One of Dallas’ very best restaurants, Revolver Taco Lounge, has sprouted two more outposts, thereby tripling the opportunity for Michoacán-style carnitas and seared duck breast tacos in a matter of two days.
The first expansion opened yesterday in The Exchange Hall, the food hall wing of AT&T Discovery District, which has slowly but surely grown in restaurant tenants over the last year. Revolver Taco Lounge joins Rise and Thyme, The Dock, a casual drinking spot dubbed Double Tap, and a burger joint called Bobbers. It’s an abbreviated slate of what else to come (Monkey King Noodle Co., Val’s Cheesecakes, to name a couple).
“Opening at The Exchange Hall is great for us—great exposure for talented Dallas chefs,” says chef and owner Regino Rojas. “It reminds me of the mercados municipales of Mexico where the town showcases the best, showcases the dining culture of the city—is vibrant! Energetic!”
Rojas has in the past declined many an offer to join other food halls. This time it felt right. “This type of mercados are by the people, for the people!” he says. “The Exchange is exactly what a food should be: a mercado for everyone.”
You can’t miss Revolver’s graffiti-emblazoned counter if you tried:
The counter service setup is cafeteria-casual. But you can see the tortillas being made right in front, the very taste and method of the ones you’d have at the Deep Ellum flagship. Sure, it feels a little like dining inside a mall food court except with local names rather than big chains, of course. The flavors Revolver has delivered for years still shine through.
“Day one we had a nice little lunch rush,” said Revolver general manager Byron Crane. “It’s all happening at once, but we’re excited.” At the Revolver counter, find the familiar lineup of tacos you might already know and love: carne asada, al pastor, piloncillo-sweetened pinchi pollo, perfectly tender pulpo, pato (duck breast), Baja-style pescado, and calabacita (squash sautéed with tomato).
Today, June 15, Revolver makes its homecoming return to Fort Worth. Rojas brings back his pitch-perfect tacos to Cowtown, this time in the former Taco Diner space in Sundance Square. This location has a larger footprint and thusly has both a Revolver Taco Lounge for casual taco consumption as well as a Purepecha space.
Purepecha Room inside Deep Ellum’s Revolver, if you recall, was Rojas’ tasting menu that offered both nostalgic and modern takes on regional Mexican cuisine. Now it’s La Resistencia, where Rojas spins heirloom corn into fine-tuned dishes. In Fort Worth, Purepecha will serve the Michoacán dishes that Rojas and his mother, Juanita Rojas, love but make less sense in Revolver’s quick-service format. (You can book reservations on Resy.)
This article was updated on June 16 at 8:33 a.m. with quotes from Regino Rojas who was justifiably very busy opening two new restaurants to talk yesterday.
