Mia Margarita is restaurant, bar and hip place at Henley Beach

“Mexican is just fun, everyone loves it,” says Zac Makins, best known as the name behind 50SIXONE dessert bars and now the proud owner of Mia Margarita in Henley Beach.

“Mexican is just fun, everyone loves it,” says Zac Makins, best known as the name behind 50SIXONE dessert bars and now the proud owner of Mia Margarita in Henley Beach.

“We’ve gone modern, and we’re really hitting that beach element of Mexican,” says Zac. “I travelled to Cancun, which is where I got the inspiration and drive for this place. I loved the atmosphere there on the beach and so we’re doing classic Mexican stuff but with a modern twist.”

A standout dish is the Trashcan Nachos – it’s nachos in a can.

Mia Margarita at Henley Beach. Picture: Mia Margarita/Daniel McPherson

“It’ll be one of our showcase pieces,” says Zac. “We got the idea from a place in Vegas and they were absolutely killing it, so we’ve made it our own.

“You’ll be served the plate, and then a staff member will pull the can lid off in front of you, to let the nachos stand there – then you get to dig in.” The two-storey diner has two different personalities, with the restaurant upstairs.

“Downstairs will be a bar menu, which will be simple and the same as our lunch menu, but then at night time it’s going to switch to a different atmosphere,” Zac says.

Mexican beers such as Pacifico and Corona are on the menu, but the focus is on craft beers.

“We’re not going to go over the top with Mexican beer… We’ve got a pretty dominant range of craft beers, with like Young Henry’s and Big Shed.”

In the pipeline are monthly outdoor parties – subject to council approval.

“We’re working with the council and looking at doing big events once a month on a Sunday. “We’ll have a big portable deck that will seat about 100 people, and we’ll make a big party out of it,” Zac says.