New in the Neighborhood
Cinco Taco Bar is the latest restaurant to open in Preston Hollow Village and the newest addition to Cinco Tacos Cocina & Tequila of Addison.
Owned and managed by Mario Letayf, Chef Antonio Marquez, and a group of investors, the fast-casual taco establishment offers tacos, enchiladas, and a couple of salads.
The place has a subtle rock ’n’ roll vibe that is happy and family friendly.
There are two murals that exhibit a pop art/pop music theme by Kozo and Argentina Pop Cubism illustrator Pablo Lobato. Known for his classic drawings for Rolling Stone, Lobato has several illustrations both on the main floor and in the upstairs dining area.
Americans ate more than 4.5 billion tacos last year, according to nationaltacoday.com, and Cinco Taco Bar is capitalizing on the country’s love for tacos.
“Cinco Taco Bar is our idea for great quality, hand-crafted tacos combined in a fun, casual, and relaxed atmosphere, for taco enthusiasts,” Letayf said.
The menu — featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner, and brunch served until 2:30 p.m. on weekends — offers nine different breakfast tacos and a full salsa bar, where you can put your own personal spin on your meal.
The kitchen area is separated by a glass wall where customers can see tortillas being hand pressed and grilled.
“We prepare everything from scratch with fresh products,” Marquez said.
“We hand-make our tortillas every day with fresh ingredients and lots of love. We source fresh products from local Texas farms when available.”
My dining companions sampled beef barbacoa, pastor pork tacos, and street corn. I tried their freshly crushed avocado deconstructed guacamole with roasted garlic and jalapenos; a roasted corn and poblano pepper taco with caramelized and fresh onions, topped with a slice of avocado, tomatillo sauce, and Chile de árbol, and a huge Chef’s Cinc5 salad with house vinaigrette. Everything was fresh and flavorful.
Feeling guilty about eating out and not cooking enough at home? Don’t. When you order the deconstructed guacamole, you stir the ingredients (tomatoes, onions, and cilantro) into the freshly crushed avocados and voilá!
You’ve “made” dinner, it was healthy, and you got a culinary workout, too.
Because Letayf and Marquez know that people love tacos wherever they go, they’ll bring the Cinco Tacos truck to different venues and catered events so even if you can’t get to them, they can get to you.
