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Your fist clutches a golden pocket: a jumbo empanada packed with spiced beef mince, boiled egg and olives. Your lips trace the salty rim of a neat little Paloma.

A scan of the room reveals a lively scene of diners young and old waiting on the parrilla to blister chorizo and chargrill half-chooks. Ballarat’s old gold may be gone, but there’s much to be plundered at the ’Rat’s vibrant Latin American hangout.

Baja-style fish – that litmus test of tacos – scores an A+ for its hunks of firm and golden battered fish served over pineapple salsa and guacamole.

Argentina’s favourite pan-fried cheese, provoleta, is molten magic best scoffed at its hottest. It’s joyously oily but kept in check by a sharp chimichurri, and a little refresher from the long list of mezcals. The Rat’s on a roll.