My husband does all the cooking at home.
In return, he is my plus one on restaurant reviews.
This give and take is my secret to a happy relationship, as, betwixt us both, we lick the platters clean. Thus, for Valentineโs Day, I treated him to a visit to this taco place, which takes walk-ins only. See, spontaneous romance is not dead.
Either Iโve not been paying attention, or this new venue has sprung from nowhere, like a refried beanstalk.
The internet tells me that itโs owned by Stuart McCluskey, who, among other venues, used to have The Bon Vivant, The Devilโs Advocate and El Cartel, which was once in this premises, and has another outlet at Teviot in the Capital, though their Edinburgh Roxburgh branch recently shut down.
According to a member of staff, he moved on from The Bon Vivant Group a while ago, and opened this place recently, when the original and much loved El Cartel didnโt reopen after lockdown and left a taco-shaped hole on Thistle Street.
It looks a bit more grown-up than the last incarnation, with its duck egg blue walls and retro posters. Theyโve ditched the slushie machine, black walls and luchadore masks that were here before, and gone for something slightly more upmarket.
Iโm especially happy about its existence, as there is no greater pleasure than a lunchtime Margarita. You just need one, but life looks a bit better with tequila goggles. It seemed obligatory to try the version at this place (ยฃ9.50) and it was an excellent example, served in a tumbler, rather than the usual cocktail glass.
If you want something peppy, aromatic and zingy, we also tried the longer drink that was the Batanga (ยฃ9.50) with tequila, lime juice, Coke and Dr Hosetterโs Liqueur, and a Day Effay (ยฃ9.50), which was a short and pleasingly medicinal blend of tequila, sweet vermouth and orange bitters.
Then we had to stop, in order to dodge a case of the cocktail flu the next day.
At least we could line our stomachs, thanks to the gratis chilli-laced crispy batter bits that were on the table, and, from the Antojitos section of the menu, a portion of their frijoles refritos (ยฃ5) - slow-cooked black and pinto beans with sheepโs cheese and a small portion of bubby triangular totopos on the side. Their other starters include a tomato and fishy sopa de marsicos (ยฃ8.50) or mushroom quesadilla and black beans (ยฃ8.50).
The main event tacos, which are served, romantically, in pairs, come as theyโre ready, and our first to land was the tinga (ยฃ8.50). The wraps themselves were sweet and corny as an old-fashioned chat up line, and their topping included shredded chicken, a mildly spicy morita sauce, crema, coriander, a sprinkle of sheepโs cheese and crumbs of crunchy salty chicken skin.
If you want to spice them up, there are red Valentina and habanero sauces on the table. We didnโt need that, since weโre hot enough already.
Next was the pulpo (ยฃ9) duo. These were gorgeous, with charred and earthy notes from the โcrispy confit octopusโ, plus finely chopped onion, aioli, red cabbage, pineapple and salsa verde. I was very tempted to ask them to rack us up another round.
Instead, we focused on the pescado (ยฃ8.50). I wouldn't say grey is my favourite colour, when it comes to sauces, but Iโll make an exception for the squid ink and charcoal crema, which was dolloped onto large pieces of silky-centered battered cod, tobiko, and salsa verde.
At this point, I had sauce all around my mouth and coriander in my teeth. Perhaps donโt do tacos on a first date. Heโs used to seeing me like this, but a new amor might be permanently traumatised.
Our final duo was the lengua (ยฃ9), or ox tongue, with pieces of dark meat that were super savoury and rich, onion, salsa verde and coriander.
Thereโs no pudding available, so any thoughts of churros were soon quashed. Maybe thatโs for the best.
Still, the menu here is quite similar to El Cartelโs, but better. Itโs like theyโve refreshed, refined and added a bit of vim.
Theyโre welcome to cook me dinner any night, and I donโt say that to all the boys.
My other half can take the rest of the week off.
