flavors here, and the kimchee was great with the pork, but something was just a little too salty here.
Caldo verde: Delicious and appropriately hearty.
The dessert menu was a bit different than the usual, as it didn’t have all the super sweet dishes most restaurants are fond of. I don’t have a big sweet tooth, so this was really appealing to me. We went with the chocolate tart, which was just sweet enough, and it contrasted well with the mascarpone cheese than came with it.
I loved everything about this place. Great food. Great service. Great atmosphere. I wish we had this place in Utah.

I’ve seen this place go from Lumi, to Bowery, to now Belly & Trumpet. When I first walked in, I was extremely extremely impressed with what they did with the space. I fell in absolute love with the décor!
I was the first one to arrive out of my group so I went to the bar to grab myself a drink. I was intrigued with the drink menu already. I watched the bartender make someone else’s drink. He freshly cut the cucumber and muddled the strawberries to whatever drink he was making. I was so excited for my very own drink it was difficult to decide on which one I wanted. Unfortunately I can’t remember the drink I ordered and they don’t have a list of drinks on their website but it was tasty and just strong enough.
Service was attentive and friendly. She advised each plate would serve 2 – 3 so we ordered about 2 of each.
Our entrees in order received:
— Shishito Peppers with almonds — yummy! Even the almonds were tasty. We ordered a 3^rd one of these
— Caldo Verde — had a taste of this. Flavor was deep and good but too many potatoes
— Antelope heart & foie gras — wanted to go out on a limb on this. Surprisingly very very tasty but you can barely taste the foie gras
— Pork Belly — near the fat, it was delicious (of course) but on outside, way too salty
— Yellowfin Tuna — They add a thin slice of thai peppers on each slice of tuna. If you have a crazy threshold for spiciness, then by all means, go for it! I thought I could eat spicy but nope, that thing was burning my mouth. I highly recommend requesting to leave off the peppers or removing before eating. You can always try it but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
— Branzino — very tasteless. Reminded us of a Vietnamese fish we have in our cuisine. We were definitely craving sweet fish sauce to dip it in because it was just that bland
Eggplant — the eggplant was wayyyyy to thin and overcooked and there was way too much cheese. We could not finish this because it was too rich. Definitely not what we expected
— Hangar Steak — The pieces were cut too thick. Although it was seared the way it’s supposed to be, it was way too bloody.
So as you can see, our experience started out appetizing but as we moved on to the «entrees», we had a very disappointing ending which left a sour taste in our mouths. Needless to say but we left still hungry and spent $ 60 per person.