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5 Dallas-Fort Worth spots make Texas Monthly list of best new taquerías

Dragon Casa is a restaurant in North Dallas that blends Chinese and Mexican influences.

Yelp

Five Dallas-Fort Worth taquerias have earned spots on Texas Monthly’s newly released list of the The 25 Best New(ish) Texas Taquerias in 2026. Published Monday, May 18, the list, compiled by TM taco editor José Ralat, serves as a mid-cycle update to his 2024 roundup of the 50 Best Tacos in Texas, which is published every four years.

Five spots across the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex have made the list. Here's a list, with a quote or description from Ralat:

Aquí Se Come, a restaurant in Arlington that’s located in a Kwik Food Store. "Don’t miss the textural double whammy of chicharrón guisado, a mix of chopped chicharrón and cubed chicharrón prensado (pressed pork cracklings). This rare treat combines soft pieces of skin and fat with firm meat in a red salsa and is served in your choice of a flour or yellow or blue corn tortilla—all are wonderfully chewy with a buttery finish." 300 W. Randol Mill Rd., Arlington.

Dragon Casa, a restaurant in North Dallas that blends Chinese and Mexican influences. "Customers can dive into dishes such as tacos stuffed with strips of Peking duck or tantalizing birria inside xiao long bao (soup dumplings) or mixed with fried rice." 3355 E. Trinity Mills Rd., Dallas.

Tacos Juancho, an Oak Lawn-area restaurant with a “superior” ribeye taco. "The best taco on the menu is the ribeye, inspired by the taco de gaonera served at Mexico City taqueria El Califa de León. Tacos Juancho’s version is far superior, featuring succulent beef, milky yet caramelized quesillo, creamy avocado, and queso fresco on a blue corn tortilla." 3604 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas.

Taco King, a restaurant in Plano that serves halal tacos with Mexican and Levantine influences. "There are the requisite birria tacos and burritos, but you must try the signature King Taco, in which an asiago-forward costra is filled with well-seasoned carne asada." 4100 Fourteenth, Plano.

Taqueria La Revolución, a Haltom City restaurant that excels at seafood tacos. "La Revolución spotlights a little of everything but excels in seafood, especially with its taco gobernador, a cheesy shrimp taco that is crisped on the plancha. Also stellar is the ribeye taco, popping with beefy flavor and a dash of salt and finished with sweetness from ribbons of caramelized onions." 4000 E. Belknap, Haltom City.

A few more DFW restaurants have earned honorable mentions, published in a separate list titled "Ten Up-and-Coming Texas Taquerias I’m Keeping My Eye On:"

Donde Los Tacos in Oak Cliff, Dallas. "This joint’s signature taco perron features queso asadero, a slab of ribeye, and a pile of grilled nopales." 900 W. Davis St., Dallas.
Señor Oink in Farmers Branch. "In this area of Dallas, you can find your fill of pork at Señor Oink, which serves all manner of carnitas." 12990 Bee St. #120, Farmers Branch.
Dos Mares in Fort Worth. "Here you’ll find a Baja fish taco that pleases with its crunchy slaw." 3260 W. 7th St. Fort Worth.

Elsewhere in Texas, San Antonio and Houston each have four spots on the list. Austin has two. The new(ish) can’t miss taco joints in Texas’ other major metros include:

San Antonio:

Aguazul, a seafood restaurant from chef Enrique Lozano
Anacacho Coffee & Cantina, a casual restaurant from chef Leo Davila
Tacos on the Street, the first U.S. location of the Puerto Vallarta-based chain
Waca, a food trailer known for its carne asada

Houston:

Alturas Mexican Cafe, a family-owned restaurant near the Heights
Bar Xolo, a Mexico City-inspired dining bar in Montrose
Huncho’s Tacos, a halal taqueria in Southwest Houston
Maximo, an upscale Mexican restaurant in West University Place

Austin:

Comadre Panadería, a bakery in East Austin that recently added breakfast tacos
Paprika ATX, a food truck-turned-restaurant that’s known for its Saturday-only trompo tacos

Ralat writes that he visited almost 200 taquerias to assemble the list, which is made up of restaurants that “opened, reopened, or expanded their menus between August 2024 and this past March.”

While restaurateurs have faced challenges that include rising prices and aggressive immigration enforcement efforts, the overall state of tacos in Texas is strong, he says.

“But nothing gets in the way of ganas — guts, desire, determination, and hard work. The 25 best new taquerias — revealed in alphabetical order by location (alongside ten honorable mentions) — all have that quality,” he writes.

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Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

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