Among Esquire’s list of 42 of “the best bars in America,” one is in Dallas: The tiny Ayahuasca Cantina, a bar and restaurant hidden behind coffee shop Xamán Cafe on Jefferson Boulevard in Oak Cliff.
If you haven’t been, you’ll soon compete with people from all over the country who want to visit the cocktail spots in Esquire’s list. Writer Omar Mamoon writes that this Dallas bar reminds him of Bósforo, a “moody mezcal bar in Mexico City.” And while Ayahuasca does have a selection of agave-based cocktails made with tequila and mezcal, its menu also includes sotol, rum and whiskey. It’s one of Dallas’ most interesting places to drink.
Ayahuasca opened in 2020, down the hallway from the cheery shop up front. If it seems like you’re headed to the restrooms, keep going, former consulting chef Hugo Galvan told The Dallas Morning News. What lies back there is a hidden den with a menu that pulls from Mexico City and Oaxaca. It’s more than just a cocktail bar. (“Then again, it’s never just about the drinks,” Esquire co-author Kevin Sintumuang writes.)
Some of Ayahuasca’s dishes include pork confit with salsa verde and bone marrow rib-eye tacos. A newer item is the fideo seco con croqueta gobernador, or red snapper tacos.
When it comes to cocktails, co-owner Mauricio Gallegos says he’s proud of the Ayahuasca, a drink made with mezcal, ginger, lime and tepache, a fermentation made from pineapple, piloncillo, anise and cinnamon. Gallegos also likes the Pulqueloma, another cocktail that utilizes pulque, often called “the elixir of the gods.”
How’d Esquire find this hidden gem? “We always try to seek out bars that are hidden and less obvious, as well as get recommendations from a city’s bar community,” writer Mamoon said. “Ayahuasca was on my research list, so when a local bartender also recommended it, I knew I had to try it.”
With so many new eyes on this Oak Cliff treasure, better make a reservation if you want to go to Ayahuasca. Or, grab a seat up front at Xamán for brunch and an Espresso Martinez. It’s one of my favorite caffeinated cocktails in Dallas.
Esquire’s list of 42 bars includes three more in Texas, all in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood. There’s the natural wine bar Light Years. There’s Little’s Oyster Bar, which serves a surprising five options for Champagne by the glass. Also there’s Refuge, described as the “sophisticated but not pretentious cousin” to Anvil, one of Houston’s best bars.
Hey: Three cocktail bars, all in the same Texas neighborhood? Time to roadtrip to Montrose for a bar crawl.
Ayahuasca Cantina is at 334 Jefferson Blvd., Dallas.
