Chef Omar Flores of fried chicken fame is opening a new restaurant called Muchacho.
Flores' new Tex-Mex restaurant is set to open late summer, which was first reported by Escape Hatch Dallas. He says they're doing a ground-up remodel of the original Taco Diner location that closed in 2018 at The Plaza at Preston Center off of Northwest Highway.
“We’re blessed to get the location,” he says. “We fought hard to get it. We had a couple of tastings with the landlords to get our foot in the door.”
Originally from El Paso, Flores has called Dallas his home for the last 15 years. He last opened Whistle Britches in 2016 to generally great reviews, particularly because of the chicken. He also headed the now-closed Spanish restaurant Casa Rubia in Trinity Groves and Driftwood in Oak Cliff. Now tackling Tex-Mex, Flores says it's been a style of food he has wanted to do for a long time.
Arguably, Dallas is known for its great Tex-Mex. What will set Muchacho apart from all the other spots in Dallas is quality and execution, he says.
“We’re going to have a lot of classics, but they’ll be done my way,” Flores says. “I grew up in El Paso, so I grew up on a lot of Mexican food that was more influenced by Northern Chihuahua. So I’m hoping to bring some El Paso flair to it.”
As far as atmosphere goes, Dallas space designer Tyler Duncan is helping design the restaurant with a rustic, border town feel, Flores says. Features will include a bar stocked with Mexican wines, mezcal and a heavy tequila selection, a chef’s table and an outdoor patio.
The food menu will have the classics: enchiladas, tacos, queso, fajitas, you name it. But there will be a focus on smoked and grilled meats, Flores says, since the waft of food coming off the grill reminds him of Texas.
4011 Villanova Street, Dallas.
