Mejico, Sydney

Would you like a side of theatre with your dinner? If that's your thing, be sure to order the market fresh guacamole ($9) from Mejico. Watch in delight as the waitress comes over to your table with all the raw ingredients - a halved avocado, chopped Spanish onion, lime and chopped coriander - and mashes it up ceremoniously in a molcajete (a mortar and pestle).

Drying chillies out of the front of Mejico

We've actually ordered three guacamoles tonight, because that's how much we love avocado. Although only one of them is made at the table, it doesn't make it any less delicious or fresh as we all pile it on top of the accompanying plantain chips. There's nothing better than freshly made guacamole, and a testament to that is that we were literally scraping every last bit from the molcajete with a spoon.

Mango and habanero chilli salsa - $12

Another dipping dish is the mango and habanero chilli salsa, which also comes with plantain chips. This is a really refreshing salsa, which I'd imagine would only get better as we come into mango season. There's a pleasant tropical sweetness to the dish, which builds up to a slow burn from the habanero chilli the more you eat. For people who can't take chilli like me, I'd definitely recommend going easy on it at the start least you end up with a fire in your mouth!

Pacific scallop ceviche - $16

We try the pacific scallop ceviche which actually comes out on small tostadas loaded with scallop. It's a small serve for the price, coming in a $4 a piece, but the scallop is fresh and sweet and goes well with the bursts of pomegranate and slight kick from the jalapenos.

Blackened corn - $7

Four little corn cobs arrived on the table and were pleasantly charcoaled on some kernels. The menu says that these are served with smoked paprika, queso fresco and parmesan, but really they just tasted like normal grilled corn to us. There was a little bit of cheese sprinkled on the top but this seemed to be the only flavour addition.

Grilled ocean trout tacos - $16

We try two out of the three tacos on offer. The grilled ocean trout has a sizeable piece of ocean trout on each tortilla, as well as some pickled cabbage salad and a slice of jalapeno. The chipotle mayo on the side also packs a punch and it's a tasty mouthful when everything is eaten together.

Smoked pork belly tacos - $16

But it's the smoked pork belly tacos that have me swooning - the fatty chunks of pork are super juicy and have a slight smokey flavour. Topped with some black bean hummus and the tangy tomatillo salsa, I kept wishing for more!

Achiote chicken - $28

We order the Achiote chicken as a main course to share, which arrives as an artfully displayed plate of rolled chicken breast and mini chicken drumstick. The chicken remains succulent and is cooked well, and is served with some broccolini, pumpkin puree and roasted garlic. We later saw some people ordering the Glazed pork ribs ($34) which were served on a rack and had serious food envy, but I think that's something we'll have to save for next time.

Overall the food was tasty, though some items were a bit of a hit and miss. It was a very busy Friday night and though we had made a late dinner booking of 9pm, we still had to stand around the very crowded bar area for about 20 minutes to wait for our table. Moral of the story: make a booking and an early one at that if you can!

Mejico
105 Pitt Street
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: +61 2 9230 0119
Open 7 days, from 11.30am on weekdays and from 5pm on weekends


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