A Fort Worth tacos and tequila favorite reopens. Yes, for nachos and margaritas to go
Just when other restaurants were closing, Yucatán Tequila Bar & Grill has reopened.
The tacos-and-tequila hangout at 909 W. Magnolia Ave., returned with the same menu, a new name and owners and a new vow to avoid the code violations which sank it for months.
Co-owner Matt Deems said Yucatán has undergone a renovation from the kitchen to the bathrooms in a historic building that was a burger restaurant before the “taco stand” opened 12 years ago.
The recipes haven’t changed, from the white queso to the nachos with Chihuahua cheese or the roast corn-hot pepper soup.
A new chef will experiment with new specials but keep the original menu, Deems said.
Yucatán “had great recipes,” Deems said. It just needed remodeling.
The new owners opened during the coronavirus slowdown “to fully train our staff” and serve hospital district patrons, he said.
He has family members who are nurses, he said, so the restaurant is offering healthcare workers discounts to lure business ih the hospital district.
On a recent visit, the to-go dinner order was filled correctly and packed carefully.
The nachos, Yucatán’s specialty, don’t have the same personality in a take-home box, and white queso isn’t unusual anymore.
But a chile relleno stuffed with cheese and picadillo in ranchero sauce was impressive.
A habanero chicken quesadilla lacked habanero heat. But the roast corn-hot pepper soup, like a chipotle corn soup, remains one of the best soups on the south side.
It’s not as impressive as the original Yucatán was in 2008, when we had barely tried Baja-style fish tacos and were easily impressed at West Coast beach fare.
But it’s also new, with nowhere to go but up from the last owner.
Yucatán is serving brunch, lunch, dinner and mixed drinks to go; 682-385-9395, http://facebook.com/yucatanmagnolia.
This story was originally published March 26, 2020 at 3:45 AM with the headline "A Fort Worth tacos and tequila favorite reopens. Yes, for nachos and margaritas to go."
