Café Pacific Dallas: A Highland Park Village Classic Since 1980

How a seafood and steak house in Highland Park Village has kept Dallas coming back since 1980 – the room, the menu, the Sunday brunch and what to know before you book

In a city that is always chasing the next opening, Café Pacific has spent more than four decades perfecting the opposite: the pleasure of return. Since 1980, the seafood and steak restaurant at 24 Highland Park Village has served Dallas in the same warm glow of dark mahogany and marble, with crab cakes, sole meunière and prime filets carried to the table by a veteran staff.

That is the whole idea. Café Pacific does not try to surprise its guests. It tries to remember them.

Café Pacific Dallas: A Highland Park Village Institution

The restaurant calls itself a “neighborhood seafood & steak restaurant,” and the description is both modest and exact. Its neighborhood is Highland Park Village, the Spanish-style shopping square at Preston Road and Mockingbird Lane, and its regulars have long included the city’s civic, business and philanthropic names alongside first-time visitors who are treated the same way.

Inside, the room is built from materials meant to age well: dark wood, marble, etched glass and brass, with art from the owner’s collection on the walls. Waiters wear ties. The Dallas Observer once noted that some bar regulars have kept the same stools for years – the kind of loyalty a new restaurant cannot buy.

Jack Knox and the Making of a Dallas Classic

Café Pacific belongs to Jack Knox, a Dallas lawyer, oilman, rancher and philanthropist whose company, Café Pacific Restaurants Inc., has operated the restaurant since it opened. His career has run from oil and gas to the Patrizio’s restaurants and the real estate behind Six Flags Over Texas, but the dining room in Highland Park Village has been part of his story for more than four decades.

The human side of that story shows in the details. In 2013, for the restaurant’s 33rd anniversary, Knox served a menu at 1980 prices, with the proceeds going to Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. Dallas writer Douglas Newby summed up the restaurant’s run in a single line:

“It was a hit then, it is a hit now.”

The Café Pacific Menu: Seafood, Prime Steaks and a Few Classics

The kitchen has been led since 2017 by executive chef Terry Cook, formerly of The Palm Dallas, who was brought in to refresh dishes guests already loved rather than replace them. The menu reads like a map of American fine-dining classics, executed with care.

From the sea come Maryland-style crab cakes, Point Judith calamari, a colossal prawn cocktail, New England clam chowder, herb-crusted Chilean sea bass and two French standards: lemon sole almandine and sole meunière. Lobster appears in a poached-lobster risotto, a lobster and truffle pasta and a Connecticut-style lobster roll. For the steak table, there is the signature prime pepper steak filet, Colorado double-cut lamb chops and Japanese A5 wagyu.

Sunday Brunch at Café Pacific

Sunday brunch shows another side of the restaurant. It pairs Café Pacific’s seafood with breakfast classics: Wagyu Benedict, crab cake Benedict, chorizo migas and a Nova Scotia lobster omelet, with caviar for those who want it. OpenTable diners named Café Pacific among the Top 100 brunch restaurants in the United States in 2026.

Recognition has followed the restaurant elsewhere, too. It holds the DiRōNA Award of Excellence and appears on OpenTable Diners’ Choice lists in Dallas for overall experience, ambiance and seafood. Even as the MICHELIN Guide arrived in Texas and reshaped the conversation about Dallas dining – read our guide to the MICHELIN Guide in Dallas – Café Pacific has kept its own course.

Planning a Visit: Reservations, Hours and Dress Code

Café Pacific takes reservations online through OpenTable and by phone, and booking ahead is the safest way to secure a table for weekend dinner or Sunday brunch. The restaurant asks for business casual attire; T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops are not permitted. For groups, semi-private dining is available.

Four decades on, the formula has not changed, and that is precisely why Dallas keeps returning. Café Pacific still remembers its guests – and its guests still remember the way back to Highland Park Village.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Café Pacific in Dallas?

Café Pacific is at 24 Highland Park Village, Dallas, TX 75205, in the historic shopping square at Preston Road and Mockingbird Lane. It has operated there since 1980 as a seafood and steak restaurant, serving lunch, dinner and Sunday brunch. Reservations are available by phone at 214.526.1170 or online.

Does Café Pacific have a dress code?

Yes. Café Pacific asks guests to dress business casual, and T-shirts, shorts and flip-flops are not permitted. The dining room, with dark mahogany, marble and a veteran staff in ties, is a classic Dallas setting for business lunches, celebrations and dinners before an evening out.

Do you need a reservation at Café Pacific?

Reservations are recommended, especially for weekend dinners and Sunday brunch. Café Pacific accepts bookings through OpenTable and by phone at 214.526.1170. Semi-private dining is also available for groups, and the restaurant’s team can help plan business lunches and private celebrations.

What is Café Pacific known for?

Café Pacific is known for classic seafood and prime steaks served in a polished, old-school dining room. Signature dishes include the prime pepper steak filet, herb-crusted Chilean sea bass, lemon sole almandine and Maryland-style crab cakes, and its Sunday brunch was named among OpenTable’s Top 100 in the U.S. in 2026.

Discover more of Dallas’s most memorable tables in our Fine Dining section.