At $11.5 million, is The Mexican one of Dallas’ most expensive restaurants?

When the money men approved final touches to Dallas restaurant The Mexican, their hope was to open “the most beautiful restaurant Dallas has ever seen,” said Rich Hicks, one of four co-owners.

“And I think we did that,” he said of the 11,000 square-foot restaurant nestled on Turtle Creek.

Indeed, the 2-year-old restaurant — named for Mexican-born businessman Roberto González Alcalá — is the Most Beautiful Restaurant in North America, according to the international architectural awards by Prix Versailles in November 2023. The Mexican was the only restaurant in the United States named, and the award turned eyes back on Dallas and its glittery newcomer.

It’s but one in a long list of pretty, pricey restaurants that have opened in Dallas in the past few years. But did The Mexican put more money in than most?

Yes: The Mexican cost an incredible $11.5 million in design and construction, Hicks said in a series of interviews. That price tag includes construction, architectural design, tile, flooring, furniture and more. The wallpaper alone cost $100,000. The owners hired Cancún designer Paulina Morán, whose budget was $5.3 million.

Perhaps that long runway comes from “The Mexican” himself, González. His father, now deceased, was the chairman of Gruma, a tortilla mega-manufacturer from Mexico valued today at $120 billion. It owns Mission tortillas, which is headquartered in Irving.

With González’s identity on the building, the intention was always to offer “jaw-dropping wow” design, as Hicks put it.

“It’s the only partnership I’ve been in where ‘no’ was never the response,” he said.

Not included in The Mexican’s $11.5 million sum is an extra $90,000 in art. The seven colorful pieces all over the sprawling restaurant are part of González’s personal collection.

Hicks has been in the Dallas restaurant industry for 40 years, primarily as co-founder of casual dining restaurants like Mooyah Burgers, Fries and Shakes; Ojos Locos Sports Cantina; and Pie Tap Pizza Workshop + Bar. At $11.5 million, The Mexican is “by far” the most expensive restaurant he’s built, he said.

The team budgeted $8 million, but you know how that goes: “There was a lot of sticker shock,” Hicks said of the construction and design phases. The rest of the team didn’t seem to flinch.

The building was once used for storage by Eagles singer Don Henley, yet another delicious flourish.

We decided to compare The Mexican to other high-profile restaurant openings of the same size. (After all, inflated construction costs across the country could make it seem pricier than it is.) Fearing’s, the 10,000 square-foot restaurant in Dallas’ tony Ritz-Carlton, cost nearly $5 million in 2007, or more like $7.4 million in today’s money. Dee Lincoln Prime, the 11,500 square-foot Frisco restaurant that opened in 2017, cost $6 million, or more like $7.5 million today.

If the most lavish North Texas restaurants cost $1,000 a square foot — and some did, as told to The Dallas Morning News — The Mexican’s price goes higher: $1,045 per square foot, excluding the patio.

The Mexican in Dallas' Design District is designed to the max

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Interestingly, The Mexican’s food is priced in line with or below steakhouses and sushi restaurants in Dallas. Hicks said dinner averages about $90 per person before gratuity — notably less than the $200-plus per person splurges at Dallas’ newest omakase restaurants like Sushi by Scratch and Mābo.

But does big design and a huge price tag matter to customers? On a Thursday night in late March 2024, the restaurant had an impressive 355 seats reserved for dinner. What’s more, Dallas was in the midst of a nasty thunderstorm. A dozen cars idled in the valet line at 7:30 p.m., windshield wipers flying, as their drivers waited to join the party.

Hicks said Friday nights usually mean almost twice as many customers, in the 500 or 600 range. A great Saturday night at The Mexican includes 700 people or more, he said.

The Mexican has been open for two years and it still sparkles. Tough reviews lobbed at The Mexican in 2022 — that it was “not interested in good Mexican food,” said D, and it suffered from “cognitive dissonance,” wrote Texas Monthly — seem a distant memory. The restaurant, in the past year, sold more alcohol than 98% of other restaurants in Dallas.

The owners are ready for more. They’ve signed leases to open The Mexican in Houston’s Post Oak area and in Miami’s Brickell Key, in 2025 and 2026.

Bet you’re wondering how much those will cost. The budget is $12 million to $14 million. Each.

Really, a $250 margarita?

It doesn’t make a lot of sense to buy the $250 margarita at The Mexican, as Texas Monthly taco editor José Ralat was first to point out nearly two years ago. Still, servers sell 10 to 15 of them a month.

The Pancho Villa marg is flashy just to be flashy. It’s made with Clase Azul Ultra Tequila, a premium spirit best enjoyed neat or on the rocks. Here, they’ll stir it up with sugar and lime and charge more than the most expensive menu item, the $185 shareable Tomahawk steak. But look around! This place is glammy. So, sure, there’s a $250 margarita.

Most customers spend more like $17 on each tequila-based cocktail.

An intriguing option is the tequila tasting led by “tequila sommelier” Leonardo Alejandro Vargas.

“Everything I learned in five years [tasting tequila], we do in a tasting in 5 minutes,” he said. He pours small sips of several tequilas and gets guests talking about the flavor nuances. It feels like yet another moment for The Mexican to offer a dash of showbiz inside its booming dining room.

A ‘richer’ Mexican restaurant

Designer Morán often works with big budgets. Her specialty is boutique hotels — projects that are “very small and very controlled,” as she puts it.

She designed Madrid restaurant Abya and Yucatan restaurant Ixi’im for a budget similar to The Mexican’s, of about $5 million each in design alone. Ixi’im boasts the largest tequila collection in the world, Michelin reported in 2022, and it was honored by Prix Versailles in 2018 for best restaurant design in the world.

Morán was asked by González to “make a statement” with her design in Dallas. With it, she won her sixth Prix Versailles award.

One of Morán’s favorite design elements at The Mexican are the Day of the Dead skulls commissioned from an artist in Oaxaca. Other pieces are more colorful, like the commissioned Huracanes pieces by artists Jacobo and Maria Angeles in one of three private rooms. The Mexican also has a members-only cigar lounge in the back. It’s $5,000 to join. Two-dozen people sat in the room on that rainy Thursday, talking business, watching sports and working on laptops.

Designer Morán spent extra time thinking about the women’s restroom. The curved mirror offers va-va-voom views and a stylish place to touch up makeup. And does it matter? Of course it does.

“When you’re in front of the mirror, in this lovely light, you feel like a million dollars,” she said. Or, maybe, $11.5 million.

As Morán thought about the stylistic elements of The Mexican, she talked about the sophistication of what she calls the “new Mexico.” She makes a comparison: When unaffiliated restaurant Javier’s opened more than 45 years ago in Dallas, it showcased a segment of Mexican cuisine that North Texans with deep pockets still love. The Mexican can offer a “richer” version of Mexican culture today, its designer said.

She and the owners seem less concerned about competing with other Mexican restaurants in Dallas, or even with other high-end neighbors who serve steak or pasta. She’s thinking globally.

“You compete with the people in San Francisco,” Morán said. “You compete with people in New York. In Mexico.”

The Mexican is possibly Dallas’ most flagrant example of spending big bucks to attract customers.

“People are really interested in every detail in a restaurant,” Hicks said.

“And that,” he said, “costs money.”

The Mexican is at 1401 Turtle Creek Blvd., Dallas. Want to go? Reservations are recommended.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X (formerly Twitter) at @sblaskovich.