Café Chula

Café Chula was riffing on a festival vibe the night we visited, with a two-piece band playing Latin-flavoured Bob Marley and Oasis covers. Decor is atmospherically distressed (scuffed paint, flaking mirrors, adobe-effect walls) and there are good views of the canal, but the loud music sent us scarpering to the outdoor seating.

A jug of weak margarita was out of step with the party atmosphere; more disappointing was that the most unusual taco topping – lengua, described as cow tongue – had run out. Once it’s gone, it’s gone, we supposed, with such a specialist ingredient; it was less understandable that mushrooms were off the menu too. We plumped for braised pork tacos instead, and the meat was delicious if lacking the described crispness.

A generously sized main of enchiladas suizas (chicken with salsa verde sauce and cheese) was a little bland, and there were no bottles of sauce on the table to spark it into life. A plate of camarones borrachas (‘drunken prawns’, with chilli and tequila), went the other way: flavoursome but too salty. One last unhappy festival parallel – the single unisex toilet really didn’t smell so good.