Restaurants in Plano

The staff at The Dive Bar & Grill work hard to cultivate a versatile, laid-back atmosphere, accommodating large parties of revelers and small, relaxed groups of friends. With a friendly, unrushed attitude, servers present the eatery’s duo of flexible menus—one for the bar and another for the restaurant. At the bar, diners pair beer and wine with chorizo-seasoned potato croquettes, seafood-stuffed quesadillas, and strawberry-studded salads served in portions designed for sharing with friends and gregarious diners at the next table. Meanwhile, The Dive Bar & Grill’s restaurant menu plays to a variety of tastes with a crispy pan-fried beet slider, glazed and grilled cuts of mahi mahi, and seafood pasta perfumed with precious saffron.

For generations the Vo and Huynh families have been perfecting their recipe for pho, a traditional Vietnamese noodle-soup dish, tweaking seasoning and cooking methods until the family favorite was ready to serve at V Bistro Noodle & Grill's two locations. The full menu showcases other authentic Vietnamese fare such as fried-rice dishes, egg rolls, lemon-grass chicken, and sautéed cubes of marinated steak with jasmine rice.

Inside the dining areas at both locations, aromas of stir-fried vegetables and rotisserie chicken waft over the heads of diners seated at black wooden tables or playing hide-and-seek under intimate booths. Light from the stainless-steel pendant lamps brightens the yellow and red accent walls and wood-framed photos of colorful rice dishes that line the walls at the Plano location.

Owner Shawn Danapong spends a lot of time in Thai Pan’s kitchen, where he proudly observes his team of chefs doing what they do best: seasoning curries, stirring pots of soup, and baking heaps of shrimp in a clay pot. The resultant plates of steaming Thai fare make their way to a dining area filled with soft music and small plumes of vapor that swirl above pad thai, fried rice, and stir-fried veggies doused in oyster sauce. As diners dip into the generous portions and help themselves to BYOB libations, a small fleet of televisions flickers to life with sporting events.

It’s no surprise that a submarine sandwich can get a teenage boy motivated. But for friends Tony Conza, Peter DeCarlo, and Angelo Baldassare, fresh sandwiches sated not just their growing appetites, but their entrepreneurial dreams. After failed business attempts selling pots and pans door to door and trading stocks on Wall Street, the three heard of a bustling shop in Point Pleasant, New Jersey, where sandwiches piled with freshly sliced deli meats and crisp vegetables had locals lining up out the door. With a similar business model in mind, the three opened their own shop in 1964, naming it Blimpie to evoke the blimp-like shape they planned for their overstuffed sandwiches.

Now a national chain, Blimpie stays true to the founders' original dream as staffers continue to stack sandwiches with freshly sliced meats, veggies, and dressings. Turkey, smoked pastrami, top-round roast beef, and crisp bacon crown freshly baked rolls or soft tortillas. Each of Blimpie’s stores brims with Americana-themed décor, paying homage to the company’s founders, their slice of the American dream, and the submarine sandwich that is emblazoned on every five-dollar bill.

Andria's Cajun Cuisine assembles recipes plucked from the table of restaurant owner Precious Wyatt's childhood. Wyatt grew up in New Orleans and after relocating to Plano, she found herself longing for the distinct flavors of the Crescent City. To reclaim the dishes of her youth, she enlisted the skills of Nappy Modjulua, who received intense culinary training in West Germany and later honed her abilities as an executive sous-chef in Louisiana. The executive chef's worldly background in Italian, French, and African cooking styles enlivens the menu of Cajun specialties, which includes classics such as blackened fish, crayfish étouffée, and crab-stuffed eggplant along with desserts capable of convincing any child to eat all of his math homework.

Longtime Dallas residents can still remember when Mama opened her diner in 1958, bustling about the kitchen with her daughters scampering by her side, whipping up her signature hearty country specialties and desserts. More than 50 years later, Mama continues to watch over the kitchen with the help of her daughters, granddaughters, and a loyal kitchen staff. Drawing from Mama's timeless recipes, chefs fry up chicken, steaks, and catfish for the menu of daily specials, while biscuits, peach cobblers, and cinnamon rolls rise in the oven. Servers bear hefty platters out to the cushy booths of the dining room, where Mama's timeless wisdom is written across the walls, including such gems as "Eat your peas and get dessert" and "Don't stare"—invaluable advice for any diner should Medusa enter the restaurant.