TasWeekend Indulge: Mexican turns up the heat

FOOD reviewer Graeme Phillips says things continue to heat up in the local food scene with the introduction of Pancho Villa in North Hobart.

TAS WEEKEND: Dining Guide Pancho Villa: Interior shot PICTURE: Luke Bowden

PANCHO VILLA TEQUILA BAR

378 Elizabeth St, North Hobart; licensed;

Open lunch Thursday to Sunday 11.30am–3pm,

dinner daily from 5.30pm; Takeaways, 6234 4161

Blue corn taco with spicy soft shell crab al pastor with pico de gallo, jicama and pineapple.

WITH dim, moody lighting, Day of the Dead skulls and artwork, ornate designer lamps, black velvet banquettes, black furniture and colourfully patterned stained glass; a bar featuring 56 different tequilas and the percussion of cocktail shakers sounding like castanets; the boys behind the Burger Haus, Ragazzi and Capital restaurants have done it again, turning the old ANZ bank in North Hobart into a stylish American-Mexican bar.

And they’ve nailed that combination of good food and fun vibes that have made newer eateries such as Frank and Urban Greek instant hits with Hobart diners. Like Frank, at Pancho Villa it’s a younger, buzzy, mostly 30-something crowd, some of whom are happy to pay $40 for a hit of one of Mexico’s top tequilas.

So we joined them with a margarita followed by a sample tasting of an earthy, mahogany-coloured, four-year-old, barrel-aged tequila and a beautifully smooth two-year-old mescal before skipping the 16 Aussie and Mexican beers on offer and selecting a delightfully savoury Argentine sangiovese from an interesting and reasonably priced global list.

Then a look at executive chef Darryl Zeitzen’s menu which, he says, is the product of lots of research and months of recipe trials in the kitchen before opening. The result is a wide-ranging selection running from flights of authentic, house-made salsas with tortilla chips through different white corn and blue corn tacos and on to mains such as pulled-pork tostadas, achiote pork belly, Mexican cod cakes and frijoles, enchiladas, salads and desserts.

Trio of sorbets: chilli chocolate, mango and pineapple, coconut and lime zest.

We started with two nicely crisp and flavoured pulled-pork empanadas with a mild dipping sauce followed by blue corn tacos topped with spicy soft-shell crab and pico de gallo (salsa) and another with ox tongue, pomegranate mojo, queso fresco (cheese) and pickled jalapeno. Then followed seared scallops with a savoury topping of chorizo crumbs, avocado and black garlic sauce and beef cheek braised in black beer and chipotle freshened with avocado and lime puree and salsa cocida.

Roast achiote pork belly with pineapple pico de gallo.

Rather than putting hairs on your chest, Mexican food in its place of origin can singe them off and Zeitzen has understandably pulled back on the heat on dishes across the board. But more than just spiciness and chilli heat, Mexican food is made up of a lot of different components and layers of flavours going on at once.

The most famous examples of this are their highly complex moles and it’s great that Zeitzen makes their own Oaxacan red and black mole and, in addition, that there are a spicy Habanero sauce, a fierier ghost chilli sauce and a volcanic Trinidad scorpion chilli sauce to ramp up the heat.

All in all, the food and flavours are pleasingly authentic and, combined with the excellence of the cocktails, wines and Mexican beers, tequilas and mescals, atmosphere and service, Pancho Villa is a very enjoyable, fun and exciting addition to the North Hobart strip.

Flight of three salsa dips $16; two empanadas $11; tacos $14-$16; mains $16-$26; desserts $14; tequilas $10-$45. Online bookings for four to 12 people available soon at panchovilla.com.au

Our reviewer arrives unannounced and pays his own way

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