:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/70075068/la_mina.0.jpeg)
An underground restaurant serving regional Mexican cuisine, led by a Dallas chef with an impressive resume, is now open in the Village.
La Mina, helmed by Tony Ibarra, opened below the Drey Hotel at 5630 Village Glen Drive, last week. It joins luxe Brazillian restaurant Meridian and newly-opened Mediterranean spot Anise in the development.
If Tony Ibarra’s name sounds familiar, that’s because he’s been making the rounds of Dallas kitchens for a while, most notably working closely with chef Misti Norris at Nana, and helping her open Petra and the Beast in 2018.
At La Mina, Ibarra will be drawing on his El Paso roots and Mexican heritage to create dishes like coctél de camarones with mezcal, cucumber, and radish; Market Fish Veracurz cooked in banana leaves; and chicken mole negro with tortillas made from heirloom corn, nixtamalized and ground in-house. (As a child, Ibarra travelled frequently to his grandmother’s home in the northern Mexico state of Durango.)
Also on the menu is puerco con chile with mayocoba and rosado beans; Norteño-style braised beef; and an assortment of tacos, enchiladas, and Mexican breakfasts.
The bar menu will focus on mezcal and tequila, with drinks like La Ciudad, made with Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, Old Forrester, sweet vermouth, and allspice dram; and Mango para Bebes, made with a Oaxacan sugarcane-based liquor, mango and herbs. The dessert menu, created by the Village’s head baker and pastry chef David Madrid, includes a tres leches parfait with winter fruits and crispy pepita meringue; chocoflan with cherries; and churros served with dark chocolate and cajeta.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22976428/la_mina_2.jpeg)
La Mina means “the mine” in Spanish, and the Village’s vice president of food and beverage, Casie Caldwell, says in a statement that she hopes the restaurant will gain the reputation of a hidden gem in the development.
“The subterranean location makes you feel like you’ve entered into someplace really special. It gives our guests a sense of escape from the big city,” she says.
La Mina is open Tuesday through Thursday 4 to 10 p.m., Friday from 4 p.m. to midnight, Saturday 10 a.m. to midnight; and Sunday 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
