I’m a big lover of Mexican food, yet somehow never made it to check out La Condesa when it was just a taco stand in the back garden of the site, so when B and I were looking for somewhere local to try one Friday night we decided to stop by and try the slightly expanded menu of the indoor eating section which opened a few months back.
The menu is short but sweet with 6 taco options, 4 tostadas to choose from and a handful of larger plates as well, plus a flan for dessert. The drinks list includes wine and beer (local and Mexican) plus some cocktails and tequilas, but we decided to keep it simple with the Moon Dog Lager which was on tap ($7 a glass). It was described in the menu as ‘pale, aromatic, smashable’ and it was an apt description, it definitely went down easy!
It was rather dark in there so the photos are unfortunately not too great, but hopefully you’ll forgive me!
The tacos are 3 for $12 and you can select a combo of the flavours, so we went with both the vegetarian options – 2 of the Camote (sweet potato, corn, onion, coriander, chipotle aioli) and 1 of the Hongo (mushroom, queso, onion, coriander). The Camote tacos were really tasty, slightly smoky and jam packed with ingredients. The sweet potato has a slightly strange texture as it is so soft, but it didn’t detract from the flavour too much.
I’m still learning to love mushroom so I was a bit hesitant about the Hongo taco, but I shouldn’t have been, it was incredibly delicious. Definitely B’s favourite, and so good that we ordered another serve of tacos with two Hongo and one Camote!
We also shared one of the Frijoles Tostadas (pinto beans, chile de arbol, iceberg lettuce $7) which was rather difficult to share, but nonetheless tasty. It could have been slightly warmer when it came out, as we had to eat it pretty quickly to both get to eat it whilst still warm.
It’s worth pointing out they bring a selection of salsas to your table for you to add yourself, which included a salsa verde and roja (plus another unlabelled salsa!), so we experimented with them all on each of the dishes. They added a nice kick to the food, as well as another layer of flavour which was great.
Our last dish of the evening was the Chilaquiles (fried corn chips, salsa verde, queso, onion, coriander – $12), these were incredibly cheesy but worked really nicely with the salsas for some added kick to cut through the cheese. It required the use of a fork towards the end as the chips lost there structural integrity, but you can’t really go wrong with a dish like this to end a meal!
Surprisingly the Hongo taco was the absolute standout of the meal (never thought I’d be saying that about mushrooms!) but overall we had a really nice time. The staff were really friendly and attentive, the vibe was great and it filled up pretty quickly after we arrived. It might not be the place for a long, leisurely meal but it’s perfect for a quick-fix of Mexican, which is always welcome in my books!
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I Spy Plum Pie is Liz, an early 30s kiwi-born, Melbourne raised girl who is passionate about the environment and sustainability, food, exploring and learning new things. Join me on my journey to a happy, sustainable life!