Sombrero's Mexican Cantina

Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina is the Roberts family’s neighborhood Mexican restaurant and bar in the Shawnee Crossings center at 22702 Midland Dr, western Shawnee, open since February 15, 2013. Lee Roberts, a Ponak’s veteran, and his sons Brian and Jeremy, both out of Panzon’s in Lenexa, built it in a former El Maguey; the menu is Kansas City Tex-Mex done from scratch — street tacos, a “Famoso Burrito,” chile rellenos, cheese dip — with margaritas, a 40-seat party room, catering and a “Travelin’ Taco Trailer.”

Description

Sombrero’s anchors a corner of Shawnee Crossings, the retail center at Midland Drive and Shawnee Mission Parkway just west of K-7, in the newer western reach of Shawnee near Mill Valley High School.¹² The site puts the pitch in one sentence: “Welcome to our family-owned restaurant where we pride ourselves on serving the freshest ingredients in a fun and relaxed atmosphere. Stop by for a quick bite or stay for the evening, we’re glad you’re here!”³ The printed menu’s margin notes carry the same message — “All of our ingredients arrive fresh — never frozen” — and a photo of the restaurant’s flame-painted Travelin’ Taco Trailer, “fast food right to your door or office for your party or social event.”⁴

The menu is the full Kansas City Tex-Mex catalogue. Starters open with Sombrero’s Cheese Dip (a white-cheese blend with spinach), guacamole, flautas and a five-item Sombrero’s Platter; street tacos on corn tortillas — al pastor, barbacoa, chicken tinga, chorizo, carnitas, asada, picadillo, chicken, veggie — go three for $12.⁵ Burritos run from a basic refried-bean ($8) to “The Sombrero’s” with grilled chicken, rice and cheese dip and a chile-relleno burrito; enchiladas include a chicken cream-cheese version and a whole-wheat “Healthy.”⁵ House specialties are the plated dinners: chile rellenos (open-faced, fire-roasted Anaheim, tomatillo sauce), chili verde, chimichangas, fajitas (veggie to shrimp, $14–$20), huevos con chorizo, tamales and a seafood special of shrimp and tilapia over cilantro rice ($18).⁴ Seven numbered lunch specials run 11–3 at $6.50–$10, and six numbered dinner specials at $14–$16; an “Off the Grill” section has a Sombrero Burger and chicken tenders for the non-Mexican eater.⁴

The restaurant sells a to-go taco bar for four ($46), runs daily drink and entrée specials, and rents a party room for up to 40 with catering and drink service.⁶⁴ Mill Valley High’s student paper reviewed it as a dependable neighborhood spot; the Shawnee Chamber lists it as “full service mexican food, restaurant & bar.”²⁷

Ownership and history

The Shawnee Dispatch covered the opening in February 2013. Sombrero’s “is owned by Lee Roberts, who once worked at Ponak’s Mexican Kitchen & Bar in Kansas City, Mo., and his sons Brian and Jeremy Roberts, both veterans of Panzon’s, a popular Mexican restaurant in Lenexa.”¹ For co-owner Brian Roberts it “is the result of a lifelong dream and years of preparation” — about six years of working toward his own place — and he “traveled to Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California, working on recipes and getting the menu put together.”¹ The family spent the four months before the February 15, 2013 grand opening remaking the former El Maguey space with “varying shades of blue paint, stacked stone walls and columns, art-glass lighting, a loft-look ceiling and other touches.”¹

Lee Roberts continues as general manager per his own professional listing, and Brian and Jeremy remain the owner-hosts named by customers; the business is registered as Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina, LLC.⁸ The Ponak’s–Panzon’s lineage places Sombrero’s squarely in the Kansas City Tex-Mex family tree: Ponak’s on Southwest Boulevard is one of the city’s oldest Mexican-American restaurants, and Panzon’s in Lenexa is a Johnson County staple of the same style. The menu’s print code (“HOW-UNO_1A_2024”) dates the current boards to 2024.⁴

Links

• Website: https://sombreroskc.com/
• Food menu (official, PDF): https://www.sombreroskc.com/_files/ugd/e2b560_f6a3ef54bed246caa887a9e17654450a.pdf · Specialties/specials (official, PDF): https://www.sombreroskc.com/_files/ugd/e2b560_a5a6277eac5f4289b60a7afc2eb956ce.pdf
• Online ordering (Toast): https://order.toasttab.com/online/sombrerokc
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sombreroskc/ · Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sombrerosmexicancantina/

Menu

Last verified: 2026-08-29 · Source: the two menu PDFs on sombreroskc.com (print code 2024), transcribed · Confidence: High for items; prices are the 2024 print and may lag the Toast page.⁴⁵

• Starters: Sombrero’s Cheese Dip $5 sm / $9 lg · Guacamole $5.50 / $9 · Flautas (chicken or pork) $11, (asada or barbacoa) $12 · Chili con Queso $5 / $9 (add ground beef or pork $2) · Sombrero’s Platter $14
• Street tacos (corn tortillas; 3 for $12, à la carte $4.50): El Pastor · Barbacoa · Chicken Tinga · Chorizo · Carnitas · Asada · Picadillo · Chicken · Veggie
• Quesadillas (12” flour): Simply Cheese $9 · Fresh Grilled Veggies $11 · Chicken, Ground Beef, Pork or Chorizo $12 · Asada, Barbacoa or Chicken Tinga $14 · Fajita Chicken $15 · Fajita Steak $16 · Shrimp $16
• Nachos: Simply Cheese $9 · Veggies $11 · Chicken/Beef/Pork/Chorizo $11 · Asada/Barbacoa/Tinga $13 · Fajita Chicken $15 · Fajita Beef $16 · Shrimp $16 · “Make ‘Em Mucho” +$3
• Soups: Chicken Tortilla $6 / $8 · Shrimp $7 / $11
• Burritos: The Basic — refried bean $8; chicken, ground beef or pork $9; asada, chili verde, barbacoa, tinga $10; shrimp $12 · The Grande $13 · The Sombrero’s $13 · The Chile Rellenos $11
• Enchiladas (each): cheese & onion $3.50 · chicken/beef/pork $5 · guacamole with tomatillo $5 · asada/barbacoa/tinga $6 · shrimp $6 · Chicken Cream Cheese $6 · Shrimp Cream Cheese $7 · The Healthy $10 · The Spinach $7
• House specialties (with beans and rice): Chile Rellenos — cheese $11, veggie $12, chicken/beef/pork $13, asada/barbacoa $15, shrimp $16 · Chili Verde $13 · Chimichanga $13–$15 · Seafood Special $18 · Fajitas — veggie $14, chicken $17, asada $18, shrimp $19, combo any two $19 / any three $20 · Huevos con Chorizo $12 · Tamales $13 (top with chili verde $15; à la carte $7)
• Salads: Taco Salad $11 · Grilled Chicken $13 · Dinner Salad $5.50 · Fajita Salad chicken $15 / asada $17 / shrimp $18 · Southwestern $13
• Tostadas $5–$7 · Tacos: crispy $4, soft $5.50, puffy $6, tilapia $6, shrimp $7
• Off the Grill (with fries): Chicken Sandwich $10 · Grilled Chicken Wrap $11 · The Sombrero Burger (1/3 lb) $10 · Homemade Chicken Tenders $12
• Lunch specials (11–3): #1 two cheese & onion enchiladas $9 · #2 two beef tacos $9 · #3 burrito $9 · #4 tamale $9 · #5 taco salad $9 · #6 grilled chicken salad $10 · #7 small cheese quesadilla $6.50
• Dinner specials: #1 three crispy tacos $14 · #2 pork burrito, beef taco, enchilada $15 · #3 bean tostada, beef taco, enchilada $14 · #4 pork tamale, beef taco, enchilada $15 · #5 two enchiladas + taco $15 · #6 two chicken cream-cheese enchiladas $14 (shrimp $16)
• To-go Taco Bar for four $46 · Sides: tortillas (3) $2 · beans or rice $4 · chips & salsa $2 · guacamole $3

Sources

Footnotes

1. “Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina opening caps years of preparation,” Shawnee Dispatch, 2013-02-26 — Confirms: owners Lee Roberts (ex-Ponak’s) and sons Brian and Jeremy Roberts (ex-Panzon’s, Lenexa); grand opening February 15, 2013; Shawnee Crossings, former El Maguey space; Brian Roberts’ six-year preparation and recipe travels; interior description. Note: the shawneedispatch.com domain no longer resolves (2026-08-29); text retrieved from search-engine index of the article. Provisional until an archive copy is located. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

2. “Review: Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina,” Mill Valley News (Mill Valley High School) — Confirms: the restaurant’s standing as a neighborhood spot near Mill Valley High; page body not retrievable on 2026-08-29 (403). Provisional. ↩ ↩²

3. Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina — official website (home and About pages). Retrieved 2026-08-29 and sombreroskc.com — Confirms: name; address 22702 Midland Drive, Shawnee, KS 66226; phone 913.441.6700; hours Sun–Thu 11–9, Fri–Sat 11–10; “family-owned restaurant” statement quoted; Toast ordering link (order.toasttab.com/online/sombrerokc); Facebook link; site sections (taco bar, happy hour, food truck, party room, catering, curbside); © 2022 footer. ↩

4. Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina — official menu PDF (house specialties, salads, tostadas, tacos, off the grill, lunch and dinner specials, sides; print code HOW-UNO_1A_2024). Retrieved and transcribed 2026-08-29 — Confirms: items and prices in those sections; “never frozen” note; Travelin’ Taco Trailer; party room for up to 40 with catering and drink service. ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶

5. Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina — official menu PDF (starters, street tacos, quesadillas, nachos, soups, burritos, enchiladas; print code HOW-UNO_1A_2024). Retrieved and transcribed 2026-08-29 — Confirms: items and prices in those sections; welcome statement; Instagram and Facebook icons. ↩ ↩² ↩³

6. Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina — official website, “Food.” Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: to-go taco bar for a family of four $46 and its components; daily specials by weekday; happy hour Mon–Fri 3–6 p.m.; kids’ menu; links to the two menu PDFs. ↩

7. Shawnee Chamber of Commerce — member listing “Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina.” Retrieved 2026-08-29 — Confirms: address; phones (913) 441-6700 and 441-6703; website; “Full service mexican food, restaurant & bar.” ↩

8. LinkedIn — Lee Roberts, “General Manager at Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina,” and company page “Sombrero’s Mexican Cantina, LLC.” Retrieved 2026-08-29 (listing summaries) and https://www.linkedin.com/company/sombrero’s-mexican-cantina-llc — Confirms: Lee Roberts’ current GM role; LLC name. Provisional. ↩