Mejico Melbourne review: Flavour-bomb carrot taco may change your view on veggies

A carrot taco seems like a sorry excuse for a meal. But at this new CBD Mexican taqueria, the humble veg gets a spicy glow up.

Kara Irving

3 min read

May 7, 2021 - 12:10PM

Food

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A carrot taco and Mexican food.

You wouldn’t marry these two off, even if it made for compelling, cringe-worthy reality TV. At Mejico, packet spice mix and supermarket mince meat are tossed aside to hero the humble veg.

“Vegetables, schmegtables. I’m here for beef burritos as thick as my arm,” I hear you say.

Don’t worry, Mejico has plenty of meat to feed your carnivorous cravings, but also gives us Mexican cuisine in its truest form — made simply, with fresh and locally-sourced ingredients.

The tender beef plumping the golden empanadas are from Daylesford cows, the traditional Cochinita Pibi uses Echuca pork and the fried chicken comes from Mount Macedon chooks.

And those baby dutchies in that vegetable taco ($14 for two) are plucked from Yarra Valley soil, flame-grilled until sweet, teamed with pickled red onion, pepitas for crunch, lip-tingling smoked paprika mayo and wrapped snug in a floury tortilla.

The carrot taco at Mejico restaurant. Picture: Supplied.

It’s a surprisingly flavour-packed pocket of goodness which may lead you to ask “are you sure there’s no meat in here”, followed by: “why haven’t I visited Mejico sooner?”

Well, why haven’t you?

Last December, Ian Hicks and Sam Prince opened Sydney-born Mejico south of the border in Melbourne’s old Collins Quarter building.

Mejico takes over the two-level, 100-odd seater space in the city’s flashy Collins Quarter precinct among other Harbour City alumni including Hicks and Prince’s Sri Lankan venue INDU, as well as Handpicked Wines cellar door and the anticipated Martin Benn, Vicki Wild and Chris Lucas behemoth Society.

There’s an unmistakeable buzz of the pre-COVID good times inside Mejico this Saturday night.

Tequila is aplenty at Mejico restaurant. Picture: Supplied.

Maybe it’s because the drinks keep flowing from the tequila-led cocktail list — leaning salty and sour or tart and refreshing — and the straight-up Tequila Bible boasting an excess of 260 different drops covering Patron, Don Julio and every mescal and sweet tequila imaginable.

Or maybe it’s the playful pink neon-lit main dining room/courtyard, which imaginably comes alive when the roof retracts on warm nights.

If you’re lucky, there’s one vivacious waiter who will make your night with his infectious personality and confidence, which on our visit far outweighed the patchy service for the rest of the night.

Tableside guacamole. Mejico restaurant. Picture: Supplied

Mejico’s drawcard is its guacamole prepared tableside for some extra razzle dazzle ($17), with whisper-thin fried plantain (starchy banana-like fruit) the chip to your dip, to get guac to gob in a glorious way — it almost can’t get better than this.

Until you try those beef brisket empanadas ($16) filled to the brim with rich meat and salty green olives dunked in zingy chimichurri. You’ll want to order another plate.

Head chef Ankit Padmani’s cooking (formerly of Collins Quarter) looks to the Yucatán Peninsula in northern Mexico, home to resorty seaside city Cancun, where you’ll find the traditional Cochinita Pibi dish ($28).

Beef empanadas at Mejico. Picture: Supplied.

Tender pulled pork shoulder is seasoned with a smoky achiote paste, made from a rich red pigmented annatto seed native to South America and cooked and served in a banana leaf.

The delicious deep-fried gordita bread, made with maize-based masa flour, works as edible cutlery. It’s satisfying with every mouthful.

You could take or leave dessert, particularly the churros, but the two-bite margarita cheesecakes are worth a try ($12 for four bites) served canape style and dancing with delightful textures and flavours of sharp lime, sweet coconut tostadas and sour tequila-soaked dehydrated lime.

Cochinita Pibil. Picture: Supplied.

Mejico did have me scratching my head over a few things — why do entrees and mains come at once, where’s the vibe in the room near the bar and could someone please kill Maroon 5 on the speakers?

While there’s some room for improvement, Mejico’s produce-driven menu, smashable drinks and all-round good times may be enough to return punters to the CBD — or at least give them a tasty way to get their five a day.