Though Mesa Mexican Cuisine in Oak Cliff is closing, owner Raul Reyes and executive chef Olga Sosa say they are sticking around. They plan to open a new restaurant in its place called La Palapa del Sabor — and soon.
La Palapa is going to be a more casual Mexican restaurant, with "more fish, more shrimp," Reyes says. Prices will also be lower than they were at Mesa.
Mesa closes after service on Aug. 17, and the owner says in a Facebook post that he thanks customers for the "unconditional support." The Veracruz-style restaurant was a staple on Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff, known for its mole enchiladas and seafood dishes like a mussels, clams, octopus, scallops and shrimp dish called guiso del chef and a seafood enchilada plate topped with bell pepper cream sauce and a side of bacon and bell pepper rice.
The margaritas, too.
Mesa operated for eight years, all under the idea to "bring something authentic and unique to Dallas," Reyes says.
We called it a "neighborhood gem" in 2018 and lauded it for its "midpriced delights" in 2015. Our critic in 2013 wrote that Mesa's chefs "turn out some of the most sophisticated Mexican cooking in Dallas."
And, you've probably heard, but Mesa hosted Jay-Z and Beyonce at the restaurant in 2013.
Reyes and Sosa's new restaurant name, La Palapa del Sabor, has a similar name to their first restaurant, La Palapa Veracruzana. (That restaurant closed in 2009 and we noted two years later that "foodies moped for months" over its shuttering.)
Reyes, Sosa and their team hope to reopen as La Palapa in a month.
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