Dallas has no shortage of beloved Mexican restaurants, but getting local diners to agree on the best one is another matter entirely.
That debate quickly took over when DiningOut Dallas asked its Facebook followers to name their favorite Mexican restaurant. Nearly 500 comments poured in, with readers naming 28 restaurants across Dallas and the surrounding suburbs. Old-school institutions battled newer favorites, upscale Mexican restaurants went head-to-head with neighborhood Tex-Mex joints, and plenty of commenters had strong opinions about what should, or shouldn’t, count as Mexican food in the first place.
Still, one restaurant managed to rise above the debate. Ojeda’s, the longtime Dallas institution whose original location sits on Maple Avenue, received 27 recommendations, making it the most-mentioned restaurant in the poll. El Fenix followed with 22 votes, while Mia’s earned 19. E Bar came in with 18, and Avila’s and Javier’s tied with 17 recommendations each.
The results offer a snapshot of the way Dallas eats Mexican food: with plenty of nostalgia, fierce neighborhood loyalty and a deep affection for the restaurants that have been serving generations of local families. And while the Mexican-versus-Tex-Mex argument was never really settled, readers made it abundantly clear that Dallas has no shortage of restaurants worth fighting over…