Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center – Dining
If you read our Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center overview article, then you know that most attendees aren’t impressed with the facility’s dining options. Many feel the food is of poor quality and overpriced. However, a quick stroll across the skybridge to the convention center’s on-site hotel – Omni Dallas Hotel – reveals a diverse selection of restaurants.
Black Ship Little Katana
A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Black Ship Little Katana melds Japanese, Korean, and American cuisines into one menu. The name of the restaurant is inspired by Admiral Matthew Perry’s voyage from Norfolk, Virginia to Japan. As the ships sailed across the seas, the never-ending pounding of salt water on the hulls stained them black. When the ships arrived in Japan, they turned some heads. The Japanese people had never seen that type of ship and referred to them as “black ships”.
Now, on to the menu – there’s a lot to choose from here. If you’re in to sharing, you can’t go wrong with starters like sizzling dumplings filled with cilantro beef and dippable plum and sweet chili sauces. The Wagyu hot rock, Katana app sampler, and Bulgogi are some other notable contenders. Those in the mood for a western entrée will be pleased with a Black Angus filet mignon or ribeye. Moving easterly, you have dishes like hoisin lime chicken, orange ginger salmon, several rice and noodle meals, and more.
Don’t worry, Black Ship Little Katana didn’t neglect sushi lovers. There’s an entire menu devoted to this beloved cuisine. There are over 20 kinds of sashimi and sushi, over 30 katana style rolls, and several combination entrees. If you’re at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center and you’re craving for sushi, this is the place to go.
Bob’s Steak & Chop House
Renowned for its juicy, perfectly grilled steaks, Bob’s Steak & Chop House serves some of the “finest corn-fed, Midwestern prime beef” around. This steakhouse has tons of different cuts and meats available. Prime ribeye, T-bone, New York strip, veal porterhouse, rack of lamb, seared duck breast, the list goes on. Meat lovers certainly won’t complain.
Most come for the grilled meats, but Bob’s Steak & Chop House offers much more. From appetizers like a Maryland style crabcake, and smoked salmon to seafood dishes like jumbo shrimp scampi and cold water southern African lobster tails, and even a couple salad options, this place caters to all palates.
The desserts are nothing to skimp on either. With choices like a brownie sundae, banana nut rum bread pudding, and marbled chocolate amaretto cheesecake, you can’t go wrong. Just remember to keep this in mind – this is a steakhouse, after all. It’s not the cheapest of on-site dining options.
Cafe Herrera
You can find authentic Mexican restaurants all over Dallas, but you won’t find any closer to Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center than Cafe Herrera. The restaurant’s owner Momma Herrera grew up in Mexico and opened her first restaurant back in 1971. So it’s safe to say she knows a thing or two about cooking delicious Mexican food.
Cafe Herrera’s menu is on the smaller side, but rest assured that every dish they make is prepared with fresh ingredients and guaranteed to satisfy. Customers can dig into one of several enchiladas, taquerias, sopas, or fajitas. Cafe Herrera also serves traditional Mexican entrees like Carne Asada, Guiso de Pollo, and La Diabla.
Texas Spice
Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, you can get it all at Texas Spice. You’ll feel right at home as you dig into some southern style hometown classics. Sit inside and enjoy the rustic interior with red brick walls and intricate woodwork, or get some fresh air and dine on the outdoor patio.
Texas Spice’s menu is very southern-centric. Some popular breakfast dishes include Huevos Rancheros, eggs benedict, and Texas griddle cakes. For lunch, there are a couple flatbread and sandwich options, along with main entrees like shrimp & grits and chicken fried steak. Once dinner time rolls around, the cooks start making meals like ribeyes, potato chip crusted pork schnitzel, Texas spiced gulf fish, and brown butter and sage mac & cheese.
While you’re at Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center, any of these four restaurants are go-to options. Again, the food at the actual convention center isn’t worth the money. If you happen to be attending a catered event at the facility, you’re in decent shape. The catered meals are much better than the vendors at the food court. In addition to the four restaurants housed inside Omni Dallas Hotel, there are three more across the street: Biergarten, Coal Vines, and The Owners Box.