Debut Mexican restaurant from an award-winning street foodie.
Old enough to remember ‘Attack of the Killer Tomatoes’? If so, you’ll be relieved to hear that chef Matt Paice’s acclaimed Mexican street food van – now upgraded to a tiny, vibesy restaurant in SheBu – has precisely zilch in common with the trashy sci-fi film that inspired its name. But when it comes to creating tasty, moreish and good-looking fare that does the trick and then some? Oh yeah: he kills it.
A fresh pair of crayfish tostadas made a great first impression, mild sour cream balancing nicely with a tangy salsa that gets extra points for being made from tomatillo (a small, green Mexican tomato). And though Paice started his business on a veggie mission, bringing meat dishes into the fold has worked in his favour. Exhibit A: the wonderful fried chicken taco. It’s got a sweet-and-sour Korean flavour, with a few sesame seeds and spring onions thrown in for good measure – though it’s a shame the chicken wasn’t crunchier. The chorizo taco, while fiddly to eat, also ticked the right boxes. And if we hadn’t been tempted by the cod version – which was excellent – we’d have gone for a chicken burrito, replete with the intriguingly-named ‘Death Sauce II’. Or a cheeseburger taco, which sounds like just the thing to soak up the restaurant’s cheeky selection of tequila cocktails. You’ll probably want some fries with that too – they’re seriously good.
So does all this quality eating come with a catch? It would appear not: service was smily – and on my visit, came from Paice himself – and pricewise, £20 goes a long way on the food front. The restaurant doesn’t take cash or reservations, mind you, but a little spot this brilliant is definitely worth waiting for.
