Two Planos: Legacy West & Old Town
Plano’s food scene is split down the middle — the glossy, brand-new Legacy West development on one side, and the century-old brick storefronts of Historic Downtown on the other. These four restaurants, two in each, tell the whole story: a food hall with a beer slide, an Austrian café, upscale Texas, and a rooftop ice bar.
See the FourThe New Plano and the Old One
Not four takes on “global flavors” — four genuinely different Plano experiences, two from each side of the city, each researched from the source.
Legacy Hall
The anchor of the glossy Legacy West district — a three-story, 55,000-square-foot European-style food hall with 20-plus chef-driven stalls under one roof, from lobster rolls and duck fried chicken to ramen, shawarma, and Mexico City–style tacos. The third floor holds Unlawful Assembly Brewing Co., Plano’s first craft brewery — and yes, there’s a beer slide down to the second. Outside, the Box Garden stages live music and watch parties. Come hungry, bring a group, and graze.
Haywire
Legacy Hall’s upscale sibling, from the same Front Burner group, spread over three floors and styled after the high-desert cool of Marfa, Texas. It’s heritage Texas cooking made modern with Texas-sourced ingredients — Wagyu tomahawks and chicken-fried classics — plus a first-floor whiskey lounge stocking 400-plus bottles beneath a floating fireplace. Head up to the rooftop for cocktails around the fire pits, teepees, and an actual Airstream trailer parked under the stars.
Jorg’s Cafe Vienna
A tiny slice of Austria on the cobbled-brick stretch of 15th Street in Historic Downtown Plano. Native Austrian Jörg Fercher and his wife Cathy opened it in 2002, and their bar and biergarten helped turn Old Town into a dining destination. Two decades on, the schnitzel is still pounded thin by hand, the wurst sampler and warm pretzels still start most meals, and Jörg himself still often answers the phone. Finish with apple strudel or Sacher torte.
Urban Crust
The other restaurant that put Old Town Plano on the map. The Sheas restored an 1800s harness-and-saddle shop on 15th Street in 2009 and brought in Sardinian chef Salvatore Gisellu — who calls his twin-chamber wood-fired oven his “Ferrari with two doors” — to turn out authentic Italian pizza and pasta. The real signature sits up top: the 32 Degrees Rooftop Bar, an ice bar that pours drafts at 32°F and shots at –5°F.
Which Side of the City Tonight?
Two districts, two very different moods. Tap one to see what’s waiting — and which two restaurants call it home.
The One Move to Make at Each
If you only do one thing at each stop, do this — the orders and rituals that make each place worth the trip.
Do: graze across three or four stalls — a lobster roll, some tacos, a bowl of ramen — then grab a beer from Unlawful Assembly upstairs.
Why: it’s a food hall, so the whole point is to sample widely rather than commit to one plate.
Do: go for a Texas steak or the Wagyu tomahawk if you’re splurging, then finish with a nightcap on the rooftop.
Why: it’s heritage Texas cooking done upscale, and the rooftop Airstream-and-fire-pit scene is half the reason to come.
Do: start with the wurst sampler and warm pretzel, then the Wiener schnitzel with a Dunkel in the biergarten.
Why: the schnitzel is what Jörg is famous for, pounded thin by hand — and the apple strudel is worth saving room for.
Do: order a 12-inch wood-fired signature pizza, then head up to the 32 Degrees rooftop for a drink.
Why: the crisp semolina crust and the ice-cold rooftop bar are the full Urban Crust experience.
Why the City Eats in Two Halves
A little context on Plano makes the split between its two dining districts click into place.
A corporate boomtown
Plano is one of the wealthiest, most-relocated-to suburbs in Texas — home to the North American headquarters of Toyota, plus JCPenney, Frito-Lay, and more — and a regular on national “best and safest places to live” lists.
Legacy West, the new district
Opened in 2017 as a roughly $2-billion open-air development, Legacy West packed shops, hotels, corporate offices, and big-ticket dining — including Legacy Hall and Haywire — into one glossy, walkable stretch on the city’s north side.
Historic Downtown Plano
A few miles east, the century-old brick storefronts of 15th Street form Plano’s arts-and-dining district — walkable, served by the DART Red Line, and anchored by the Interurban Railway Museum that tells the story of the old electric railway.
Two scenes, one city
That’s why Plano dining feels split in two: the shiny new district and the historic old one each have their own personality. The best way to eat here is simply to try both sides.
Eat Across Both Districts
One easy route that hits the new Plano and the old one in a single day.
Graze at Legacy Hall
Start in the new district — sample a few stalls across the three floors, and if the Box Garden’s got live music or a game on, settle in. See the menu →
Wander 15th Street, then Urban Crust
Drive over to Historic Downtown, walk the brick storefronts, and grab a wood-fired pizza — then take a drink up to the 32-degree rooftop ice bar. See the menu →
End in either Plano
Stay in Old Town for schnitzel and a biergarten beer at Jorg’s Cafe Vienna, or head back to Legacy West for upscale Texas and the rooftop Airstream at Haywire.