Ayahuasca Cantina
The Taloc Negroni at Ayahuasca Cantina is built on charanda, Suze and vermouth, which is a Negroni rebuilt on Mexican rum and French gentian.1
Why go
The bar sits in the back of Xaman Cafe in Oak Cliff, which opened in 2020, and PaperCity describes it as a moody agave and tapas bar with a menu executed by Chef Monica Andrade Lopez.
1 The list runs tequila, mezcal and sotol, and sotol is the part that matters: it is distilled from a desert plant that is not agave at all.1 The James Beard Foundation made the bar a semifinalist for Outstanding Bar in 2026.2 Bruno Davaillon, who earned a MICHELIN star at MIX by Alain Ducasse and now cooks at Georgie, names both this bar and the cafe it sits behind among the five places he goes.3
Order this / avoid
- Order: the Taloc Negroni.1
- Ask what sotol is open and drink one neat alongside it. The list is built to carry it.1
- Eat here. The tapas come off Monica Andrade Lopez's kitchen.1
What locals & experts say
- PaperCity, Megan Ziots, 2026:
The cocktail menu focuses on tequila, mezcal, and sotol-based drinks.
1 - Bruno Davaillon, chef at Georgie:
Otaru Sushi & Handroll Bar, Lucia, Encina, Xaman Cafe and Ayahuasca Cantina. I live in Oak Cliff, and it's great to have good restaurants in the neighborhood.
3 - The James Beard Foundation made it an Outstanding Bar semifinalist in 2026. It did not advance.2
Good to know
- You go through the cafe. Xaman Cafe is the front room and this is the back.1
Verdict
should-visit — An agave-and-tapas bar in the back of Xaman Cafe in Oak Cliff, with sotol on the list beside the tequila and mezcal and Monica Andrade Lopez cooking the tapas. Order the Taloc Negroni, then ask what sotol they have open and drink it neat.