Behind a gas station and an auto shop on Lovers Lane, there’s a taco spot with no real sign, just a black wall with gold mortar marking where to walk in. It’s called Mi Rey Restaurant Bar, and it’s exactly the kind of place Dallas is full of and never talks about enough: family-owned, unfussy, and quietly excellent.
Inside, it’s a sports-bar kind of room, pool tables, a couple of TVs, casual seating, the sort of space built for a long lazy meal rather than a quick bite. The menu runs on the classics done right rather than anything trying to reinvent itself.
Start with the tacos, made on handmade tortillas rather than anything from a package, which is the kind of detail that changes everything about a taco before you even get to what’s inside it. The chicharron tacos are the ones worth building a visit around, crispy pork belly with all the richness that comes with it. For something classic, the carne quesadilla is loaded generously enough that it eats like a full meal on its own.
The tortas deserve just as much attention. A torta is a Mexican sandwich built on a soft roll, and the barbacoa torta here is the one people keep coming back for, slow-cooked beef piled high enough that it takes real effort to finish. If you’re in the mood for something warm and slow rather than handheld, the pozole is a weekend-only tradition, a hominy and pork stew that’s the kind of dish you plan a Saturday around rather than something you order on a whim. For anyone who wants the more traditional version of that same comfort, the menudo is on the menu too.
And if none of that sounds right, there’s the Hamburguesa Regia, the restaurant’s own take on a burger, for anyone who wants something familiar with a little more flair behind it.
No trip to Mi Rey is complete without the green salsa. It shows up on nearly everything, and it’s the difference between a good plate and a great one, sharp, bright, and exactly as spicy as it needs to be without taking over the dish underneath it.
Mi Rey is located at 2115 W. Lovers Lane in Dallas, closed Mondays, open until midnight most nights and until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. It’s easy to miss and worth the extra minute it takes to find.
There’s also a reason to keep an eye on this one beyond the food. Mi Rey just filed for a mixed beverage permit with the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the license that lets a restaurant serve liquor by the drink instead of just beer and wine. What that means day to day, a bigger bar menu, longer hours, or something else entirely, isn’t public yet. But it’s a sign this quiet little spot behind the auto shop is about to get a little less quiet.
