Star Dallas Chef John Tesar Teases Potential Expansion Into Orange County

Orange County’s hot dining scene could be in line for a big new name soon, as it seems star Dallas chef John Tesar is considering putting a restaurant in Laguna Beach. And not just any restaurant — this would be a redo of his shuttered seafood hit Spoon.

Tesar is best known today for his upscale Dallas steakhouse Knife, where his cooking has routinely landed him in the James Beard conversation. He’s also become a national figure over the years for his run on Top Chef, and a very public, very ugly feud with Dallas’s then-longtime restaurant critic Leslie Brenner.

Before much of that, Tesar was known as a force in the local Dallas scene thanks to his seafood restaurant Spoon, which shuttered after a few years despite, he says, still being financially viable. Since then he’s been hosting occasional Spoon pop-up dinners, and routinely teases a return of the restaurant on social media.

His latest musing about the fate of Spoon happened on Facebook, where he posted yesterday:

Spoon is Coming back ... but sorry Dallas I am opening it in Laguna Beach California #DanaPoint ... May 2018

Reached for comment, reps for Tesar say that may be a bit premature — he and his business partner are indeed looking for a lease in that area, but they say nothing is final or in any way confirmed. Tesar has been known to be a bit bombastic over the years, so consider this one tenuous at least until the sign is actually up over the door.

• Orange County's 21 Hottest Restaurants, Spring 2017 [ELA]