Quarter Acre, a neighborhood restaurant with an upscale dining experience from Chef/Owner Toby Archibald, opened quietly this past weekend on Lowest Greenville Avenue at 2023 Greenville Ave, Suite 110, Dallas, TX 75206.
The menu features contemporary global cuisine inspired by Archibald’s world travels and New Zealand roots. The new chef-driven restaurant will be open for drinks and dinner five days a week, Tuesday to Saturday evenings only.
Dishes on the menu place a heavy emphasis on local produce but also highlight national and international ingredients (such as seafood and wine from New Zealand and Australia) in order to provide the highest-quality offerings.
Chef Archibald has experience including working with industry-leading chefs at Michelin-starred restaurants around the world such as The Greenhouse in London, England and Cafe Boulud in both New York City and Toronto, Canada.
Archibald and his wife settled in Dallas in 2016 where he became Chef de Cuisine of Bullion and then Executive Chef of Georgie by Curtis Stone before launching his own restaurant.
Menu highlights include starters such as Smoked Beef Tartare using olive oil emulsion, black mustard, crispy shallots; Kingfish Ceviche with coconut + lime + chili jam; Roasted Celeriac with golden raisin, hazelnut, celery salad; Foie Gras Custard Pie with butternut squash, pumpkin jam, wood sorrel; Confit Lamb Belly Sticks with green lip mussel romesco, black olive and citrus; followed by Clams and grilled bread with watercress, white wine and shallots.
Entrees include the likes of 48 hour Beef Short Rib with earthen potato, roasted sour mushrooms and jus; Parmesan-buttered Grouper with grilled cauliflower, lemon ginger vinaigrette and sea beans; Ricotta Gnudi with ham hock, black walnut, molasses and farro crips; Charred Carrot with spiced yoghurt, maple gastrique, winter garden herbs and pomegranate; Fire-roasted Chicken with teriyaki sunchoke, miso emulsion and minted kale as well as Hot-smoked Glory Bay Salmon with fried bread, sea and soil lettuce, turnip, shallot cream.
To complement the savory side of the menu, desserts include: Chocolate Torte with whiskey ice cream, tobacco syrup,and tim tam crumble; Grapefruit Cremeux with sea sable, blood orange and meringue; Tropical Mille Feuille using brown sugar plantain ganache, jackfruit, and ube ice cream; Sticky Toffee Pudding with sour cream ice cream, dates, and rum.
Created by Jacob Fergus, Quarter Acre features a small, focused wine list. Fergus said in a statement, “By the glass selections are accessible and exciting with bottles ranging from Chardonnay grown in Auckland, New Zealand to the great cellars of Reims, Champagne. Every taste, glass and bottle is thoughtfully selected and there is always something new to be discovered.”
Jacob has been involved in some of Dallas’s most prestigious beverage programs including serving wine from the exclusively French cellar at Bullion and most recently as Assistant Wine Director at Monarch. At Quarter Acre he leads the exploration of wines from the Southern Hemisphere, bringing both rare and traditional styles to the menu alongside European and American classics. Texas wines will also have a place on every table here to support local harvests.
Quarter Acre, designed by Dallas-based Coeval Studio, is inspired by Archibald’s personal and professional background. The approach was to express his global journey through a balance of modern contemporary design and a coastal sensibility from New Zealand. Materiality and finishes are curated to give the sense of South Pacific nation under the concept of a Jewel Box, where decorative accents are globally collected and unfolded within the dining room. The focal design feature of this dining room are the dining “pods”, inspired from the craftsmanship of woven fishing traps commonly found in the coast.
The 2300 square foot restaurant design features a minimalist and modern approach providing a natural feel. The interior dining space will offer seating for 65, and a patio (opening in Spring) will offer an additional 20 seats.
In closing, Archibald says, “An emphasis on the word hospitality cannot be understated; courtesy, civility, and liveliness will be the focal point of how all business is conducted at Quarter Acre, creating an ambiance where guests feel welcome, comfortable, and in professional and extremely capable hands. As a chef, it’s a wonderful feeling to be able to bring people together through my food, whether it’s for a special occasion or just a regular evening out. When you boil it down, I just love to cook and make people happy.”
