Condesa: Try the nachos and there’ll be no looking back
A new Mexican diner in a suburban pub is surprisingly authentic but the setting is a challenge, writes Simon Wilkinson
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Nachos is a favourite in our family – and not just for its capacity to fill up two ravenous teenage boys. With a giant tray of it in the middle of the table, conversation is easy as we all pull out corn chips and load them with this and that, fight over the cheesiest bits, and risk a little extra chilli with hilarious results.
The vegetarian nachos at Condesa, an ambitious Mexican diner shoehorned into a pub in the inner-west, is something else. Yes, it has house-made corn chips, black beans, a lively salsa, smoked corn kernels, puddles of oozy molten cheese sauce and a final dusting of salty dried ricotta. But the intriguing, what-is-that-flavour component, we discover, comes from a sauce of tomatillo, guajillo chilli and… hoisin.
Using a Chinese condiment in the nachos isn’t the only time that Condesa defies convention – right back to the concept of trying to convert the cavernous bar and bistro at the Hotel Royal into an inviting cantina.
On that score at least, the jury is out. Elegant interior arches, one mural on a distant feature wall, and little potted cacti on the tables, don’t exactly scream fiesta, especially in a space that is so large and, on this night at least, filled by so few.
If it could be tucked away in its own niche, away from the pub carpet and awful synthesised soundtrack, Condesa could capture much better the bohemian district in Mexico City after which it was named.
The food of its chef Ashley Nguyen, for the most part, is deserving of more sympathetic surrounds. His interest in this style of cooking is no passing fad, having spent time at Viva Zapata and most recently Mexican Society, which seems to have had some influence on his menu’s presentation here.
Deft use of more than a dozen different types of chilli is a feature, as is the introduction of ingredients such as bonito and tamarind, to good effect. It’s more imaginative and sophisticated than the standard chilli con carne and refried beans brigade.
The most interesting stuff comes at the start. A trio of tostada (in essence big corn crackers) are loaded with black bean puree, shredded greenery and a fry-up of carrot julienne and three types of mushroom (button, oyster, enoki) in a tomato-and-chipotle-based sauce. A sprinkle of dry aged ricotta, used in many places here, completes a snack that is way more appealing than it sounds. Another version of tostada, with prawn ceviche and beach banana (a succulent) also appeals.
Using blue corn tortillas, instead of wheat, give the tacos an extra layer of authenticity and homely flavour, like making a sandwich with rye bread rather than white. This one is filled (overfilled to be honest) with lightly battered soft shell crab, a bundle of salad leaves and a soybean and habanero mayonnaise. It’s messy but good.
Larger plates are more predictable. The meat drops from a slab of pork ribs long before a knife needs to get involved, but any flavour of spice or smoke is drowned out by the intensity and volume of a chipotle barbecue sauce.
Enchiladas have disintegrated into a particularly tasty mess of pork chunks, cooked gently for 16 hours, and melted cheese. It has all those burnt and crisped edges that are the best bits of a lasagne or traybake, along with a nice tickle of spice in its roasted tomato sauce.
The chilli octopus, however, misses the boat, the sections of tentacle cooked sous vide before grilling, which seems to have stripped away all their natural seafood character, leaving them lifeless and with the texture of plasticine.
About now, where some Mexican places will be lining up tequila, Condesa has a list of desserts that again show flair. Churros are stacked like a Jenga tower, sprinkled in orange sugar and drizzled with caramel and chocolate sauces. From the specials list, the flan is Mexico’s answer to crème caramel. A custard made with condensed milk and cream cheese is baked in a water bath and turned out on a plate, so the caramel syrup is pooled on top. Strawberries and an almond crumble complete the plate.
The Condesa menu advises patrons that they can also order a classic pub meal, if Mexican isn’t their thing. That would be a shame. The commitment of this chef deserves recognition. Try his nachos and there will be no looking back.
CONDESA
Hotel Royal, 180 Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville, 8352 7855, hotelroyal.com.au
OWNER Hurley Group
CHEF Ashley Nguyen
SMALL $7-$18
MAINS $13-$32.50
DESSERT $11
DRINKS Good selection of wine (many by glass), cocktails and tequila/mezcal, as well as jugs of sangria
OPEN LUNCH and DINNER Daily
SCORE 12.5/20
