UPDATED: Grotto Ristorante in Dallas’ Uptown bites the dust

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — Grotto Ristorante in Dallas' Uptown district closed on Sunday June 29, the third in a weekend that also saw the closures of Alessio's and Scene in downtown Dallas.

"I think it's just not good to be an Italian restaurant in Dallas," said a spokesman at the restaurant. "I'm not saying there's not a lot of great Italian restaurants, but I thought we did a good job with food and service."

Grotto opened two years ago in a then-new strip center on McKinney Avenue. The restaurant, a Dallas outpost of a Houston-based chain that was owned by Landry's, got decent reviews but it never really took off.

UPDATE: A plugged-in person hints that the space will become a Morton's.

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Anne Young Fritsche, says:

Sheesh. Ouch. (...and yet not necessarily surprising.)

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1 year, 5 months ago
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david denney, says:

(insert sarcasm here) morton's. yay.

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1 year, 5 months ago
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bjohnston, says:

Too bad. Both good places. Sorry that Allesio couldn't make it, but probably location problem on Bryan St.

If the Morton's rumor is accurate, it probably means the long-time downtown location on Elm will be shuttered.

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1 year, 5 months ago
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Teresa Gubbins, says:

bjohnston, that's smart speculating. morton's supposedly has not signed the lease yet, so they're not acknowledging anything. the folks at the downtown branch seemed surprised to learn a morton's was opening in uptown (either that or they are very good actors)

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1 year, 5 months ago
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Donna Chen, says:

I'm surprised that basement downtown location has survived for as long as it has with all the steakhouses in town. But then again, some people are sticklers for what they like, and the Morton's name brings something to the table for many of the older crowd.