nonna

Up to ten pastas run at nonna on a given night, spaghetti and gnocchi among them.1

Why go

Julian Barsotti built this room in Highland Park around regional Italian cooking, and Matt McCallister, a chef in the same city, called a meal here one of the best he had eaten in Dallas.4 The white clam pie comes out of a wood-fired oven and the lobster ravioli is Maine lobster, and those two stay while the rest of the card moves.1 The MICHELIN Guide gave it a Bib Gourmand in the first Texas selection in 2024 and kept it in 2025.2 The building sits among small businesses off a main road, and you find it by the blind-covered windows with the name across them.1 The wine list is entirely Italian.1

Order this / avoid

Order: the white clam pie, which comes off the wood-fired oven.1
Order: the Maine lobster ravioli, the other of the two plates that never comes off.1
Order: the fritto misto if it is running. It is the dish McCallister went home and asked Barsotti how he had made.4
Then pick a pasta off whatever is on that night.1

What locals & experts say

Matt McCallister, a Dallas chef, on the fritto misto: I texted [Chef Julian] two days afterward to ask him exactly how he did that. I've had very few meals anywhere that have stuck with me like that for multiple days afterward.4
The MICHELIN inspector on the menu's two constants: it's dictated by the seasons and what's available, though the white clam pie from the wood-fired oven and the Maine lobster ravioli are always available.1
The inspector on the wine: The all-Italian wine list features an appealing selection of old favorites as well as a few hidden treasures.1

Good to know

The name is lowercase, on the guide's roster and on the venue's own window.1
There is now a connecting space with live music, which the Dallas Observer reports the business runs as Nonna-Tabu. I haven't found anything written on what is served in it.3

Verdict

should-visit — A regional Italian room in Highland Park with a wood oven and up to ten pastas a night, which is a lot of hand work for a place you have to look twice to find. Order the white clam pie and the lobster ravioli, because those two stay on the card while everything around them moves.