If you find yourself in the Bishop Arts District and the craving hits for something salty, creamy and a little spicy, Mentiiras is the place to land. Tucked into Oak Cliff at 418 N Tyler St, it's a Mexican street-food spot that leans hard into the antojitos side of the menu, and the name itself is a wink: it's a play on the Spanish word for lies, a nod to those moments when someone swears they aren't hungry and then ends up eating half of your snack.
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The star here is the elote. You can get it on the cob or in a cup, with a medium cup running $4.50, and the preparation is the real deal: kernels sliced from a roasted ear of corn, tossed with mayo, sour cream, lime juice, cilantro, garlic and chili powder, then topped with cotija cheese and your choice of salsa. If you want to lean into the crunch, there's a Takiilote version that swaps the standard toppings for Takis. Beyond the corn, the menu rounds out with mangonada, fresas con crema ā strawberries with homemade whipped cream or yogurt and whipped cream topped with a maraschino cherry ā sandiiloca and customizable aguas frescas, which you can order frosted. For something more substantial, there are nachos and burritos, including a bean, egg and potato version and a breakfast burrito with sausage, egg, cheese and pepper served with salsa rojo.
And yes, there's a sweet side to all this. The mini pancakes come with a spread of toppings ā strawberries, banana, Nutella, condensed milk, Oreos and cinnamon crunch ā and they've picked up a following of their own, with regulars calling the Nutella and Oreo combination crazy delicious. Between the elotes and the pancakes, it's the kind of place that works as well for a quick snack as it does for a full breakfast or a casual dinner.
Behind the counter is Luis Martinez, whose story is as much a part of the place as the food. A filmmaker at heart, Martinez has been working the shop seven days a week, roughly twelve hours a day, since it opened on February 6, and he's doing it while keeping a bigger dream on the back burner: becoming the first Hispanic filmmaker from Oak Cliff to win an Oscar. He's on a break from film school at the University of North Texas, and had previously been accepted to Columbia University in New York in 2020 before the pandemic put those plans on hold. For now, the focus is firmly on bringing a taste of Mexico to Dallas.
The space itself is pet friendly, has parking and runs a rewards program on every purchase, with a modern, warm interior that suits both a quick bite and a longer sit. It sits across from Hola Cafe and next to Chasen Matcha Bar, right in the middle of the Bishop Arts District, which is about five minutes from downtown. The neighborhood is worth a bit of context: settled in the 19th century by a French colony called La Reunion, it's the city's largest intact trolley-era shopping district, dating back to the streetcar line that arrived in 1904. Mentiiras is open 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. on the weekends, so it's an easy stop whenever the craving strikes.
