Mexican Oak — Restaurant in Denton

Upon initial entry, the place looked quite clean and put together, although i felt it was trying a bit too hard to be “trendy”. there are a lot of spots for photo ops, but personally, they all seemed to fall a bit flat and try-hard.

As I sat, i began analyzing the atmosphere more deeply, and one thing in particular that stood out to me was the overuse of AI artwork. It’s plastered all over the menu—pixelated Calaveras with flowers that have petals merging and distorting into one another—and all over the back room walls—overly smoothed, perfectly symmetrical portraits of women with (what appeared to me) white, Eurocentric features, which felt pretty insensitive and borderline disrespectful on a few levels. You are quite literally down the street from a visual arts college building. You are a part of a company that owns several other restaurants. You obviously have the money to spend to get REAL artists to do some cool work for you, which could’ve been something really special to add for the community, but no, instead you decided to be greedy and cut corners, and it shows… BEYOND just the decor.

Let’s start with the service.

It genuinely felt like it was everyone’s first time working in a restaurant. Our server didn’t seem to have been taught general restaurant etiquette, like what to say when there was an issue with the food. There was one item none of us touched, and instead of getting a manager or even asking what was wrong, our server simply apologized and took it away, which felt a bit odd. Additionally, at one point we had several people at our table low/empty on drinks, and a manager walked by our table without even taking a second glance at us. We actually had to flag them down to get a refill. And lastly, staff didn’t seem to know the food well at all. For instance, when our food came out, a food runner came by and auctioned off one of the dishes by the Spanish name listed on the menu. Now, none of us at the table knew Spanish by any means, much less could remember the Spanish name of a dish we ordered, and so we asked for some sort of clarification like, “oh! is that the fish?” to which they responded, “ummm… i don’t know.” like what do you mean??? you know the legal Spanish name of the item but you don’t know what it is???

Anyways, I don’t mean to only say negative things about the staff, because overall they were actually extremely kind and welcoming— just severely undertrained.

Now, onto the food.

The best thing we had was the guacamole, which I mean, how can you go wrong with freshly made guac? It was pretty good. No complaints there. As for the entrees, however, most were pretty bland, with the exception of one—the red fish, which was somehow over-seasoned??? It was genuinely overwhelming how much blackened seasoning the kitchen had put on it, and it didn’t taste all that great either. Also, One of the steaks we got was completely over cooked, absolutely no pink inside whatsoever. For dessert, we got a few to try, as we were still somewhat hopeful, but none were anything to rave about. Not that they tasted bad, but you could just tell that most, if not all of them were bought in frozen. Definitely not worth paying $13 a piece for each dessert.

Overall, this place was extremely disappointing. I had high hopes going in, as I used to be a big fan of Barley and Board, but this place doesn’t even come close to any of the other restaurants I’ve tried around the square, ESPECIALLY at their current price point. Unless they make some major changes, I don’t even see this place making it to next year.

You’re getting one star for your friendly staff and one star for your guacamole. And that’s me...

What a cool vibe and the food is fantastic! Mexican Oak just opened about 6 weeks ago and it fills the old Barley & Board space really well in the Denton Square. Walking in, you feel this cool vibe that is Social Media friendly with great spots for pics with friends. The hostesses were friendly and attentive, we were sat immediately for an early Saturday lunch.

We were seated under some enormous mirrors which weren't the most scenic seats in the place but it gave me a good vantage point to see a lot of activity. Unfortunately, we sat for quite some time without water in our glasses or a server greeting us. That is the sole reason for the missing star in the service category. The chips, salsa and black bean dip came out immediately and it was delicious. I especially loved the black bean dip. They make almost everything in house, including the chips and tortillas. They have a cool tortilla station in the back dining room and let me tell you, those corn tortillas were so soft, they never cracked when we were eating them. What a difference a fresh made corn tortilla makes. They were pretty special, as I tend to prefer flour but I LOVED these tortillas!

The decor is a mix of eclectic, hacienda, and elegant with some Moroccan touches with the lamps over the bar. The light fixtures are fantastic! I was really surprised and impressed with the design touches and how everything meshed together so well. The tables are set with cute bubble glasses and fancy silverware. The mix of table styles is fun and really makes a statement. From a large group high top, to chunky rustic hacienda style tables and chairs to the cozy booths, there is a place for any size party.

Behind the bar is filled with Dia de la Muerte decorative skulls that add a touch of color and fun. It's just a really cool place, even the ladies room was cool. LOL

The lunch menu boasts a table side guacamole that sounded delicious but we didn't have a large enough appetite to try it today. There are several appetizers, taco dishes, bowls, etc. We saw some fajitas come out to a nearby table and they looked amazing. I had the Bowl de Barrel and the beef fajita meat was seasoned well and cooked to a perfect medium. It is served with a few fresh corn tortillas and was a large portion size. Everything tasted very fresh and was great quality. My husband got the carnitas tacos and they were packed with shredded pork. It was served with three sauces and he liked them all. He said the tacos were quite tasty.

Ignacio, our server, was gracious enough to tell us a bit about the restaurant - including the fact that they make almost everything in house and they also have a dedicated dessert chef. He highly recommended the churros with chocolate sauce so we had to try it. We ordered it to go but did take time to eat one while we were there. Warning number one: they are HOT! They have caramel in the center and take my word for it, if it drips on your fingers when you take a bite, it's not a good surprise. Warning number two: you are NOT going to want to stop eating these! They are crispy, cinnamony, sugary on the outside, soft on the inside and the chocolate sauce has a bit of kick to it. It's a rich and delicious end to the meal.

Overall, we can't wait to go back. We've already told several family members to try this new place and I feel like it will become a staple on...

Food was decent, restaurant is nice looking, they had come cute decorations. However, it is definitely not an authentic Mexican restaurant and neither is the food. If you are looking for something authentic, I'd say look elsewhere. If you're not expecting authentic Mexican food then I'd say this a "decent" restaurant location. I think overall, its just your average Americanized "Mexican" restaurant. Really the only thing that makes this place stand out more than the average Americanized Mexican restaurant is the location, (it is located in Denton square), and the ambiance. It is a nice looking restaurant.

However my biggest point of contention with this restaurant, and the main reason why I'm giving this place 3 stars, is the quality of food given the price point. My gf and I came here, ordered 2 entrees and 2 cocktail drinks (we did not get anything particularly expensive) and nothing else. When we got the final check the price was almost $100 not including tip. I knew the bill the was going to be pricey when I saw the menu but was hoping the food would be worth the money. Well in my opinion, it wasn't. The portions were rather small, the food wasn't even that delicous or flavorfull, (it could more spices or seasoning), and choice of seasoning is questionable given the type of cuisine served. For example, I ordered the short rib enchiladas and the enchilada sauce had a sweet flavor to it, not what I was expecting, also I don't think it even had any cheese, and if it did, not enough cheese for me to even taste it or remember it as being a part of the dish. Now, I'm always open to trying new flavors or styles of a dish, but again this is a Mexican restaurant so i'd like to expect dishes to be more in line with Mexican recipes. Which takes me back to my original point, of this place not really being an authentic mexican restaurant.

To make my point. I've been to other restaurants with much tastier food at a bout half or even a third of the price. Ask yourself, are you're ok with spending $50 each for a mediocre/decent meal and 1 drink? At this price range, there are a lot of better restaurant options out there with better tasting food, bigger portions, and same atmosphere. I don't see myself ever coming back here again as I don't feel that the food was worth price, but if you don't care about getting your money's worth then i'd say it's at least worth checking this place out once. You may come to your own conclusion about how to feel about this place. I think this place has potential, and I think they need to revisit their prices and...