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.
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