Mamasita

Location: Level 1, 11 Collins Street, Melbourne

Link: www.mamasita.com.au

Cuisine: Mexican/ Tapas

The dinner started with a Taco de Pescado (Grilled fish with lime, achiote paste & red onion salsa). This dish was a great start to the meal as it was light and fresh, but also had a tangy/spicy flavor which was probably the achiote paste. The taco was soft shell, and not crunchy which differed from expectations.

(Grilled fish with lime, achiote paste & red onion salsa taco)

Next was the taco with duck. This dish was pleasant, but didn’t meet the excellence of the grilled fish taco. After adding the salsa to the taco that was on the table, the taco tasted better as it probably needed a sauce.

(taco with duck)

The quesadilla with mexican truffle, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote & queso fresco was next up. This was a unique dish as the table had not eaten anything like it. The mushroom and truffle were the most distinctive flavours and was quite nice after a few bites.

(quesadilla with mexican truffle, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote & queso fresco)

Tostaditas were crunchy “traditional” tacos and came in three varieties.

The slow braised pork shoulder with encurtidos & jalapenos taco was quite dry and had a bit too much meat on it (which isn’t a bad thing normally).

The next tostadita was the mud crab. This was the highlight. It was fresh and a great balance of flavours. Lovely and exceptional.

The market fish with lime, guacamole, nasturtiums & serrano chili tostadita was ordered after the first few dishes. This dish was also a highlight as it was also fresh and the hint of lime made the dish impeccable.

(Right: slow braised pork shoulder with encurtidos & jalapenos taco

Left: tostadita was the mud crab)

(market fish with lime, guacamole, nasturtiums & serrano chili tostadita)

To finish off the meal, we had the fresh mint flan with caramel. This was also a memorable dish as the caramel was superb. It was not overpowering with sweetness and the hint of bitterness created a good complement to the flan. Quote from a member of the dinner party was that the caramel was the “I’ve ever tasted”.

(Mint Flan with caramel)

Now, this is where the experience became interesting. The flan had a slight crack in it on the side, and the manager came up to the table and commented ‘I would have provided you with one without the crack…if I knew you were taking photos’. He also asked us which blog we were from and mentioned other blogs such as jeroxie and im hungry. Then we revealed our identity as gluttonygluttony.

~Atmosphere~

Busy. The restaurant is very busy, so be warned get there early (5pm) or book (if 8 or more people). Not too loud and not too quiet which was good. The lighting was dark and “typical” tapas environment.

~Service~

Very good. We were seated straight away, and menus were provided immediately. The waiter described all the categories of food which was good. Furthermore, the water was filled efficiently and finished dishes were promptly removed.

~Price~

$90 for 3 people

Value for money IMO.

~Overall Impression~

Very good Mexican food. Will return soon!

8.5/10