We're open until 3 AM, 365 days a year, holidays included. If you want to sit down to a hot meal in Plano after the usual kitchens have gone quiet, our Preston Road pizzeria is built for exactly that. Pizza, pasta, wings, subs and salads, with dough made fresh in-house every day.
This guide covers how late dine-in really works around Plano and Dallas, what to check before you drive, and how to plan a late night with a group, a date or a post-shift dinner.
TL;DR
- Zio Al's is open until 3 AM every day of the year, with dine-in, pickup and delivery.
- Many Dallas-area kitchens close between 10 PM and 2 AM, and some close the kitchen before the bar, so verify kitchen hours before you go.
- The whole menu is pork-free: beef pepperoni, turkey ham and beef bacon. Zabiha halal is available upon request.
- Skip delivery app markups: order direct at zioals.com or in the Zio Al's app, which takes 15% off your first order.
Table of Contents
- Why late dine-in is harder to find than it looks
- What "dine-in open late" should mean
- Eating late in Plano with Zio Al's
- A pork-free kitchen, and halal upon request
- Who a 3 AM dine-in works for
- Dine-in, pickup or delivery: how to choose
- Why you should order direct
- Our perspective: late-night food should not be a compromise
- Plan your late night: a simple checklist
- Beyond Plano: late nights around DFW
- Feeding a crowd? Look at catering
- FAQ
- Sources
Why late dine-in is harder to find than it looks
Search "open late" in Plano and you will get a long list. Look closer and the list shrinks fast.
Some places stay open late for drinks only. Others keep a short bar menu after 10 PM. A few serve a full menu until midnight or 1 AM, then lock up. Visit Dallas points out that late-night venues in Dallas run on very different schedules, with closing times ranging from 10 PM to 4 AM depending on the spot and the day. It also notes that some kitchens close as early as 10 PM even when the bar stays open.
That matters if you want a real meal and a table. A bar being open does not mean the kitchen is.
The same guide says Dallas has limited true 24-hour options. A handful of diners run around the clock, and a few spots push to 3 or 4 AM on weekends. Most of the rest wind down well before that.
So the real question is not "what is open?" It is "what is serving a full menu, at a table, at the hour I will actually arrive?"
What "dine-in open late" should mean
Before you pick a spot, run it through four checks.
- Kitchen hours, not door hours. Ask whether the full menu is served until closing. We keep our kitchen running right up to 3 AM, so you will not show up to find us winding down.
- Same hours every night. Many restaurants cut hours Sunday through Wednesday. Ours do not change on holidays or weekdays.
- A menu that works at 1 AM. You want something filling and fast, not a tasting menu.
- Room for a group. Late nights often mean four to ten people showing up at once.
If a place passes all four, it is a real late-night option. If it passes two, call first.
Eating late in Plano with Zio Al's
Our Plano pizzeria sits on Preston Road, in one of the busiest stretches of the city. It is open until 3 AM every night, including weekends and holidays, for dine-in, pickup and delivery.
Here is what you can sit down to.
Pizza built to order
The dough is made fresh in-house every day. Pizzas are built to order, not pulled from a warming tray. If you like meat on your pie, you get beef pepperoni, turkey ham or beef bacon.
Pasta for a heavier appetite
When a slice is not enough, pasta is the move. It is hot, filling and easy to share across a table.
Wings in 10 sauces
Wings come traditional, boneless or breaded, in 10 sauces. A group can order three flavors and argue about the winner. (Someone always does.)
Subs and salads
Not everyone at the table wants pizza. Subs and salads give you lighter or handheld options without leaving the same menu.
A pork-free kitchen, and halal upon request
The entire menu is pork-free. That is true of every item, every night.
Halal works a little differently, and we want you to know exactly how. Zabiha halal is available upon request. It is not the default preparation, and the restaurant is not halal certified. If halal matters to your meal, ask when you order and we will take care of it.
This is why many families end up with us late at night. Finding a pork-free menu at 1 AM is hard. Finding one where you can also ask for zabiha halal is harder. If you are planning around Ramadan, our guide to late-night iftar and suhoor kitchens in DFW walks through how to plan the evening. For ordering ahead, see how to order halal food online late at night.
Who a 3 AM dine-in works for
The after-shift crowd
Hospital staff, restaurant workers, warehouse crews and anyone coming off a late shift do not want a drive-thru. They want to sit down, take their shoes-off breath and eat something hot. A table at midnight does that.
College students and groups
Studying until 1 AM builds an appetite. Pizza and wings are made for splitting, so a group of friends can feed everyone without a big bill. Order a few pies, add a wing flavor or two, and share.
Families who eat late
Some families eat late by habit, especially around events, travel or Ramadan. A pork-free menu with halal upon request takes one worry off the table.
Date night, after the dinner reservations are gone
A late dinner is quieter, and nobody is rushing you out. If you want ideas for the evening, we put together late-night date ideas in Dallas that end with pizza.
After a game or a big event
If you are heading to a stadium or arena, the food plan usually gets forgotten until the final whistle. Say you are grabbing Dallas Cowboys tickets for a weekend game. Crowds thin out slowly afterward, most kitchens have long since closed, and a 3 AM kitchen gives you somewhere to land once the traffic clears.
Dine-in, pickup or delivery: how to choose
| Option | Best for | What to know |
|---|---|---|
| Dine-in | Groups, dates, a real sit-down break | Full menu until closing at 3 AM |
| Pickup | Quick meals, drive-home orders | Order ahead direct and skip the wait |
| Delivery | Staying in, studying, working late | Order through zioals.com or the app |
| Catering | Offices, parties, team events | Pork-free options most caterers skip |
If you are not sure, start with dine-in. A fresh pizza straight from the oven is hard to beat.
Why you should order direct
Third-party delivery apps add markups, service fees and menu price bumps. By the time the food arrives, it can cost noticeably more than the same meal ordered from the restaurant.
Ordering direct avoids that. You can order at zioals.com or in the Zio Al's app. The app takes 15% off your first order, and it also handles mobile ordering and loyalty rewards.
For a longer breakdown of the late-night math, read our post on eating after midnight without app fees.
A local tip for groups: Dallasites 101 rounds up late restaurants across Dallas, and the pattern holds across the metroplex. Direct ordering is the simplest way to avoid extra fees when you are feeding several people at once.
Our perspective: late-night food should not be a compromise
We're a family-owned pizzeria, and we opened our doors late on purpose. Too many people in DFW work odd hours, study late or celebrate late, and too many kitchens stop caring at 10 PM.
So we stay open until 3 AM, 365 days a year. We do not shorten the hours on holidays, because that is when a lot of people have nowhere else to go.
We also think late-night food should be honest. Our dough is made fresh in-house every day. Our pizzas are built to order. The menu is pork-free, with beef pepperoni, turkey ham and beef bacon. Halal is upon request, and we say so plainly rather than overselling it.
And we think you should keep your money. That is why we push direct ordering. You get the same food without the app markup, and the first order in our app is 15% off.
Don't settle for less, crave more.
— Zio Al's Team
Plan your late night: a simple checklist
Before you head out, run through this list.
- Decide on the hour. If you will arrive after midnight, confirm the kitchen is serving a full menu.
- Count your group. Four or more people means ordering a mix of pies, wings and a pasta to share.
- Mention halal early. If you want zabiha halal, tell us when you order.
- Order ahead if you are in a hurry. Use zioals.com or the app and pick up when you arrive.
- Use the first-order discount. Download the app and take 15% off.
Beyond Plano: late nights around DFW
Plano is one stop on a bigger map. We serve neighborhoods across Dallas-Fort Worth and in Katy, so the same late hours follow you when you are in other parts of the metroplex.
- Heading toward the north side of the city? See our North Dallas pizza page.
- Driving through Carrollton? Check the Carrollton location.
- Staying on the west side? Our guides to late-night food in Arlington and Fort Worth cover the details.
The point is simple. Wherever the night takes you, you can count on a kitchen that stays open.
Feeding a crowd? Look at catering
Late-night dining is not always about restaurants. Sometimes a team is working through a deadline, or a party needs food after the main event.
We cater offices and parties across DFW, with pork-free options most caterers skip. Pizza, pasta and wings travel well and feed a crowd without fuss. Pricing is not published online, so reach out to get the details for your group.
Start on our catering page or see the DFW catering overview. For a quick look at the full menu, head to zioals.com, then order direct and take 15% off your first order in the app.
FAQ
What time does Zio Al's in Plano close?
We're open until 3 AM every night of the week. That includes weekends and holidays, 365 days a year. The kitchen stays open right up to closing.
Can I dine in at Zio Al's late at night?
Yes. We offer dine-in alongside pickup and delivery during all open hours. Pizzas are built to order, so you get a hot meal even in the middle of the night.
Is Zio Al's halal?
The whole menu is pork-free, using beef pepperoni, turkey ham and beef bacon. Zabiha halal is available upon request. It is not the default preparation, and the restaurant is not halal certified, so ask when you order.
Is it cheaper to order direct than through a delivery app?
Ordering direct at zioals.com or in the Zio Al's app lets you skip third-party delivery app markups. The app also takes 15% off your first order. We do not publish menu prices in this guide, so check the site for current pricing.
Are there 24-hour restaurants near Plano?
A few diners in the Dallas area run around the clock, but Visit Dallas notes that true 24-hour options are limited. If you want a pizzeria, we stay open until 3 AM every night.
Sources
- Can't Miss Spots For Late Night Food in Dallas, Visit Dallas
- Where to Eat Late at Night in Dallas, Dallasites 101