Since returning from three weeks in the US late last year I have been searching for a decent Mexican restaurant in the inner-west. Our fair city may be amongst the worlds best for food but when it comes to Mexican, Sydney is a big cheesy mess. Even the chicken burrito I had in San Francisco airport was better than the usual fare dished up by local restaurants such as Montezumas, and let’s face it, airports aren’t usually known for their food. The Mexican food I ate in New York was amazing – varied, subtly nuanced and immensely satisfying. Unlike the Mexican food we’re used to, it didn’t all taste the same (insert choice of tortilla here) and it wasn’t all smothered in cheese.
Unfortunately, finding authentic Mexican food in Australia isn’t easy, possibly because we don’t have a whole lot of authentic Mexicans here to show us the error of our ways (I’ve only met one Mexican living in Sydney and he’s in IT).
The best restaurant I’ve come across so far is Flying Fajita Sisters in Glebe, which gets my vote on the strength of the fish fajitas alone, smokey cubes of chargrilled fish teamed with a range of fillings such as Mexican rice, black beans, guacamole, jalapenos, chilli sauce, sour cream and salad in a roll-your-own tortilla.
Guzman Y Gomez Mexican Taqueria in Newtown also gets points for authenticity but with a brisk takeaway trade and overbright lighting feels more like a fast food joint than a “real food” joint.
I also confess to having a soft spot for Cafe Pacifico in East Sydney but that’s less about the food than the fun party ambiance that makes it feel as though you’ve just stumbled across a village fiesta.
Any other suggestions?
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Ylla, I've been meaning to try Izote at the top of King Street for a while, so a review would be great if you beat me to it!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.izotemexican.com.au/index.htm
I'm pretty sure it is run by the chefs who used to do the Mexican at night at Chocolate Dog.
NB
Hi Nathan,
ReplyDeleteI went to Izote not long after it opened and have to say it's okaaaay but not brilliant. the food is typical Aussie-Tex-Mex, heavy on the cheeses, style Mexican and the service is very patchy. It's also incredibly noisy - the room suffers from terrible accoustics, which isn't helped by the fact that there are too many tables crammed into the tiny space. It's also unlicensed, so no Sangria - sacrilege!
Ylla
I dined one night at Izote with a table of six on a busy Friday night in late July. Now I can't compare one Mex form the Nex as I am not aware of having had "true Mexicano", so I will only judge the food as satisfyingly tasty without being exciting.I was expecting a little more spice, but happily consumed everything on my plate and the $$/Cal balance was favourable to the pocket.
ReplyDeleteWhilst I do agree with your comments regarding the usage of cheese, I was overwhelmed by the warmth and attention of the service. This may have been aided by two vegetarian members of our dining party frequenting the Chocolate Dog a while back.
As for the BYO policy, well our proximity to the bottle shop, coupled with the respect of prior patronage, we sat for two hours after our last bite, drinking and guffawing until it came time to pocket the car keys and taxi on home.