I was really hopeful that this place would be a 'just-what-I-need' go-to - cheap(ish), cheerful, unpretentious, filling Mexican grub. In the event, it falls short. In fact, it feels as though it's completely content operating as a two-out-of-five restaurant. It aims low, and meets that aim.
My girlfriend and I have been twice, and both times, have been the only people there. No effort is being made to draw in additional punters, either. Footfall on this stretch of Blackstock isn't great, but attendance is well below what you'd expect. This says to me that other locals have tried this place and aren't hugely interested in going back.
The food is middling to crap. The portions are inedibly massive, and not hugely cheap at that. I had a small burrito, which I barely finished. It was a monster, made harder to see away by the remarkable lack of flavour - something no Mexican restaurant should really ever struggle with. Both my girlfriend and I commented that the tomato sauce tasted exactly like a tin o' tomatoes, heated up. And nothing more. On top, there were a couple of dollops of sour cream and a mountain of cheddar. In the burrito, the smoked chicken just tasted a bit old, dry and naff. After stuffing my face with this fare for a while, it ended up like re-chewing someone else's jalapeno-flavoured gum.
I feel a bit guilty slating a local, independent business - but it's a great opportunity missed, when there are places like Loco Mexicano in Westbourne Grove which do just what you need. read more