NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Lifestyle

Review: Maldito Mendez, Ponsonby

Herald on Sunday
13 Oct, 2013 01:22 AM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Maldito Mendez
Address: Ponsonby Central, 4 Brown St, Ponsonby
Ph: (09) 378 9107
Web: www.mendez.co.nz

You can tell a lot about a man by the way he talks to a waitress. So I hope the woman at the table next to ours in Maldito Mendez has given the bloke she was with the old heave-ho. If she hasn't, she will have only herself to blame when it all ends in tears.

The woman bringing drinks to his table was not, evidently, worthy of being treated with basic respect; being snarled at and dismissed with a wave as though she were a mosquito was all she could hope for.

She looked after us too, and she was personable, efficient and attentive. Unfortunately, the kitchen whose food she ferried to the table was not up to the same high standard.

To judge by its name, which means something like "damned Mendez" (Mendez being the surname of one of the owners), this is a place that wants to ooze backstreet chic and raffish charm. The logo features the second-to-most-famous photo of Che Guevara (chin jutting, big cigar pointing upwards), but mercifully the restaurant does not deal in that great oxymoron, Cuban cuisine. The aim is a kind of pan-Latin-American - empanadas, nachos, tacos, ceviche - rather than standard Mexican. Mains include a seafood cazuela (a Chilean stew) and a duck version of that Mexican classic, chicken mole.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Maldito Mendez started life as a waterfront caravan operation during the Rugby World Cup and was a founding tenant in Ponsonby Central, which celebrates its first birthday next month. It was so busy at the start you couldn't get in the door, which partly explains why it was, until last week, the only eatery in Ponsonby Central I had not tried (bar a lunchtime drop-in for a taco of very dry pulled pork).

It is now the only eatery I will not try again.

This is not to say that it's particularly bad. But it's really defiantly ordinary and so at the end of a very modest evening (two glasses of wine) a $150 bill for two seemed close to extortionate.

It's a good-looking place: tiled walls and floor - the second of which looks like it's been well walked on - giant bottomless bottles for lampshades, and old-school cafe furniture, including barstools.

I have read reviews that say much of the fit-out was imported from Uruguay but it doesn't have that kitset feel you can get in instant Irish pubs.

We bypassed the menu of picadas (snacks) that includes those empanadas and croquettes made of bacalhau, the salted cod that is one of Iberian cuisine's more grievous mistakes. On the small plates menu, the fish tacos deserved their good rep: the crispy fish bites were topped with a chilli mayo, a fresh slaw (of which more later) and a tomatillo salsa. Less impressive was the ceviche where the kitchen's ambitions smothered the purity of an unimprovable idea: pencil-thick slices of hard coconut meat looked good on the plate but their texture didn't work with the fish, which was dry and tasteless (I fancy it had been made many hours before).

Discover more

Opinion

Don Kavanagh: Spirit revival a blessing

28 Sep 07:54 PM
New Zealand

Review: Mandarin Dumpling & Bar, CBD

01 Oct 08:31 PM
Lifestyle

Review: Orleans, Britomart

05 Oct 12:00 AM
Lifestyle

Review: Baduzzi, North Wharf

06 Oct 01:57 AM

The huevos rancheros (a breakfast dish, really, but never mind) consisted of two undercooked eggs semi-submerged in a cheerless sea of black beans that were described on the menu, quite inaccurately, as spiced. This dish cost $25.

The sticky pork belly was quite well done, scattered with the crispy bits of pork rind known as chicharrones. I suppose I should have noticed that the menu said it came with the same red cabbage slaw we had ordered as a side, but it should have occurred to someone to suggest an alternative.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

It certainly helped with the five-plus a day.

Desserts - a chocolate mousse and a flan made of dulce de leche - were perfectly satisfactory but the competition's hot for this slice of the market and this seemed like an ordinary meal at an extraordinary price.

Verdict: Overpriced and underwhelming.

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Lifestyle

Lifestyle

'Very much welcome': Royals invited to Harry's Invictus Games

12 Jul 04:57 AM
Lifestyle

Judge orders Harry to disclose payments in Daily Mail case

12 Jul 03:48 AM
Lifestyle

Short on time, craving carbs? This easy soda bread can be made at home in less than an hour

11 Jul 11:00 PM

Get your kids involved in your reno

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Lifestyle

'Very much welcome': Royals invited to Harry's Invictus Games

'Very much welcome': Royals invited to Harry's Invictus Games

12 Jul 04:57 AM

Prince Harry sent email invitations to Buckingham Palace last month.

Judge orders Harry to disclose payments in Daily Mail case

Judge orders Harry to disclose payments in Daily Mail case

12 Jul 03:48 AM
Short on time, craving carbs? This easy soda bread can be made at home in less than an hour

Short on time, craving carbs? This easy soda bread can be made at home in less than an hour

11 Jul 11:00 PM
Premium
'Dirtiest-minded young woman in NZ': Dame Fiona's lifetime of flouting convention

'Dirtiest-minded young woman in NZ': Dame Fiona's lifetime of flouting convention

11 Jul 10:00 PM
Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper
sponsored

Sponsored: Why heat pumps make winter cheaper

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP