Dallas diners won’t need a plane ticket to get a taste of the Italian coast this fall.
Élephante, the coastal Italian restaurant from Wish You Were Here Group, will open its first Dallas location on Tuesday, September 1 at 2701 Maple Avenue in Uptown. The sprawling two-story restaurant brings a menu of housemade pastas, wood-fired pizzas, seafood, spritzes, and Italian wines to a nearly 10,000-square-foot space designed to channel the breezy spirit of Southern Italy.
The opening marks the latest expansion for Élephante, which debuted as a rooftop restaurant in Santa Monica in 2018 and later expanded to Scottsdale. The concept was inspired by the hospitality group’s travels through Pantelleria and the Aeolian Islands, with food and design intended to evoke an easygoing day along the Italian coast.
In Dallas, that translates to a shareable menu built around seasonal produce, seafood, premium meats, and plenty of pasta and pizza. Among the signatures making the trip are whipped eggplant with puccia and olive oil; ragu bianco with cavatelli, Italian sausage, pecorino, broccolini, and fennel pollen; and grilled octopus with hearts of palm, olives, capers, tangerine, and red onion.
There will also be a classic Margherita pizza made with housemade mozzarella, tomato, and basil; branzino dressed with salsa verde butter, sea beans, and lemon; and vodka sauce pasta punched up with Calabrian chile, basil, and Parmigiano.
“Our goal is to showcase a menu that captures the freshness and simplicity of coastal southern Italian cooking while still feeling distinctly at home in Dallas,” said Wish You Were Here Group chef-partner Thomas Lim in a statement. “The dishes are vibrant, seasonal and designed to be shared, allowing guests to experience the menu the way we believe Italian food is best enjoyed—together, over a table filled with great food and drinks.”
Drinks lean into Italy’s aperitivo culture, with spritzes and handcrafted cocktails joined by an extensive wine program showcasing regions across Italy. The cellar will also include limited-vintage bottles and private-label wines produced exclusively for Wish You Were Here Group.
Élephante is going big with its Dallas debut in more ways than one. The restaurant spans approximately 9,800 square feet indoors, plus a 1,250-square-foot patio, with room for about 270 guests inside and another 78 outdoors.
Designed as a two-story garden pavilion, the space combines warm woods, stonework, sculptural lighting, greenery, and artwork inspired by southern Italian landscapes. At its center is a dramatic bar fashioned from white oak and honed stone, topped by a suspended canopy of illuminated wine bottles. Sliding glass doors connect the dining rooms with shaded terraces and landscaped gardens, giving the restaurant an indoor-outdoor feel suited to leisurely lunches, aperitivo hour, and late-night dinners.
Élephante Dallas will be open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 11 a.m. to midnight, Saturday from 10 a.m. to midnight, and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., with reservations now available through OpenTable.
The opening adds another splashy newcomer to the increasingly restaurant-packed stretch of Uptown Dallas—and gives diners a new place to linger over pasta and spritzes long after summer vacation ends.
Élephante Dallas, 2701 Maple Ave., Dallas, elephanterestaurants.com
