A new restaurant promising lobster enchiladas, A5 wagyu tacos and a hidden sushi bar is under construction at 2100 Greenville Ave in Dallas, with plans to open in November. Fonda Toro will occupy the former home of Belgian beer hall Meyboom Brasserie, transforming the space into what its developers describe as a casual, approachable Mexican restaurant with sushi, cocktails and coffee.
The project comes from Mauricio Gallegos and John Paul Valverde, who developed the concept together, according to The Dallas Morning News. Gallegos co-owns Xamán Café and Ayahuasca Cantina in Oak Cliff, the latter a speakeasy that Esquire named one of the 42 Best Bars in America in 2024 and which picked up a James Beard Award nomination in 2026, according to Dallasites 101. Gallegos, who runs Cultivo Hospitality, also opened Puerto Cocina & Bar, a Baja-inspired seafood spot in the Design District, in December 2025, as PaperCity Magazine reported. Both Gallegos and Valverde are East Dallas residents who said they were drawn to the neighborhood's weekend open-air markets and its walkability, per the Dallas News report.
Valverde brings his own design pedigree to the project as creative director of Dallas design studio Coeval, which he co-founded in 2008. The firm's portfolio includes The Rustic, Happiest Hour, Stirr, Vidorra and Quarter Acre, according to Dallas Innovates. Coeval is handling the redesign of the former Meyboom space, and the studio is working to restore the original terrazzo floors while adding a Japanese garden and a new patio, the station's report notes. State filings reviewed by Zabalist put the estimated construction cost for the 3,261-square-foot interior renovation at $375,000.
A Menu Built Around Contrast
Fonda Toro's roughly 30-dish menu leans into contrast between rustic and refined. Diners can expect Baja fish tacos al pastor, rib-eye carpaccio, and an aguachile divorciados dish pairing green-sauce shrimp with red-sauce octopus, alongside an A5 wagyu taco served on a flour tortilla and cacio e pepe finished tableside with toasted chiltepín pepper, according to the Lakewood/East Dallas Advocate. A sushi bar tucked in the back will round out the offerings alongside enchiladas, tacos and cocktails.
Pricing is meant to stay grounded despite the elevated ingredients. Taco plates will start at $18 and appetizers will run $17 to $19, per the Dallas News report, though the restaurant will have higher spending for steak or sushi orders. Valverde told the outlet the team wanted to avoid the trap of calling a restaurant a neighborhood spot and then overpricing it. Company materials describe the menu as generous and confident, and the restaurant is designed to be inclusive with a casual atmosphere.
Joining a Reshuffled Block
Fonda Toro will land a few doors down from the relocated Shoyo, the high-end sushi counter that closed its original 1916 Greenville Ave location this past July to move into 2114 Greenville Ave this fall, as Hoodline's earlier coverage of Shoyo's move detailed. The new restaurant will also join a stretch of the avenue that includes Company Cafe, Single Wide, and Botolino Gelato. Valverde told Dallas News the team is excited to be part of Greenville Avenue.
The address has churned through concepts before. Meyboom Brasserie, known for its antique European decor and custom teak bar, closed in August 2025 after four years in business, according to the Dallas Observer. Before that, the same storefront housed Cajun seafood restaurant Ragin' Crab, which closed in July 2021 after completing a five-year lease, per CultureMap Dallas.
Arriving Amid a Lease Cliff
Fonda Toro's opening lands at a fraught moment for Lower Greenville commercial real estate. Rising property taxes and expiring five- to ten-year leases have pushed out long-standing operators including Swizzle, Hide and the 35-year-old Simply Fondue, Hoodline reported in its piece on Simply Fondue's closure. That turnover has left several storefronts along the corridor in transition even as new chef-driven concepts like Fonda Toro move in.
Development along the avenue is also shaped by municipal rules. The City of Dallas City Plan Commission's Planned Development District No. 842 caps structure heights at 54 feet and lot coverage at 60%, while requiring Specific Use Permits for late-night operating hours. Those regulations govern how new tenants like Fonda Toro can build out and operate as the corridor continues to reshuffle around them, with the restaurant's November target date set against that backdrop of turnover and reinvestment.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)