Restaurant review: Ocho Kitchen and Cocktails fuses Southwest spice into Tex-Mex

by Jenni Hanley of Try Something Different in Dallas

Did someone say hatch chiles?

Photo by Jenni Hanley

No matter what you try at Ocho, you're guaranteed unique and delicious.

DALLAS — Although it has only been around for a month, it seems like the word is out on Ocho Kitchen and Cocktails.

And that word is gooooood.

We stopped by on a Friday night, pressed for time and eager to get some hot food in our shivering bodies. Before you could say queso, jovial bartender Ray had taken our drink orders and served up a colorful platter of house-made tortilla chips, tomatillo crema sauce, chipotle smoked tomatoes, and jalapeno butter.

Let me just say, you haven't lived until you've buttered a tortilla chip.

The theme of Ocho is "Tex-Mex with a Santa Fe twist," something you'll discover quickly based on the number of dishes made with hatch chiles. Even the queso (made with hatch green chiles) is served with fry bread rather than chips. It wasn't exactly the same fry bread that I bought from an 80-year-old woman at Four Corners, New Mexico, but it was darn close.

With tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, and chimis, the menu features Tex-Mex favorites—updated with things like blue corn and green rice. And did I mention the hatch chiles? I devoured an order of fish tacos with grilled mahi mahi, mango lime salsa, celery Thai slaw, and big chunks of cotija cheese. The seriously rich blue corn enchiladas had a distinct smokey flavor, even better paired alongside a Tijuana Mule or Hatch Chile Smoke cocktail.

If you want to wash down your meal with something that has a little more kick, you can order a Jalapeno Rocks Rita. But be warned: It's much better for clearing out your sinuses than quenching your thirst.