La Reunion Opens in Bishop Arts With the Holy Grail of Espresso Machines

La Reunion just brought the Bishops Arts District a new day-to-night spot to sip espresso shots pulled by a first-of-its-kind machine for Texas.

Modbar AV is the result of years of collaborative R&D between Modbar and La Marzocco. Coffee beans will be roasted on-site in a custom roaster stationed just inside the front door.

The 8 a.m.-to-noon menu at La Reunion (229 N. Bishop Avenue, Dallas), which opened on Friday, November 1, includes French toast “flights” served on sourdough baguettes with whipped goat cheese and seasonal jams; a croque madame; and breakfast tart topped with parsley pesto, heirloom tomatoes, and gruyere.

La Reunion comes from caffeine aficionado Mike Mettendorf, who kicked off his career at Caribou Coffee in 2005 as a teen, working up the barista ranks and going on to open State Street Coffee inside The Alcove in 2013. In charge of the coffee program at La Reunion is general manager Ali Abderrahman, who was the highest-placing barista from Texas in the 2019 U.S. Barista Championship.

La Reunion/official photo

Executive chef Matt Smith is doing all accoutrements like pickles, rillettes, and mayonnaise in-house. Smith also cures his own pork belly to make bacon, which appears in the avocado breakfast sandwich alongside zaa’tar and with mussels for afternoon hours.

La Reunion/official photo

The menu flips at noon, offering pressed chicken sandwiches, charcuterie, and red wine poached pear for dessert until 10 p.m.

Ian Montgomery, level 2 sommelier and owner of Bishop Arts’ Neighborhood Cellar, curated a wine list focused on small producers and mom-and-pop craft wines. He expects to eventually expand the lineup from about 40 to 100 labels. For cocktails, riffs on classics include a French 75 with lavender syrup and a pecan-bourbon Old Fashioned jazzed up with Kyoto cold brew.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily or later.

La Reunion/official photo