Cartel Del Taco to open new venue on Merthyr St, New Farm

The brains behind cult favourite Mexican restaurant Cartel Del Taco are taking their popular brand to a new location in inner Brisbane.

An artist's impression of the new Cartel Del Taco in New Farm.

They are the brains behind the massively popular Cartel Del Taco, and now Marco Ramirez and Erick Martinez are taking the cult brand “across the bridge” to open a new venue.

Cartel Del Taco, whose first venue at Hawthorne opened in 2022, is a true labour of love for the pair, who are now putting the finishing touches to a brand new site.

Eagle-eyed fans will have spotted signage at 79 Merthyr Rd in New Farm, but beyond that firetruck red exterior is an authentic Mexican dream come to life.

An artist's impression of the new Cartel Del Taco at New Farm

“A lot of our really good clients are from Tenerife and Newstead, and so we just listened to them, and if you listened to the community talking about this vacant space on the corner, it really needed to be activated and finally create a fun, happy vibe,” Ramirez said.

The duo said the focus for the new space was on giving the community a truly authentic Mexican experience, curating all of the things that shaped their own childhoods, while tempering some of the food offerings to the Australian palate.

“Being in New Farm, the area gives us the opportunity to elevate our offerings in the techniques we are using especially … we want to keep this a traditional Mexican taqueria, but with an Australian touch,” Martinez said.

A dish the pair are already expecting will be their ‘viral’ standout, will be their version of the classic Mexican street food gorditas, a flat tortilla stuffed with meat and other fillings, that are huge in Mexico City.

They will also introduce a breakfast service, with traditional items like chilaquiles, which are tortilla chips cooked in a salsa or molletes, which are a traditional breakfast snack, alongside Australian classics with a Mexican twist, like an eggs benedict.

“People think of Mexican food and they think its really heavy, spicy, fatty - but its not that … there are even traditional breads and pastries we want to introduce,” Martinez said.

They are working with Canberra-based Ona coffee, and are in discussions with some of Australia’s top corn producers.

A handmade clay pot used for guisados is one of the many items of serving-ware and crockery commissioned from local makers in Mexico.

The new restaurant will still feature the same key menu items that saw the brand skyrocket into the city’s dining sphere, but Martinez will mix things up by introducing charcoal and wood-fired cooking and smoking to the menu, as well as a heavy focus on seafood.

“A highlight for this new restaurant is we will use a lot of smoking and charcoal, like wood-fired vegetables, smoked meats and we really want to develop it here,” Martinez said.

“Seafood in Mexican food is really big, especially along the pacific coast, and we want to bring that here and keep things really fresh.”

There will be an oyster bar and a dish called tiraditos, which is similar to sashimi or ceviche.

The attention to detail on a seamless blend of cultures goes beyond just the menu, with two massive pallets of furniture, art and servingware handcrafted in Mexico on their way to Australia.

“Our chairs and tables are all handmade in Mexico, we have volcanic stone plates and even the uniforms have been made there,” Ramirez said.

“The artworks and decorations have been made the same way that these families have made them for hundreds of years.”

“We have these brown clay pieces which are exactly what our grandmothers used to cook dinner in … it's really special.”

Over 5000 hand placed tiles line the walls and counters inside, pulling together that fresh 1970s vibe Cartel Del Taco is known for.

Volcanic stone dishware in the process of creation by a family business in Mexico.

Custom work by artist Mauricio Groenewold, who Ramirez describes as the “Banksy of Mexico” features a lucha libre fighting a boxing kangaroo, while another features a chilli-surfing skeleton.

The indoor dining space will fit up to 100 people, and the team has just received approval for 25 seats on the street.

While an exact opening date is not yet locked down, they expect to be up and running by mid to late February.

In the meantime, the Hawthorne site will launch a new menu on January 24, featuring some of the new venue’s signature dishes and cocktails, including their gorditas.