Chef Pyles has created 26 restaurants in seven cities
Stephan Pyles has more than 30 years of experience in the restaurant industry. Bon Appetite magazine has credited Pyles with “almost single-handedly changing the cooking scene in Texas” while the New York Times called him “an absolute genius in the kitchen”. His many restaurants have won so many awards it is hard to keep track, including: Routh Street Café, Baby Routh, Star Canyon, Stephan Pyles, Samar, Stampede 66 and Flora Street Café, and many more.
A History of Unique and Successful Restaurants
Routh Street Cafe
Pyles’ first restaurant put Dallas on the culinary map. During its run, it was on most lists of the top 25 restaurants in America and Courvoisier’s Book of the Best named it the 5th best restaurant in the U.S. Pyles won his first James Beard award here, the first to be awarded in the Southwest.
Star Canyon
The James Beard Foundation named Star Canyon one of the top 5 best new restaurants in America the year it opened. It was sold to a major restaurant group, and with Pyles’ guidance, opened spinoffs in Las Vegas and Austin. This concept propelled 3 cookbooks for Chef Pyles and an Emmy Award-winning national television show.
Stephan Pyles Restaurant
SP’s 9th restaurant was his namesake. It weaved the best of food, art, and design into a subtle global tapestry of tastes, aromas, and flavors from Texas, South America, Spain, the Middle East and the Mediterranean. Pyles was named ‘Chef of the year’ by Esquire Magazine upon opening, and Texas Monthly named it the Best New Restaurant in Texas.
San Salvaje
San Salvaje means wild saint, and the restaurant celebrated the union of Pagan indigenous culture and revered Saints in Latin America, showcasing foods from Central and South America, Cuba and the Caribbean, with modern Texas twists.
Samar
Earning the Dallas Morning News’ “Restaurant of the Year” award, Samar was one of Pyles’ most exciting restaurants. The menu gathered flavors from India, the Middle East and Spain, brought them together, and made them sing.
The Seeker
Pyles’ latest creation is part of The Interstate Inn, a newly reimagined 1960s Roadside Inn in Stephenville, Texas. Serving the Modern Texas Cuisine that Chef Pyles created, the menu has many of his classic dishes. After hundreds of reviews, it has a 4.9 out of 5 stars rating on OpenTable.
Flora Street Café
Earning Restaurant of the Year awards from The Dallas Morning News, D Magazine, The Dallas Voice and Texas Monthly, it also snagged a James Beard nomination. It featured Elevated Texas Cuisine with modern techniques in an intimate contemporary setting.
Stampede 66
A “True Texas” dining experience, Stampede 66 was Chef Pyles homage to his family’s truck stop café. Stampede 66 featured Modern Texas cuisine; familiar Texas dishes re-interpreted with a contemporary twist.
Baby Routh
A more laid-back spinoff of Routh Street Cafe with super-modern all-white decor, Baby Routh started the quality casual restaurant trend in Dallas, and a young Bobby Flay once worked there under Chef Pyles.
AquaKnox
A restaurant offering seafood dishes from around the world in a stunning dining room that was featured in Interior Design Magazine.
Fauna
A “restaurant within a restaurant” at Flora Street Cafe, Fauna was perhaps Pyles most intricate and stylized dining experience. A 20-seat dining room outfitted with cutting edge, unique tableware offering a 14-course molecular gastronomy tasting menu. It had its own private kitchen and chefs that were not revealed until guests were seated.
Sustenio
Opened in San Antonio at the Marriott Eilan Hotel, Sustenio’s “Modern Southwestern Cuisine” was consistently lauded and awarded for its originality and precise execution.
Fuego
Pyles first “restaurant within a restaurant” was a 4-seat, 12-course tasting menu at the ceviche bar in front of the wood-burning oven at Stephan Pyles. The Dallas Morning News named it Dallas’ most exciting dining experience at the time.
Sky Canyon
Developed as a concept for DFW and Love Field airports, Sky Canyon was conceived as the ultimate fast-casual Texas restaurant. Combining native ingredients into dazzling dishes with a cowboy cum Latin, Cajun, Soul and Southwestern spin.
Alma by Stephan Pyles
A Modern Texas Cuisine restaurant at the Hacienda in Georgetown, Texas. It sustained rave reviews during its duration.
Mediterraneo
An Italian-Eastern Mediterranean fusion restaurant opened at Ventana by Buckner
Dorado
A 40-seat “Modern Texas Steakhouse” opened at Ventana by Buckner.
Café Americano
A 60-seat fast casual restaurant serving “American Classics” opened at Ventana by Buckner
Taqueria Cañonita
Possibly the first ‘Chef-Driven’ taqueria in America, Taqueria Cañonita opened in the billion-dollar Venetian Resort and Hotel in Las Vegas. The concept was replicated in two Dallas suburbs.
Stampede 66 Express
Marketing off the Stampede 66 brand, S-66 Express was a Texas BBQ Counter-Service concept developed for the International Terminal at DFW Airport.