As one of the most well known and popular Mexican restaurants in Melbourne, Mamasita is notorious for being difficult to find a table during their dinner service. Their long queue times are not the only thing they are known for through, as they are one of the leaders of the Mexican restaurant expansion in Melbourne and boast an impressive range of tequila and mezcal.
Specialist tequila & mezcal bar
Tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa $10.00
We started off the night with some of their tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa, as well as some tequila and mezcal by recommendation of their mezcalier. The guacamole was nice and creamy but the salsa was slightly watery. The recommendations of their mezcalier were spot on though as we thoroughly enjoyed our first taste of authentic mezcal.
Street style corn $4.90
Corn on the cob is a popular street food in Mexico and has been adapted to many popular restaurants in Melbourne, each with their own twist. The corn at Mamasita has received many good reviews and praise so I definitely had to try it for myself. Unfortunately the corn that I was served was extremely mushy and did not have the natural sweetness I would expect. Ultimately all I could taste from the corn was the toppings.
Pork taco & Campechano taco $14.00
I couldn't decide which taco I wanted to try so I ordered two different ones. The campechano taco had beef cheek and the inclusion of cactus in it, however it did not stand out against the other taco. The second taco had pibil style pork hock with chicharrón and pickled red onion with pineapple on top, which had both lovely flavour and texture, albeit a bit heavy.
The food had some highlights as well as some disappointments to it, however most of my experience from the night was based solely on the service. The service for the night started out magnificently. The person who I believe was the mezcalier gave us a basic run through of tequila, mezcal and the differences between the two, after which he asked us about our preferences which he used to give us more information and recommendations for drinks. We were really happy with this service and I personally was prepared to give Mamasita a high rating for their service alone. However, our food was served by another waiter who simply slammed it down onto the table without even looking at us. When we were ready to pay, the same waiter who slammed the food onto our table took our bill. I paid in large notes as I did not have any change, but the waiter simply assumed all of it was the tip (it was a sizable amount) and did not offer any change, which I thought was extremely rude. To be honest, I was having a good night until the end of it and after I left Mamasita I was left in a sour mood.
Food Rating 6.5/10
Overall Rating 5.5/10