Chef Omar Larson spent years in some of the most demanding fine dining kitchens in Dallas — Kessaku, Monarch — before opening his own room in downtown. Luna Roja opened April 2 at 1525 Elm Street, steps from the AT&T Discovery District, and it is doing something nobody else in downtown Dallas is doing.
The concept is modern Mexican — regional flavors, shareable plates, 50-plus tequilas and mezcals, all-day service from breakfast through dinner. That’s the daily operation. But once a month, Larson pulls the chairs together and runs the TacoKase: a chef-led taco tasting built on the omakase model, a curated progression of tacos made with seasonal ingredients that changes completely each time. It’s the kind of thing that sounds gimmicky until you think about what omakase actually is — a chef deciding what you eat based on what’s best right now — and realize the taco is as logical a vehicle for that format as any piece of fish. The monthly rotation means no two dinners are the same, and regulars are already tracking the dates.
The everyday menu earns its own attention. Start with the Shrimp and Scallop Aguachile — cucumber radish salad, avocado purée, spicy aguachile verde on a crispy tortilla. Clean, precise, the kind of opener that tells you immediately where Larson’s training went. The Street Corn Croquettes with cotija, jalapeño, lime, and tajÃn are the table snack that disappears fastest. At lunch, the Torta Luna is slow-cooked citrus pork on a bolillo with melted cheese, onion, cilantro, salsa verde, and avocado — the kind of sandwich that makes you reconsider what a torta can be when someone with a fine dining background builds it. The Taqueria Smash Burger puts Oaxaca cheese, poblano rajas, and caramelized onions on a double smash patty, which is either a brilliant cross-reference or a very good burger depending on your mood.
Dinner gets more serious. The Ancho Glazed Short Ribs come with sweet potato purée — slow-braised, deeply spiced, the kind of main course that reads as Mexican in its soul even with a plating sensibility borrowed from the fine dining world. The Chipotle Honey Glazed Half Chicken with charred poblano mashed potatoes is the weeknight option that could anchor a regular habit. The cocktail list is built around the tequila and mezcal selection, which at 50-plus bottles is one of the more serious agave programs in downtown Dallas.
The room is warm and mural-heavy — a large painted wall anchors the main dining room, the bar is built for lingering, and the patio faces Elm Street. It runs breakfast Monday through Friday starting at 6 a.m. — useful for the downtown office crowd — with weekend brunch from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Happy hour runs Monday through Friday 4 to 6 p.m. Dinner runs until 9 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Luna Roja is at 1525 Elm Street in downtown Dallas. Reservations on OpenTable. Follow @lunarojadallas for TacoKase dates.
