Another Las Vegas transplant is headed to Dallas. Other recent new restaurants from the Nevada desert include Akira Back, a modern Japanese restaurant which we wrote about recently. There's also Sugar Factory, Sabelle's and even Carbone, which has a Vegas residency. Now La Neta Cocina Y Lounge, a Mexican restaurant that strives to combine tradition with reinvention, is coming to town.
Opening in early 2023, the restaurant will be part of The Epic, a development straddling Deep Ellum and downtown’s Central Business District that combines retail, office space, apartments and restaurants. La Neta comes from Mexican street slang for "the truth." According to the lounge's website it hopes to offer an experience that is unapologetically unique: "We remove you from your reality and immerse you in ours."
La Neta Dallas will showcase a living wall art installation consisting of greenery that brings nature into the dining area. The idea is to make diners feel like they are in the heart of the jungle in Tulum, Mexico.
Along with the offerings of enchiladas, fajitas, seafood dishes and flautas, guests will have the choice of a made-for-social-media BFT, or “Big F’n Taco,” one of which includes a whole lobster served with a fennel citrus slaw. The 24Karne BFT is grilled skirt steak, truffle cheese fondue and crispy onions with "24K gold," according to the menu.
Prices aren't listed on the Vegas menu. Bummer.
A section of the menu titled "For the Table" includes pan-fried whole branzino; paella with shrimp, octopus, lobster, oysters and white fish; and a "WTF," which is a chile-braised bone-in short rib barbacoa.
In Las Vegas, where the original La Neta will stay, the “TRUFF quesadilla” has made its mark as “the mother of all quesadillas."
In addition to unique food, La Neta also boasts a cocktail menu that includes three margaritas on tap: a picante mango, a pepino with cucumber and ginger, and "The Marg," which just says "we'll never tell..." The rest of the cocktail menu is heavy on tequila and fruit. A chocolate orange espresso martini is a combination of reposado tequila, espresso, Grand Marnier, Kahlua and Godiva chocolate liqueur.
If La Neta follows the same schedule as its Las Vegas location, it will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner, with a Sunday brunch. La Neta will also put on a variety of events, like tequila-tasting dinners, live music performances and taco and tequila Tuesday deals.
La Neta Cocina Y Lounge expects to open at the beginning of next year.