If West Dallas taqueria Milagro was once easy to pass by in the hustle of traffic, it’s now hard to miss. The white stucco walls have been painted fire engine red, like a traffic sign daring you to stop near Trinity Groves.
Owner Jesus Carmona’s history with restaurants in West Dallas is one of perseverance. His previous restaurant Tacos Mariachi was visited by Guy Fieri for an episode of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives in 2018. It closed in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, but by 2021, Carmona was back with a similar West Dallas taco shop called Milagro — which means “miracle” in Spanish.
Milagro coasted along for nearly five years, selling octopus tacos and others in an order-at-the-counter setting. But by early 2026, this nimble West Dallas restaurant needed another jolt, its Mexico City born owner told The Dallas Morning News.
Parts of Milagro Tacos Cantina’s exterior walls are now bright red.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
Restaurant News
Starting the first week in February, Milagro 2.0 is no longer a fast-casual taqueria but a sit-down “Mex-Tex” restaurant. Carmona painted interior walls bright green and orange. The restaurant still sells tacos, but the new Milagro menu includes more healthy grilled items, like fajitas and chicken with rice and veggies.
A selection of combo platters are named after family members, like Mami Gloria’s Favorite ($16): two crispy beef tacos and one guacamole tostada, just like his aunt Gloria likes. Tears spring to Carmona’s eyes as he points to each one, like Dores’ Especial, named for his mother.
You can sense the tension as changed his West Dallas restaurant.
“I don’t want to lose the essence,” he said. But he needed a creative way to boost sales. Pressure mounted last year as the cost of steak, octopus and shrimp, three main ingredients on his menu, each went up about 25%, he said.
“I feel like I was just getting by,” he said. “I needed to reinvent myself.”
The Pollo Tropical plate Milagro Tacos Cantina in Dallas is a grilled chicken dish with pico and pineapple.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
The restaurant will continue to serve margaritas, and Carmona saw an added opportunity with the sit-down model. “To upgrade sales,” he said, “you need a server offering you a second margarita.” Customers were less inclined to have another, or to stay as long, with the order-at-the-counter model, he said.
When Jesus Carmona reopened Milagro in early February 2026, the room was full of regulars at lunchtime.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
Customers who remember the Carmona’s Food Network appearance, when Diners, Drive-ins and Dives featured his mole French fries, might be interested in Milagro’s flautas con mole ($16), an upscale riff on the Fieri fave.
Similarly, Carmona’s bone marrow elotes ($7) served at his State Fair of Texas concession stand have now made it onto Milagro’s menu. It’s another way he’s enticing tourists to the restaurant.
Although the food and the interior at Milagro are “bolder” than before, as Carmona described, the restaurant still feels casual. Enchiladas and combo platters cost $14 to $16. Pollo, barbacoa, carne asada and carnitas tacos are priced at $14 for three.
Asada ala tampiqueña, one of the priciest new dishes on Milagro’s menu, at $28, shows the restaurant’s evolution from taco shop to sit-down restaurant.
Jason Janik / Special Contributor
Those willing to spend a little more should consider the asada ala tampiqueña ($28), a generous portion of skirt steak served with guacamole, pico de gallo, rice and an enchilada.
Starting Feb. 22, 2026, Milagro will add weekend brunch. (Think: drinks!) The menu includes chilaquiles, menudo, and fajitas and eggs.
Milagro Taco Cantina is at 440 Singleton Blvd., Dallas. Closed Mondays.