Auckland restaurant review: Eyeing the menu at Taco Loco, Mt Albert

The beef birria taco from Taco Loco, Mexican restaurant on Mt Albert Rd in Mt Albert. Photo / Jason Oxenham

In their own words: “Taco Loco is la casa of the best traditional Mexican street food in town.”

First impressions: Taco Loco is a many-chambered wonder. Move from the tiny takeaway counter to an atmospheric anteroom before winding up in the covered courtyard. En route, encounter wrestlers and gunslingers, cactus and grinning skulls. You’re not in Mt Albert anymore.

On the floor: The waitstaff don’t look old enough to drink, but they are very quick to deliver one. Side plates arrived before I could ask; empty plates were whisked away before the next table could clock our greed. Friendly, efficient and fast.

Interior at Taco Loco. Photo / Jason Oxenham

The neighbourhood: Taco Loco used to operate from a former garage on New North Rd. Today, it’s on the same Mt Albert Rd corner that does excellent eggs (L’Oeuf) and introduced a generation of bearded 30-somethings to gua bao with their beer (Chinoiserie).

The menu: Tacos and tortillas. Quesadillas and burritos. Chicken-fish-cactus-etc. It’s everything you’d expect from a Mexican menu and nothing more, but I’ve had three Sunday lunches here since January and still haven’t managed to taste everything.

Best bite #1: I will not order the beef birria taco. I will not order the beef birria taco. I will ... definitely and absolutely have the beef birria taco. It oozes cheese and slow-cooked meat, even before you add the dark dry heat of a homemade taco sauce. You will get so much of everything all over your face and there won’t be enough serviettes but I promise you won’t care, because now a chorus of taco angels is singing deep within your heart and if you looked up and saw the Second Coming carrying a bowl of birria dipping sauce you’d probably just nod and ask for a spoon. Don’t wear a good shirt. Do remember to dip the taco in that broth where the pulled beef has been bathing for hours. (Or maybe days? Months? Honestly, I don’t know how else they’d get it to taste that good.) According to one recipe I consulted, the secret to a great beef birria taco is to dunk the slow-cooked meat-stuffed tortilla in meat fat and then fry it. I wouldn’t recommend three of these in a single sitting but, if the kitchen is having a good day, this is one of the single best things you can eat in Auckland.

Best bite #2: That beef birria taco is a hard act to follow but on a recent visit we took a punt on the pulled pork empanada (crisp pastry, slightly cinnamon-flavoured filling) and the gobernador quesadilla. The flat, grilled tortilla was healthily plump with prawns and melted mozzarella - cheese on toast, but made special.

Interior at Taco Loco. Photo / Jason Oxenham

Interior at Taco Loco. Photo / Jason Oxenham

The jury’s still out: Queso de rancho is billed as deep-fried halloumi bites with a hibiscus reduction. I anticipated chunks of elastic cheese coated in a sweet-sharp respite. What arrived was devoid of both squeak and flavour. If you’re looking for something to have with a drink, go straight for the corn chips and guac, and consider adding a side of the salsa riviera. Remember when you were 7 and ate pineapple-and-pickled onion hedgehog oranges? Now imagine that with chilli and cool people.

On the side: Every time I eat Mexican rice - soft, savoury and tomato-imbued - I wish someone would put it on a breakfast menu with a fried egg. I love this little scoop of comfort food that is nothing and everything all at once.

Dessert: There’s cake, flan, churros and a deep-fried flour tortilla filled with banana and chocolate, drizzled with caramel sauce, sugar and cinnamon and served with icecream. I will not order the pudding chimichanga, I will not order the pudding chimichanga ...

Perfect for: Cheap Tuesday dates (three tacos and a drink for $25) or long weekend brunch-meets-lunch-and-maybe-dinner with friends at a big courtyard table.

How much: We spent $124 for two, but ordered way too much food.

Cocina Mexicano Taco Loco, 179 Mount Albert Rd, Auckland, phone (09) 215 8542.

Sip the list

by Yvonne Lorkin

If you’re expecting to see decent Mexican/Spanish beers on the list of Taco Loco, then get ready for a frothy grin, gringo, because with crisp, cleansing, characterful brews from Minerva, Bohemia, Cerveza Victoria, Pacifico, Corona and Indio, you’ll be happy-clappy in no time. Plus they’ve got a guest tap and low and no-alcohol offerings from Good George and Garage Project to keep you breathaliser-fresh. Not sure if you’re thirsty for beer, wine or a cocktail? Fret not, you can have both in a Michelada (tomato pulp, drops of Worcestershire and splashes of hot sauce topped with crispy-cold Corona. Or try the pinot noir-based Sangria Loca. There’s just one sparkling available (an Italian prosecco, which I thought was odd, seeing as there’s a smorgasbord of great Spanish cava available for restaurants to list these days) and a very compact six-wine list featuring a malbec (of course), sauvignon blanc, chardonnay and rosé from Septima, in Argentina, alongside a pinot gris and pinot noir from Seifried in Nelson. When it comes to Tequila and Mezcal, Taco Loco does the deed well. What’s the difference? All tequila is mezcal but not all mezcal is tequila. Mezcal can be made from any type of roasted agave plant, while tequila sits inside, like a subset of mezcal, because it can be made from only one type of agave, the Blue Agave, which is steamed instead. Hence why mezcal often tastes “smokier” than tequila. Treat yourself to a Taco Loco tasting flight of three shots to aquaint yourself. Or if you’d rather get your heat from the food instead of booze, they have a huge range of authentic Jarritos juices (the grapefruit is gorgeous and the watermelon is soothing) and their horchata is heavenly. Buen trabajo, Taco Loco.