Love Letter To Latin America

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REBECCA DALE ADLER

Te Deseo, the latest eatery to open in Dallas’ Harwood District, created quite the buzz last month after opening its doors on August 7. The 14,000-square-foot restaurant promised to provide quality dining in an extravagant space with a bustling, social environment, and Te Deseo sure delivered.

After taking in the gleaming exterior, walking through the interior — past a full-sized tree and cozy yet colorful seating options — and glancing over the menu, guests will start to feel further away from Dallas and transported to a new dining destination thanks to the restaurant’s energy.

“We want people to feel like they have immediately escaped the ordinary,” Stephen Bello, Senior Vice President of Harwood Hospitality Group, says. “Greeted with a warm welcome, guests will immediately feel the high energy of Te Deseo that will get them excited for a great night ahead.”

After settling in, guests can start to get a feel for the night ahead by peering over the signature cocktails. The menu includes lavish options like the Brazillionaire, Ypióca Cachaça, Licor 43, lemon, guava and bubbles, which is accented with artificial bills. The bar also offers an impressive number of specialty tequilas and mezcals — more than 100! Each of the restaurant’s four bars also offers a signature house shot of resposado tequila called the Chupito de la Casa, a one-of-a-kind specialty blend of tequila exclusively selected by the restaurant’s founders.

Or, if everyone wants to drink the same thing, guests can order a batch of some classic cocktails for the table, like Havana’s Majito, Diplomático Mantuano Rum, lemongrass, Topo Chico, mint and lime, and the Te Deseo Margarita, Lunazul Blano Tequila, Jack Fruit Cordial, lime and house orange bitters.

The dinner menu acts as an accumulation of various Latin cuisines with the biggest influences coming from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Peru. Executive chef Ty Thaxton used his experience cooking in the region to blend these cuisines together, creating a harmonious menu that spotlights several countries’ prominent dishes and flavors.

“Te Deseo developed as our love letter to Latin America,” Bello says. “The region and the culture embodies excitement, mystery and bonding over food and drink.”

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Robert Underwood IV

To help create that love letter and to fully embody the cuisine’s culture, Te Deseo’s founders voyaged throughout the region to see what components they wanted to integrate into the menu.

“We spent months traveling around Latin America, perfecting our wood-fire cooking techniques, and creating our own one-of-a-kind reposado tequila that we call our Chupito de la Casa,” Bello says. “We even learned how to salsa dance.”

The final result is a dynamic menu offering a range of intricate dishes. It’s easy for diners to find familiar favorites — like elote and queso — as well as bold flavor combinations unlike anything they have tried before — like Peruvian-style sashimi featuring tuna and yellow tail.

The menu emphasizes sharing with both small and family-style plates making up most of the offerings, which is Te Desero’s way of inviting their guests to take small steps out of their typical taste comfort zones and experiment with their array of options.

That communal environment makes stand-out options like the Stuffed Arepas, filled with pulled roasted chicken, green chiles, crema and fresno peppers, and the Arroz Chaufa, garlic rice, carnitas, shrimp, zucchini, roasted corn, peppers, scallion and fried egg, more approachable.

“We offer everything from familiar Tex-Mex dishes to Argentinian steak dishes! There is truly something for everyone,” Bello says. “Te Deseo’s creations are meant to be shared and enjoyed with no boundaries.”

After polishing off your plate and enjoying a traditional dessert, like the housemade flan, guests can take in views of the city on the rooftop bar. Whether you order another cocktail or just look out on Dallas’ skyline, it’s the perfect way to round out a night out in the big city.