I've always had a love affair with Mexico, their culture, their history, their architecture, but mostly their food.
There is so much more to Mexican food than tacos and salsa, but unfortunately most Mexican restaurants focus on these two staples. Now don't get me wrong, I love a good taco just like the next guy, but rarely do I find a taco that wows, and rarely do I find a Mexican restaurant in Melbourne that wows me as well.
I rate Mexican restaurants by BAD - GOOD - GREAT. Most fall in the range bad, with a few good and I've only rated two as great.
PJ's Mexican Kitchen falls into the GOOD category. The fit out is pretty good, and is what you would expect from a Mexican Restaurant, rustic and colourful.
The menu is not bad, but is what you would expect. We ordered for entree the trio platter, A selection of homemade dips: Chili con carne, guacamole and frijoles con queso served with corn chips. The Chili con carne was pretty good, and full of flavour. The frijoles con queso was ok but nothing special. The guacamole was a disappointment. It virtually had no flavour, it was basically just smashed avocado.
Next we ordered the Mexican charred corn, served with chipotle aioli and lime. This should have been a great dish, but I think the kitchen forgot to add the chipotle aioli and lime. It literally was just grilled corn and was rather dry.
For our main I ordered the Beef Colorado, Tender pieces of slow cooked beef with ground spices and onion, served with frijoles, Mexican rice and two flour tortillas. This was a good solid dish. Full of flavour and is what I would expect from a Mexican restaurant.
Look, overall it was a good experience with a couple of misses. The service, whilst friendly and quick, just needed a bit of polishing.
If in the area again I'd certainly return, and was certainly value for money. read more