Whether it’s award-winning barbecue, all-American cuisine in a downtown dining mainstay or authentic Greek cuisine, Midland’s dining scene is varied with something for everyone. Read on for The Culture Trip’s round-up of the
Texas oil boomtown’s very best local restaurants.
Venezia
Restaurant, Italian, $$$
Venezia
Owned and operated by Carmine Scarcelli, a native of Italy, and his wife Karen since 1988, Venezia is a charming restaurant considered one of Midland’s most romantic. Focusing on Italian and Continental cuisine, Venezia serves up homemade pasta and classic dishes like veal saltimbocca alongside daily changing seafood specials, including Alaskan king crab legs and bourbon glazed salmon with risotto. On colder evenings, fireside dining beckons from inside Venezia’s quaint interior, while on warmer occasions, guests can enjoy their meal al fresco on the restaurant’s pretty, shaded patio. An extensive wine list of over 500 labels and a tempting dessert menu — think classic tiramisu and homemade rum cake — complete the experience.
Venezia, 2101 West Wadley Avenue, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 682 0594
The Garlic Press
Restaurant, American, Vegetarian, $$$
The Garlic Press
Teaming an eclectic menu with one of the city’s most extensive wine lists, The Garlic Press has been a Midland dining go-to since first opening its doors 16 years ago. Executive chef and owner Joshua Washburn has been in charge of the popular restaurant since 2005, delighting diners with a constantly evolving menu of mouthwatering dishes like potato crusted flounder in a white wine, butter and shallot sauce and hand-cut Black Angus steak topped with lobster truffle butter. Open for lunch and dinner, The Garlic Press also boasts a tempting dessert menu featuring sweet treats like bread pudding, pecan tart and seasonal cheesecake.
The Garlic Press, 2200 West Wadley Avenue, Suite 6, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 570 4020
Café at the Gardens
Cafe, Restaurant, American, $$$
Café at the Gardens
A garden center might not seem the most likely location for some of Midland’s best dining, but Café at the Gardens’ unique setting has made it one of the city’s favorite spots. Bringing outdoor dining inside, Café at the Gardens is located within Alldredge Garden’s greenhouse — a leafy oasis where guests dine surrounded by beautiful plants and a meandering fishpond complete with its own waterfall. Open for lunch Monday to Saturday and dinner on Thursday nights during spring and summer, Café at the Gardens’ menu is overseen by award-winning chef James Price, who cooks up dishes like fried catfish and Baja fish tacos alongside burgers, sandwiches, quiche and salads.
Café at the Gardens, Alldredge Gardens, 3300 Fairgrounds Road, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 687 1478
KD’s Bar-B-Q
Bar, Restaurant, $$$
KD’s Bar-B-Q
Voted the city’s best barbecue in the 2015 Midland Reporter-Telegram Readers’ Choice Awards, KD’s Bar-B-Q is the place to head for mouthwatering smoked meats. The family-owned and operated smokehouse dry rubs its meats and smokes them over 100% mesquite wood and along with its classic brisket, smoked for 20 hours, also serves up delicious ribs, pork chops, German sausage and turkey. Four types of barbecue sauce are offered (regular, sweet, vinegar and spicy) alongside a bean bar where guests can stock up on beans, bread, pickles, jalapeños and hot salsa to enjoy with their barbecue.
KD’s Bar-B-Q, 3109 Garden City Highway, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 683 5013
Cancun Bar and Grill
Bar, Restaurant, Mexican, $$$
Cancun Bar and Grill
Serving authentic Mexican cuisine since opening in 2005, Cancun Bar and Grill is the perfect alternative to typical Tex-Mex with its scratch-made, family recipe-based cuisine. Famous for its steaks, the restaurant gives its signature recipes a traditional Mexican twist with dishes like the Cancun bistro steak – two New York medallions served over jalapeño cheese bread, topped with queso fresco and a jalapeño demi glaze. There are plenty of mouthwatering seafood dishes too, like the Veracruz-style red snapper with chile serrano, onions, cilantro, rice and nopalitos while classic cocktails — margaritas and mojitos included — complete Cancun Bar and Grill’s authentic Mexican menu.
Cancun Bar and Grill, 223 Wall Street, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 618 0390
Bill’s Bistro
Bistro, Restaurant, American, Contemporary
Bill’s Bistro
A new addition to Midland’s dining scene, Bill’s Bistro — an intimate restaurant located in a contemporary space featuring exposed brick, hardwood floors and sumptuous black leather banquettes — opened its doors in the spring of 2014 and is already settling in nicely to its role as the city’s top foodie hot spot. Lunch at Bill’s Bistro is a casual affair with soups, salads, burgers and sandwiches. The dinner menu, featuring weekly rotating specials, is where chef-owner Bill Bloom’s real talents come into play with dishes like hand-cut New York strip steak topped with a caramelized onion and mushroom demi-glace, and the chipotle-glazed roasted pork tenderloin with a mango, jalapeño, purple onion, sweet red pepper and cilantro salsa.
Bill’s Bistro, 4610 North Garfield Street, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 218 7383
Taste@508
Open for breakfast and lunch, Taste@508 — the latest venture from local chef and restaurateur Timm Rogers, who also owns Lori’s Café and health food store Fit2Go — is perfect for a spot of casual daytime dining. On a mission to bring locally sourced and organic food to Midland, Chef Timm’s menu changes with the seasons and offers health-conscious diners a nutritious start to the day with options like the ‘healthy start’ breakfast panini — spinach, egg whites and skim mozzarella on grilled whole grain bread. Lunchtime dishes include the likes of vegan kale salad with quinoa and a lime dressing, and the smoked, wild-caught salmon and herby local goat’s cheese sandwich.
Taste@508, Frost Tower, 508 West Wall Street, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 687 1755
Wall Street Bar & Grill
Bar, Contemporary, American, $$$
Wall Street Bar & Grill
A longtime local favorite, the Wall Street Bar and Grill has been serving its classic, all-American chophouse and seafood fare to Midland diners for over 30 years. The downtown mainstay boasts a historic location — a turn-of-the-century property with an original pressed tin ceiling and beautifully restored mahogany bar — and its steaks, according to local diners, are legendary. Choose from its hand-breaded chicken fried steak and bacon wrapped filet mignon or opt for a tempting seafood dish of pecan-crusted trout topped with a lemon wine mushroom sauce and served with wild rice.
Wall Street Bar & Grill, 115 East Wall Street, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 684 8686
Murray’s Deli
Deli, American, Vegetarian, $$$
Murray’s Deli
A local dining institution since first opening its doors back in the early 1980s, Murray’s Deli has served its signature soups, salads, sandwiches and burgers to generations of Midland diners. One of the city’s most long-standing diners, guests at Murray’s Deli can expect a menu full of hearty lunchtime fare like seafood gumbo, chik-ado sandwich and the green chili pepper burger. Murray’s Deli is also open for dinner Monday through Friday when guests can order dishes like chopped sirloin topped with a sautéed onion and mushroom sauce or grilled tilapia over rice.
Murray’s Deli, 3211 West Wadley Avenue, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 697 3433
Athenian Restaurant
Restaurant, Greek, $$$
Athenian Restaurant
Opened by the Baldounis family last summer, Athenian Restaurant boasts bragging rights as Midland’s only authentic Greek restaurant. A menu full of classic Greek cuisine and made-from-scratch dishes based on tried-and-tested family recipes promises to whisk diners at Athenian Restaurant away to the shores of the Mediterranean. Begin with an appetizer of calamari or spanakopita (filo dough stuffed with spinach, feta and Greek herbs) before trying an entrée of lamb gyros with fresh tomato, onion and tzatziki sauce or shrimp kokkinisti sautéed with fresh garlic and roasted pepper in a tomato wine sauce. Finish with a classic dessert of galaktoboureko for a truly authentic Greek meal.
Athenian Restaurant, 4610 North Garfield Street, Suite B, Midland, TX, USA, +1 432 247 528
