Mesa Veracruz Coastal Cuisine

The menu, featuring Olga and Raul Reyes’ simple, well-turned-out dishes, is the most focused of the new wave of Dallas Mexican restaurants, spotlighting the bright, fresh cooking of Veracruz. Seafood stands out, as in a rich crab and shrimp soup called chilpachol de jaiba y camarón, but there are earthly and flighty delights too, such as oxtail braised in hoja santa sauce or duck leg in a lusty mole negro. But it’s not just great cooking that puts the Oak Cliff restaurant on this list: It’s also the polished, warm, hospitable service and spare yet striking decor. Meanwhile, Mesa’s enmoladas — mole layered into handmade corn tortillas — were one of the most memorable tastes of last year.
118 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas. 214-941-4246. mesadallas.com. (Full review)

Could we possibly be in the right place? The West Jefferson Boulevard address seems to match what I wrote down, but this Oak Cliff storefront, next to Olga’s Salón de Belleza, doesn’t look like a spot for a restaurant with the sense of style its website projects. Oh, but there’s the name spelled out on the sketchy-looking, cloudy windows: Mesa.

Walk in, and you know you’re in the right place: The dining room, done in warm earth tones, with banquettes spanning one wall and an inviting bar facing the other, feels at once chic and a little rustic. Striking wall hangings fashioned from reclaimed wood and other art pieces were made by Raul Reyes, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Olga. (Yes, that’s her beauty salon next door, too.) Tables, cloth-covered and topped with butcher paper, are spaced well apart, giving the place an expansive feel. (Full review)