Will Johnston visits Mexico in Bayfair
Mexico
Bayfair Shopping Centre 19 Girven Road, Mt Maunganui
Tel: (07) 220 9771. bayfair@mexico.nz
On the menu
Mexico, the country, is the kind of place you could go and chill and have amazing food in a great atmosphere and be afforded the opportunity at every turn to try something different, or stick
with the stuff you know. Funnily enough, so is Mexico the restaurant!
Three words: fresh, crisp, tasty.
Every part of our food was at least one of those words. What more could you want from a Mexican restaurant?
As a standard the spiciness of the food appears to come fashioned for the Kiwi palate, ie. mild - great call! But I do love a bit of heat, so I had options there too.
There is a whole page of Frida's Margaritas ($14 or $25 for a carafe). They have a picture of each one on the menu, which is helpful! If you're a tequila person, you're in the right place!
From The Original Mexico City to the Black Plum & Cinnamon, they all look delicious and worthy of a pic for the 'gram.
To the food!
You can share items off the first page: Snacks, Soft Shell Tacos and Mexico Specialties. Everything from Croqueta - potato, green onion and almonds, smoked cheddar, remoulade ($8) - to Mexico Fried Chicken (everything is free range) - with jalapeno mayo and chipotle mayo ($16) for a little heat.
Then the delicious looking Soft Shell Tacos (all $8), more on the pork and prawn ones later, but I'll be back to try the Oaxaca queso and the Pan Fried Fish taco.
The bigger meals are great value. The Quesadillas ($18) looks amazing, I want to have a crack at the Slow Cooked Lamb next time, accompanied with queso (cheesy deliciousness), zucchini, garlic chips, oregano, chilli and salsa borracha.
The buzz
We went on a bustling Friday night, but they're pretty sorted when it comes to service no matter the crowd.
There was a bustling atmosphere and a colourful, positive looking space.
You could have a drink and a memorable feed with a loved one. Or you could go there with the kids or have a huge evening and roll out of there not remembering walking in there.
Also, take a date there - so many things to look at and break the awkward chat.
We'll have
The executive chef's name is Peter Jackson. It would not be remiss to say he is Lord of the Ribs! Agave & Coffee Braised Pork Ribs - capsicum mojo, habanero chilli and agave mole - a stack of ribs on a wooden platter, are cooked just enough to be kind of crunchy but with enough tender meat on them to keep that succulent pork flavour. It honestly is the best ribs meal I can remember having.
The ceviche ($18) was described by my feasting cohort as "The best she's ever had". Strong words from someone with definite opinions about what she likes and doesn't!
It comes on a hard tortilla that you can break and pile high with the coconut salad - perfect to cut through the slight tang of the fish - yellow cherry, pomegranate and coriander.
There were a couple of thin slices of chilli on top and around the outside of the dish, so if you want to make it spicy, you can. We had two soft shell tacos ($8 each) - Pork Carne Asada - pineapple, green tomato, pickled cabbage. And the Turmeric Rice Battered Prawn Cutlets - smoky chipotle crema, slaw, pineapple pico. The batter was crispy and light, the prawns tasted fresh and the slaw and zesty pico were beautiful.
Finally we had the Esquites ($8) - chipotle buttered corn, coriander, quesso fresco, blackened onion crema and tortillas. The corn is perfectly creamy and not too heavy. The blackened part adds just a hint of that charcoal taste and creates a smoky, crunchy mouthful.
For dessert
Upon the owner Andrew's recommendation, we had Crema Catalan - orange blossom scented and with chocolate granita. It's like a Mexican brulee with the hard outer shell that breaks through to a creamy, perfectly runny brulee-style cream, topped with chocolate granita - a kind of sorbet.
And, of course, Cinnamon Spiced Churros - dulce de leche, toasted almond migas.
To drink
This is my kind of joint as the first four pages of the menu are drinks. I had The Original Mexico City margarita. It had a perfect extra splash of tequila to make me go "wow".
She had the Blueberry & Lavender margarita. She loved it and it had just the right amount of sweet but was also smooth and not too tangy. They've got a range of other Mexican cocktails and of course the Mexican beers and sangrias you'd expect. They also have a great range of freshly made non-alcoholic drinks. She had a Watermelon & Hibiscus ($6).
The verdict
Mexico is a great place for a regular visit, a special night out, a date or a fun one with a group of mates. Check out their Love Mexico app to get free food and Mexico Dollars.
Also, look on the back of the menu when you're there ... they do Margarita Masterclasses for groups. Andrew, the owner, said he's blown away with how willing people in the Bay of Plenty are to try different things. He and his team have made the whole Mexican experience fresh from the food to the atmosphere.
Salud! (That's Mexican for cheers!).