Modern Mexican at El Sabor Restaurant

I have never really got Mexican food. I love a plate of nachos piled high and glued together with oozing cheese as much as the next cardiac patient feaster, enchiladas are a beautiful thing and tacos (of the Old El Paso) variety are a regular fixture in this house. I haven’t often gone out for Mexican though, because most of the time I have eaten meals that I could probably recreate at home with the famous yellow packaging.

When El Sabor Restaurant invited me to try their food I was enthusiastic but didn’t really expect my mind to be blown. I mean, a taco is a taco right?

Wrong.

And as it turns out, those crispy yellow things I’ve been calling tacos all this time are actually an American invention.

El Sabor Restaurant in North Melbourne focuses on quality modern Mexican food. Don’t worry, you will still get your guacamole fix but with elegant flavour combinations and plenty of style. Executive Chef Dhi explained that they wanted to bring affordable Mexican food to the area with some creative flair whilst keeping the classics and doing them well.

The other big thing I have to mention is that almost everything on the menu is gluten free. This is coeliac heaven. The churros (which I will get to) are not gluten free and they have their very own deep fryer, no cross contamination.

The drinks menu has a small range of cocktails, beer, wine, soft drinks (including Jarritos, a Mexican brand) and of course, Tequila. I am definitely coming back to try a Tequila sampling plate. However on this occasion I went for wine.

I started with a Santa Julia Syrah Rosé from Argentina and was very pleased to see it arrived in nice stemware. A lovely fresh, dry rosé with aromas of strawberry and watermelon.

Rather than order just a few dishes, Dhi brought us a selection of dishes from the menu (where possible, I have indicated pricing, although in most cases we had a smaller serving size).

Alitas ($10 for 6, $15 for 12)

Spicy BBQ chicken wings served with a jalopeno mayo. The meat was very tender with some nice heat from the spice marinade.

Calamari Fritos ($15)

Beautifully tender calamari served with capers, salsa brava, lemon aioli and guacamole 

Tamales de Pollo ($18 for 3)

Effectively Mexican dumplings. I love dumplings. A cornflour dough is stuffed with a spicy chicken centre before being wrapped in corn husks and steamed. El Sabor gives them a quick char for presentation but this also helps release some lovely smoky corn flavours. Such a delicious, hearty comfort food.

Sopes

These are about to be added to the menu and I for one am very glad. This is a very bogan Aussie description but basically they are a cornmeal cookie, stuffed with refried beans and topped with pulled pork and a lovely fresh slaw. Beautifully presented and such an explosion of flavour. Dish of the night for me.

Beef Taquito

Another new addition to the menu. Corn tortillas are filled with pulled beef and fried. I found these just a little dry but they benefitted from a dash of habanero sauce.

Pescado tacos ($12 for 2)

Crispy fried pieces of fish with slaw, guacamole, chipotle mayonnaise and salsa served in a soft taco.

We were pretty full but thankfully have that separate dessert stomach which was needed for Churros ($15 for 5) and Flan Napolitano ($15 for 2)

The churros were light, fluffy (unlike other churro experiences I have had) and crunchy on the outside with a luscious chocolate sauce. The flan was like a creme caramel, with a slightly denser texture and drizzled with creamy dulce de leche.

The staff are charming, one of our waiters was telling us of his life in Mexico – he is astonished by the quality of the food in Melbourne and how much Australians manage to eat and still stay fit. I told him with food this good, you just plan to spend more time at the gym 🙂

We are already planning a return visit.

Disclosure: We dined as guests of El Sabor however all ideas and opinions remain my own.