Italian, Thai, Vietnamese, Greek – all cuisines that Melbourne does well, and authentically. Mexican . . . not so much. Outside of Fitzroy’s Las Amates, the choices are limited to cheese drenched Oz-Tex-Mex.
The newly opened Mamasita (level 1, 11 Collins St, Melbourne. ph 9650 3821) gives Melbourne another authentic option. There’s nary a burrito or enchilada in sight, as the folk running the show are at pains to point out. Instead the menu covers tacos, quesadillas and tostaditas, amongst other offerings.
On this occasion, the choices at the table were limited to tortilla chips and a number of different tacos. The tortilla chips were made in-house, and coupled with marvellously fresh salsa and guacamole, were delicious. At $8, they represented reasonably good value, given the serving size and quality.
Tacos were even better, at least in terms of taste. I chose a fish taco, a chicken taco and a lamb taco. All used soft (read: real) tortillas, and came with a very small amount of filling, each of which tasted very different. My favourite was the pulled lamb, which was served with shallots and mojo verde.
The problem was really with value for money. My three tacos set me back $16, which isn’t too bad given the quality, but I was still quite hungry after finishing up, as was the rest of the table following their meals. I’d barely classify it as a light lunch, making $16 very steep.
To be fair, we were warned about meal sizes, it was only the first week, and the manager was happy to listen the feedback. Still, I feel Mamasita, which doubles as a bar (with a good range of tequila) will struggle to attract repeat diners if they don’t improve the value for money.