We found the food tasty, the service excellent and the atmosphere jubilant without being over powering at Topolabamba. Traveling through Scotland we've been amazed at all the Mexican food restaurants. After a terrible plate of natchos, we've avoided them until last night. The lure of a margarita brought us in to this place that serves water out of Jose Cuervo bottles. The ambiance was lively and had the bright ceramics of our home town neighbor. Ben, our waiter, was wonderful-calmly dealing with our concerns and bringing us dishes one at a time. We started with fish tacos which were delicious and had slices of Serrano peppers. The spiciness was welcome. We had prawn tostadas that I would order again without hesitation. Quality of the prawns was excellent. The spirit of Mexican cuisine was in these dishes although they were different than the Mexican food we've had in Mexico and in San Diego. The calamari was a stretch for being Mexican but tasted great. We were disappointed to not have the margarita rims salted and the avocado was barely adequate for us but otherwise this place is great for Mexican food in Scotland. read more

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The service was so nice--truly lovely people--but if you have ever had actual Mexican food you will be unbelievably disappointed. If you're just craving churros then this is the spot! Just avoid everything else. read more

Fantastic Food at great price. I got the burrito with the chipotle and honey pork and it was delicious. The salsa verde that it came with was so good and helped neutralize some of the spiciness of the other dishes. The chips and guac were alright, i though the chips were way too salty. The tostadas with shredded beef were delicious and also the chicken tinga tacos. The churros were amazing and the chocolate sauce they brought it with was unlike anything i've had before. The waitresses were super polite and attentive and the service was quick. Finally the ambience was amazing, they provide you with pencils so you could write messages on the walls. They also had a great and authentic playlist of latin music playing. As someone from Miami, I felt right at home. Be sure to try the strawberry margarita!! read more

Topolabamba - Shredded Beef Tostada - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

This place does amazing food and the restaurant has such a great atmosphere. It's the perfect place to go as a large group as everyone can share small plates and the cocktails and tequila are brillant. read more

Topolabamba - Tostadas and quesadillas - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

This place is definitely happening! It was lively and full on the Tuesday night when I stopped by. I try to eat "Mexican" food any place I visit just to experience another culture's take on it. Topo did not disappoint. I think they used all available ingredients in a fun and inventive way, plus the little touches were appreciated e.g. Jarritos are on the menu. I had a quesadilla with nopales, fish "empapelado" and two tostadas. Yes it sounds like a lot but actually all were small plates meant to be shared. The chipotle salsa with the fish had a great smokey flavor and I used that on everything! The quesadillas were a bit underwhelming but not horrible. The tostadas had tons of guacamole - excellent - but not much more that made them great. Service was prompt, very attentive, and everyone worked as a team. Like many other restaurants in Glasgow there are several floors and the restrooms are downstairs, no lift in site. I would definitely stop by again next time I'm in town. read more

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I have a gluten allergy and Jessica did an excellent job navigating me through the menu. She went out of her way to give us details about Oaxaca food. The tuna ceviche was out of this world! I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

Delish! A restaurant that delivers on flavor and spice. Loved all of the small plates we tried and don't think you can go wrong with any of them based on my experience. The waitress was great, offered some good selections and had a sense of humor. read more

Topolabamba - Carne Assad's Steak Taco - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

I'm not here to talk about whether Topolambama is authentic - I've really got no idea. What I do know is that Topolambama is part of the Pinto family and I love a cheeky pork bare burrito with guac, extra cheese and extra sour cream. So I was interested to see what Topolabamba would be serving up. We arrived a little before 5.30 and were seated in the window area to the right - it's like a wee booth with 3 small tables. As we looked over the menu and ordered drinks a manager popped over to say there was an issue in the kitchen and food service would be starting at 6. They offered us complimentary tortilla chips with guac though, to make up for the wait so that wasn't too bad (although a second portion would've been grand as it was quite a wait after all!). They don't take bookings (except for groups over 5) which could be a little frustrating - there was a lot of people coming in and heading out again as they couldn't get a table straight away. It is a really large space though so I can't imagine you'd wait for long and there are seats at the bar to pass the time. For drinks, I tried the green apple Jose Cuervo house margaritas which was lovely - so good I had to have a second. The tortilla chips had nice amount of paprika seasoning on them and the guac was nice and chunky, like I like it. The chips aren't like doritos, they're more like freshly fried one which was nice for something different. The menu has a lot of options and everything is sized for sharing portions. I also like that dishes that aren't gluten free are clearly marked - the majority of the menu is GF so that's quite handy (and unusual!) When it was time to order, we went for 3 dishes each to share: - avocado, black bean & corn tostada - tangy cactus & marinated chicken taquito - barbacoa beef with crumbled cheese taquito - classic queso fundido - pasilla king prawn tacos - chicken tinga burrito The classic queso fundido was delicious - jack cheese and chorizo fondue, served with tortilla chips. One waiter said that it gets mixed reviews because people don't like the cheese but I'd happily scoff the lot myself. I also really loved the taquitos - crunchy with delicious filling and topped with a crumbled cheese (similar to feta but I'm guessing it isn't). The beef one was marked with 3 chilli peppers for heat but I really didn't find it hot at all. I liked that it was covered with some shredded iceberg lettuce which gave it a real freshness. My other favourite dish was the pasilla king prawn tacos. I couldn't decide between the prawn dishes but went for this one as it was battered rather than served in the shell. I honestly thought that they'd switched prawn for langoustine when I first bit into it, the prawn was that juicy and huge. It was a little hard to eat with the soft tortilla wrap as it went soggy pretty quickly so I just ate the prawn and lettuce. I was really impressed with all the dishes I tried - even the avocado, black bean and corn which was my least favourite but only because the other dishes were so delicious. Service was really good and never far away for more drinks etc and the bill came in at around £50 which wasn't too bad seeing as we had 3-4 alcoholic drinks as well. I thought the food was really high quality and very tasty, so I'm definitely planning a return visit very soon. read more

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Gonna have to agree with my man Paul S on this one and give Topolabamba a (Daym Drops-style) FIVE ALL DAY! I really wasn't sure what to expect based on previous reviews/my inability to withstand any sort of spiciness, but I'm so glad we went. I'd checked out the menu a few times in the past and was put off by the sheer amount of chilies I witnessed on it - most things have at least 1 chili next to them and it goes up to 3 - I hate going somewhere and being fussy (besides spicy food, there isn't a whole lot I won't eat and I'm usually easy to please!) so I had visions of being a total downer, but I'm very pleased to report this wasn't the case at all! Our server was a real gem and revealed that he too wasn't into unnecessarily causing himself pain - he was able to recommend various things on the menu and said that things with 1 chili should be totally fine, plus there were a few 2 chili dishes he could handle as well. Result! As Paul S already mentioned, he also informed us that we wouldn't need as many items as the menu suggested, which we really appreciated as it showed they weren't just out to get as much money from us as possible! The service was excellent, they were friendly and attentive without being too overbearing, wonderful! I ended up going for the barbacoa beef taquitos (OMG) and the smoked chicken quesadillas, neither of which I found spicy at all really, but they were extremely flavourful and totally delicious! I have occasional cravings for the quesadillas because they were so damn good. In fact I could totally go one right now! I also got the nacho chips with guacamole and we shared salt and chili chips. They were really good as well and we definitely had enough to eat between us! There was an unfortunate incident where my lovely bf accidentally decided to try and kill me by making me try one of his fish tacos (the fish isn't spicy but JESUS CHRIST the coleslaw is a hot fiery hell) despite my protests. But obviously that wasn't Topolabamba's fault and I think we both learnt our lesson there. I also asked to take my leftover nachos home because they were so tasty and I couldn't finish them, and they made a whole new portion for me instead of just bagging up the ones I had already!!! Very nice of them indeed. I would without a doubt come back here, really want to get along for their taco happy hour (£1 a taco) as my future working hours will permit me to visit between 4pm and 6pm on a weekday - hurrah! read more

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Yes this is a 5 star review of a Mexican joint in the UK! If you like spice, get the tomatillo salsa (green salsa with a nice zing). The chips are made in house and are maize tortilla chips. My margarita was disappointing, but I think it has more to do with measuring laws than the drink itself, so I moved on to cervesa after my first marg. They have a sizeable selection of Mexican beers, however no Negra Modelo, but still plenty to choose from! The customer service was great, no complaints! I ordered the shredded beef tostadas, sans the aioli stuff! The dish came with two tostadas; I just dumped some of my tomatillo salsa on top, squeezed some lime and I was in food heaven! It even came with cotija cheese, which is a white crumbly Mexican cheese with a sharp flavour. I apologize for forgetting to take a pic of the tostadas, but I was moved to eat them upon arrival! Also, I don't recommend eating this on a date, because there is no way to eat a tostada gracefully! I decided to splurge and have the churros for dessert. They came with a delicious, chocolatey dipping sauce. And well, to be honest, are churros ever bad?! I was a little disappointed they didn't have sopa pillas, but I think I was just overly excited to be chowing down on some legit MexiCAN food! I am eager to try more items from the menus soon! read more

Topolabamba - Churros and cervesa! - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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I visited here recently with my lovely friend Linda D. I had ventured here before and I had an OK experience so suggested going here as Linda was in a Mexican spicy mood. The place is lovely, great interior and centrally located. I had booked ahead to make sure we got a good seat as it was Friday night after all. I booked online through their website and most of the earlier times had gone. I managed to get an 8pm slot so "pre drinks you say?" Yass! I had no problems with the booking and had the ref number ready but the lady who greeted us had my name and a table ready straight away. Our waitress explained how it worked and that you use the pencils provided on the table to mark the dishes on the paper menu what you would like. She brought us water and gave us adequate to time to check out what we fancied. I found it hard to choose as most of the dishes are labelled 2 chillies so still too hot for my wee delicate palate. All the mild dishes were veggie only, bit crap for both meat and veggie eaters. I ordered a cheeky wee cocktail and 2 tapas dishes as did Linda. As we were waiting a group of four sat next to us, who were extremely schwallied. Our tables were quite close together and the 2 women, what felt like, constantly in and out to the loo so kept bumping our table. At one point the older guy slapped poor Linda on the back. We were minding our own businesses but he felt like he needed to try and include us in their drunken rowdiness. We ended up having to move the table over as I was waiting for our drinks to get bummed onto the floor. Our dishes started to arrive but I ended up with the wrong dish. We both felt the dishes were very hot so I ordered some sour cream. Linda had to ask again as we were waiting on it or a while. When it eventually arrived we thought it was the wrong condiment they had given us. It looked like a very thin garlic mayo. I couldn't believe it was sour cream, there was no thick creaminess to it. Linda double checked with the waitress and she said it was and a special recipe they use. Well it didn't stand out but cooled our spicy food a wee bit. The waitress apologised and said she would take off the sour cream from our bill. I didn't know it was a paid extra. Oooft! The food I had was OK but nothing really special. The cocktails were nice though. If I was to go back I would maybe go during a quieter period as the staff were run ragged. read more

Service was great and so was the food, but the margaritas, not very good. Maybe there should be a trip to Mexico to taste authentic margaritas. These weren't very strong and had a strong lime aftertaste. read more

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I wasn't sure whether to give this place three or four stars and then I plumped for four because the staff were so lovely. I had eaten here before with a work colleague, but recently went back with my other half and our wee boy. Straight away the staff (both the manager and our waiter) were really friendly and helpful letting us choose the best seat for the pram, bringing a high chair and chatting away to A. He clearly loved the attention as he had a melt down when they left! But they popped straight back over to ask if they could heat some food / milk or get him anything :) We ordered a mixture of fabulous sounding food from the menu to share and it all arrived very quickly, as each individual dish was ready. The cheese fondue with Monterey Jack cheddar was really thick and gooey and delicious. The chicken quesadillas tasted fresh and we had a bit of a fight for who got the third piece. Where exactly does the fourth quarter go?? Does the chef get to scoff it?? And the honey ribs were good - the sauce was spot on but unfortunately the ribs themselves were just a tad dry, maybe they were a bit overcooked? I still haven't tried any of the yummy sounding cocktails so I'm going to have to go back again soon! read more

Topolabamba - Taquitos! - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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I rather enjoyed my very first visit to Topolabamba and I especially loved their cocktails and the friendliness of the staff. Come to think of it the cocktails definitely lifted my spirits for the day and maybe responsible for giving four stars where 3.5 are probably more appropriate. Why not the full four? There were three of us dining, a carnivore who gave it five stars and loved ALL the food, me the vegetarian who loved most of the food (less-so the slightly tasteless guacamole on a tostada), and the vegan for whom the experience was a bit disappointing. Nothing on the menu suggested itself as vegan-friendly so the recourse was to ask for all dairy to be removed from the vegetarian options. We all love spicy food especially when the heat is tempered with some sour cream and cheese. Without something to temper the heat it really feels like it was missing an important element. Yeah I know, statement of the blooming obvious haha! Glasgow was named best UK city for vegans so it's all the more surprising that the menu doesn't recognise that fact. When most supermarkets now sell vegan sour cream and vegan cheese it would be easy for Topolabamba to step up to the plate and welcome in the vegan community. I hope they will really soon as I'd love to go back for a few more of their fabulous cocktails! Consider the vegan gauntlet thrown down:) read more

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The one and absolutely most important thing that you need to know about Topalabamba, is this: QUESO FUNDIDO. It would be sensible to end my review here, however I will continue. What you need to know about Topalabamba (other than Queso Fundido), is that the idea behind the dishes is sharing - the majority of dishes comes in three's or four's so you order many little dishes and love life while you're eating. Seeing as I am usually here with my amigo Carolyn E. and her Marathon Guy, there are lots of plates and lots of sharing. It's great. So far, everytime I have been there, I have ordered the frozen strawberry margarita, which is great - you can definitely taste the alcohol. For the dishes that we (I) have tried are: Chicken Tinga, Barbacoa Beef (messy eat!), Pork Pibil Tacos. They are all delicious. One of them is quite spicy, but I don't remember which one. The Black Bean, Cactus and Smoked Green Chilli Quesadilla, which is DELICIOUS (hurray for cactus, who knew?!). I am also pretty sure that Carolyn E. and I have had the Homemade Chorizo and Melted Spicy Cheese toastada, which if I remember having it was absolutely incredible. The Mexican cheese - although doused in coriander/cilantro (die, devil span, die!) was a wonderful addition. We've also had a Chimichanga (difficult to divide between 3 people, but delicious anyways; stuffed with shredded chicken, if I am not mistaken), and a chicken tinga burrito (again - difficult to split, but delicious nonetheless! The churros look and smell like heaven, but I have yet to try them. Be aware that the Toasted Salsa Brava is spicy! Delicious but spicy. The only thing that I do not like about Topalabamba is the Guac, it's a poor excuse for guac. It's just too smooth and I do not trust it. However, the actual star of Topalabamba is the Classic Queso Fundido. Melted cheese in a bowl, smoking hot (temperature wise) with peppers and chorizo bits in it, and tortilla chips (some of them over salted) to dip and scoop it all up with. My mouth is watering just from thinking about it. IT IS DELICIOUS. This is the equivalent of the cheeseballs at Porter and Rye (boo!) that people rave about: only because of the Queso Fundido should you come here. If you haven't been here, go and have it. If you have been to Topalabamba and haven't had the Queso Fundido, then shame on you! (unless you're lactose intolerant or allergic to cheese, perfection and happiness), otherwise FOR SHAME! - the pictures do not do this perfection justice. Just order it. Lastly, I should say that I love this place. Not only is the Queso Fundido good (FOR SHAME!), the staff super friendly, the décor super awesome, but the music is just the best. According to the waiter, it gets old, but I don't believe him. How can Latin music that makes you want to break out in Shakira-esque dance moves and salsa get old? No, I love it. Everything. (Next time I want the taquitos, and more Queso Fundido). read more

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I'm sad to only give three stars. I've visited twice and the first time would have been a solid four, today would unfortunately have been a two :( On my first visit there was a group of 6 of us, greeted with great service and enjoyed a fantastic selection of food. I had crazy corn, fish tacos and black bean, feta and avocado tostadas. They were all wonderful!! The food was served quickly and the staff ensured there was water on the table. We had a great lunch. Today however was completely different. The service really let it down, I had to request water on three different occasions, although other drinks were brought to the table send a dish back, wait for a table even though tables were empty (including the one we ended up in) and ask to pay twice. :( Some of the food was still great, the fish tacos again were wonderful! Easily my favourite dish I've tried. The corn was great and we had the veggie taquito option which were lovely and crisp :) Although they tell you that it's tapas style eating and they would bring the food as it was ready, the order made no sense today. The tacos, corn and taquito came first, then a little while later the tostadas and finally (when any food left on the table was cold) the guacamole and slaw came. Although nice, I thought it was very strange it took so long to bring cold dishes that are prepared in advance! At this point I had to send back my prawn and avocado tostadas as they were sitting in a puddle. Although the waiter offered me a replacement, the kitchen gave the excuse it was the salsa and it would happen again so would I rather the salsa on the side. Although the puddle seemed much more like prawns that hadn't been drained well as they defrosted. The replacement had the salsa on the side which was a thick green salsa verde which couldn't have created such a clear puddle :( the replacement was nice enough but I wouldn't order them again. It's a shame the service really let down the food that was on the most part very tasty. I'd give it one more go! read more

Topolabamba - My first portion of shrimp and avocado tostadas which I had to send back as the were sitting in a pool of liquid. :( - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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Just went in for lunch with Mrs G and, again, had a very tasty meal served by a very friendly waiter (Jamie).  This is a great place for a quick lunch; you have the choice of a lunch express menu or the usual a la carte. We decided to share beef taquitos, chicken tacos, a pork burrito and the salt & chilli fries.  We polished off every morsel and thoroughly enjoyed everything! I find you don't sacrifice flavour or quality in favour of a speedy lunch; you get the best of both worlds!  Deffo going back for a working lunch again soon! read more

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It's been a while since the gang and I have had a night out, and this night still wasn't one of them. HA! However, Sophie K, my boyfriend and I were able to reserve a table here for dinner and we were well chuffed about that! We went before hand to a local pub near by for a few drinks, so by the time we made it to Topolabamba, we were feeling nice! We were seated in a cozy seat near the bar, where menus were already at the table, ready to go! We decided that more drinks were a must and we each went with a frozen margarita to keep it with the Mexican theme. Boyfriend went with a plain margarita, Sophie K. went with strawberry and I went with mango. Mmm, mango! Everyone quite enjoyed their margaritas, although we could only really taste the tequila. Not a bad thing, really. After enjoying mexican via Deliveroo, we decided to order family style and share loads of things! It really worked out and we were all pretty full when we finally rolled ourselves out of there. We went with queso and chips, beef tacos, chicken tacos, pork tacos, guac and chips and a chicken chimichanga. I feel like I've left something out because that doesn't seem like a lot of food, but it was filling and super delicious. Oh, and spicy! Everything we ordered had a two chili spice reading, but that was quite warm. It didn't ruin our night, but we got our sweat on a little bit. The music played here is amazing! Sophie K and I were happily swaying the night away and have even decided a salsa/rumba dance night out is in order! I was reminded of my Grandfather (may he rest in peace) who used to listen to old style Mexican music every morning when he'd make breakfast. It was great to remember him. Turns our, our waitress was from Connecticut, which was pretty amazing, because that's where I'm from!! After our bonding moment, and realising our bill was wrong, we had it fixed, paid and were on our way. What a great place with a great atmosphere and delicious food! read more

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This place is hands down the best Mexican restaurant in Glasgow. Amazing food, great cocktails, good service and all the tequila you could wish for! Acoustic guitarist was a nice touch too. Go wild and order too much but leave room for churros and coconut tequila hot chocolate read more

I was so looking forward to trying this place, so much so I booked dinner here with friends to celebrate my birthday. The first thing you notice, other than the beautiful decor, lighting and motifs throughout is how cramped it was. Having made a prior booking a week in advanced, I wrongly thought we might get a booth or such but alas no. It was in a cramped corner of the restaurant. My friend who arrived first was given a complementary drink as a birthday present so that is certainly a positive. Now on to the food, I chose the shrimp and crab smothered enchilada. Which I could not choose the heat for as I quote "it was made this morning" and my friends shredded beef burrito lacked any real flavour. I understand that most of the food just requires assembling but I felt really let down as it certainly wasn't an "authentic Mexican experience"! However what bothered me the most was the frequency that the waitress visited the table, it was quite clear that it was to clear the table within the hour and a half timeframe we were given. It was a blight on the whole experience, especially as there was no time to sit and talk and we were constantly interrupted. I shall stick to the sister store of Pinto for my Mexican food needs from now on! read more

Topolabamba - Lighting was lovely. Of the location was fantastic. - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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Second visit, felt the need to remove a star from my initial opinions I'm afraid. We were in a larger party so had the chance to try (and re-try) a larger selection of the menu. Everything was just 'ok'. Some hot, some not so hot (temperature wise), a little soggy in places. WAY to salty in general (tortilla chips and fries in particular - same as last time so would seem this is a constant), Cocktails served in basic plastic tumblers - it would seem the initial effort has unfortunately slowed down somewhat. The Service is still fine as is the decor, but not somewhere I would be rushing back to for a third visit. Shame...... read more

Topolabamba may be the closest to actual Mexican food I've had in the UK. This is an amazing thing. Sadly, it's in Glasgow and I live in London. But I was glad for the night I had eating there! (Even if most of my Scottish companions murdered the pronunciations of the dishes). The menu is laid out oddly, and the orders come out tapas style (as ready), which is awkward, but it's overall really tasty and semi-authentic! High points: - fundido - a good blend of cheeses and tasted so good we ordered another! - pico de gallo - freshly made! not too oniony! - tacos - properly served on SOFT CORN tortillas - churros. Yum. - they have Jarritos! Low points: - they charge for chips & salsa. British Mexican restaurants need to learn that chips & salsa should arrive, gratis, when you sit down. - tortilla chips don't seem house made (though they're pretty good) - flour tortillas (for burritos and the like) look packaged. I didn't have them, but 3 on our table did. The service was really friendly, but they did mess up our order. 2 people ordered chimichangas and were given burritos. The server "went to check on it" and never came back. Even though that was a bit of a let down, the overall feeling of everyone in our 5 strong party was that it was a great meal. read more

Topolabamba - The start of the nomfest - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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Mexican food can be a bit hit or miss for me, mostly because I'm not a fan of bell peppers (or rather they don't like me) but I was keen to try Topolabamba as it offers smaller 'street' sized portions so if something wasn't quite to my taste it wouldn't be ruining an entire dish. The premise is simple enough, the portions are small so it's almost like Mexican tapas. You order 2 or 3 dishes per person, perfect for a big crowd! They do have larger portioned dishes as well for those, like Joey, who don't share food! As it was lunchtime, my sister and I opted for their lunch menu, which is one small dish and one of the larger ones (I think, it was hard to tell to be honest). We both ended up ordering pretty much the same dishes, both of us choosing the barbacoa beef for the starter with mine ON a tortilla, and my sisters IN a tortilla which was then deep fried - both were very tasty! The second dish was exactly the same, chicken and onion tostadas - these came in three triangle segments, which enough cheese to be gooey but not over power the mild salsa and onions, the chicken was a little lost in the dish but it was delicious! A side of fries, or rice, was part of the deal as well and they were pretty good as far as fries go. The staff were pretty sharp and friendly, but with a big party in for a boozy lunch they were understandably focussing a little more on keeping them topped up! The set lunch menu was just under £10 a head and felt like good value for money, the food is good, and I will definitely be back of an evening to indulge in a some more of the dishes (the menu is pretty extensive and full of delicious sounding options) and some of the beer as they look to have a good selection of Mexican beers! My only slight regret was that, whilst I was there because it was my sisters birthday, we didn't visit the day before on her actual birthday! Still, even if we weren't there on Cinco de Mayo, I think visiting Topolabamba on any of the other days of the year is still gonna be pretty good! read more

Topolabamba - Barbados Beef Taco - Mexican Near Me - Glasgow, GLG

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I can't believe I haven't reviewed this place yet - I ate here on my very first day in Glasgow! I've been back a few times since then too, and I've been craving some yummy taquitos lately! I have quite enjoyed most of what I've tried, which includes tacos, taquitos, enchiladas and dips. My favorites have been the smoked chicken with anaheim chile (chilli) taquitos, which I dipped in the queso fundido. Totally try this. I also quite like this place because they have so much that's gluten-free that they only have to label the NOT-GF items (score), and they also have quite a bit to offer for vegetarians. read more

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Reviews on Topolabamba seem pretty polarised- I'm definitely drawn to the tasty end of the lollipop on this fun little joint! I really like the high energy decor, music and atmosphere which gives a really fun and family friendly vibe- a great drinks menu also makes this a great pre-night out destination. I find the food really flavoursome and love the small plates oriented menu. Not a spectacular selection for veggies but enough to save you from starvation! I love the vegetable tacos - a little heat and really cute miniature presentation. The green rice is fresh and tasty and the mild salsa is absolutely delicious. I think the desserts a wee bit over priced - roughly a fiver for a mango sorbet. The jarritos are a really delicious alcohol alternative coming in guava, lime and orangey-citrus flavours. These are a bottled Mexican soft drink. I've always had good friendly customer service here- this time around we were seated right next to a till which was a bit of a pest. We hadn't booked before arriving so can't moan too much! I'll visit topolabamba time and time again as my family all love something on the menu a d the relaxed dining really suits us for a lunch time treat. read more

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I am Mexican and I celebrated Cinco de Mayo 2016 in Scotland, here at Topolobamba. Such a random occurrence as I was in Glasgow for business but living in London, and I missed Mexican food so much as proper Mexican food is so lacking in the UK (sorry it's true)! BUT, I found Topolabamba to be quite like Wahaca, with many traditional elements and a modern twist. However, they knew better than to slather everything in cheese, guac and sour cream (or iceberg lettuce which belongs nowhere near Mexican food). So I give them props for that! The plates are served tapas style, like Wahaca. They play great music (sure, it isn't salsa or mariachi but that's ok) and the decor is so fun and lively. We had the pork (carnitas) tacos, shrimp ceviche tostadas, quesadillas, and albondigas. They serve water in glass Patron bottles which I thought was brilliant. Service was friendly too. Such a fun place! read more

Food was good and poppers hot and spicy. Drinks were tasty (first better than second). Waiter staff had ample people delivering food as a team. Nice to see. Other than the poppers being to spicy even for my wife, everything was good. read more

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Now you may be sat there at your computer and thinking "oh its another burger review from Barry" BUT you'd be wrong. there are no mention of burgers in this review.... apart from those two..... No don't go! don't click that link. bring the curser back...back... that's it. Its ok. There there. Its going to be ok. Now, you probably wouldn't know it but my favorite food is Mexican food and Topolabamba has been on my radar for quite some time now and I must say it certainly didn't disappoint. The menu was varied with a great selection of dishes and there recommendation of choosing 3-4 dishes each as they are meant for sharing. We ordered 3 each and were stuffed. Chicharones (Mexican Pork Scratchings) £1.95 - Tasty Crazy Corn £3.50 - Damn tasty Pork Pibil tacos £4.25 - very tasty Shredded Beef, tostadas $4.20 - very tasty Classic Queso Fundido £4.95 - whats not to like about melted cheese with meat in it Chicken Mole Enchilada £7.50 - very tasty and the speed that the dishes left the kitchen was mind boggling (it was a quiet Monday evening though) but we had our first dishes at the table in under 5 mins The price range is fantastic. Our total bill for two people came to £35 and one of the priciest things we ordered was a glass of wine (£5.95) "Why no 5 star rating?" I hear you yell and this is where Topolabamba did dissapoint me, the service. Our server was polite enough upon first entry but after that their attitude was pretty guff. genuine queries like "whats so crazy about the crazy corn?" (the menu doesnt elaborate it just gives you a name) were met with a shrug and a reply of "nothing much. It's just corn in herbs and sauce." now considering that A) it was one of the tastiest dishes we had that night and they were all good and B) no one wants to have there dish described as "just", i find that as pretty sub par. i would like to say that that was the only incident but I generally got the feeling that everything was a hassle to our server which is a really pity because it undermined an other wise fantastic meal. Would i let that put me off? No. Will i be back? HELLS YES! Will i make it my mission to try everything on the menu? Most likely. In short, give Topolabamba a try. most likely i will be at a table in there somewhere with a face full of taco read more

I have wanted to come here for a long time now. I am a huge fan of Mexican food. I went on a Wednesday evening and I decided not to make a reservation as I was hoping that it wouldn't be busy. I was wrong. Walking through town I could see lots of quiet restaurants, but Topolabamba was packed full. We were told that there will be a table ready shortly so to wait at the bar. This was fine with us! We waited at the bar however for the 10 minutes we were there no one was available to ask if we wanted a drink. All of the bar staff were busy making drinks to take to the tables. This wasn't the worst but it was disappointing. We get to our table and it is tiny. No matter I just want to eat! We place our orders and food is coming out RAPIDLY. It actually took so long for our drinks to come though, but from what I saw the bar staff are working constantly. The food here is some of the best I've had in a while. I like the tapas style and trying other people's food. I did get a big plate though, a beef burrito. It was so yummy! I think next time I will go for tapas like everyone else. We all went for desserts at the end. However we did have a problem. For some reason our dessert order wasn't put onto their ordering system. We waited a while and I had to ask only to be told they didn't have the orders. We placed the order again and it arrived in minutes. Because of this, they took the desserts off of our bill. I really appreciate this and this is one of the reasons I will definitely come back. They're customer service is great. Speaking of desserts I got churros and others got horchata ice cream. I tried a bit of the ice cream and I loved it and will get it next time. My churros were good but I thought they'd be more soft. So I give Topolabamba 4 stars. It would be 5 if the wait for drinks and desserts wasn't so long. If possible I'd say 4.5 stars actually. This restruant has a great atmosphere to it. It's fun and the food is fast. read more

Pinto has probably reached saturation point in the city centre - 3 sites pretty close to each other is about as big as it could and should get. Topolabamba is a pretty good way for the group to expand further in the city without becoming too ubiquitous. In many ways it's quite similar to the Pinto restaurants, but it's clear that they are going for a different approach and feel. It's all about sitting in for a start. Like most other Mexican/Latin American themed restaurants it isn't overly reserved: loudish music, flashes of bright colour and a busy main eating area mean that it's prefectly suited for larger groups and those that don't mind a racket. This isn't a complaint, but definitely something to consider if you prefer a quiet dinig experience. Having said that, we were in a table in an alcove by the window and it was fairly insulated from the main area, and you could still hear each other speak whilst still getting some of the atmosphere. It'll be interesting to see what happens when someone tries to add to the menchies on the wall though to see how they take it! Full marks to the staff as well. Friendly, helpful and enthusiastic they fit in perfectly with the restaurant - all high fives for loving chorizo in everything, that kind of thing. Ordering is done via tricorder like ipods which while increasingly common is still amusing to this closet geek. Food and drink were both pretty good. I had the special West beer (can't remember the name), which had a nice citrus flavour to it and worked well with the food. For the food, they've followed one of the Glasgow food trends and gone for a tapas style approach (I'm pretty sure that in a few months there is going to be a place that opens that ticks all of the Glasgow food trend bingo boxes - a burger slider tapas bar that sells mini craft beer sliders...). 3 or 4 things each will do you, and everything is pretty reasonably priced. Quality is on a par with Pinto, so if you like it there you won't have any complaints. I had a spicy chicken burrito that was just like Pinto, but the rest was different: crispy beef taquitos and queso fundido, which was just like a chorizo fondue - really good, and it was great to use to dip the rest of the food into! I don't know if their spicing warnings were a little off though: I had some things that had 2 or even 3 chilis on the menu indicating that they were hot, but I didn't really feel that... Overall, well worth a visit. The place was definitlely experiencing the "new cool place" rush on the Friday we were there, so you may have to wait a bit if you are there at peak times. There were a couple of snags, which will inevitably get sorted soon and weren't worth highlighting. If you have a thing against Pinto it won't change your mind, but if you are happy with that then give it a go. read more

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I haven't even left the restaurant and I feel compelled to start writing my review. This was, by far, the most amazing Mexican dining experience in a long time. I'd been dying to try here for an age, and my friend and I decided to take advantage of their £1 tacos, running 4-6 daily. Although, we were a little premature and arrived about 3.30 we ordered some beers and decided to wait the half hour. We lasted 15 minutes before we ordered. I must say, although we did really badly at this one quid taco malarkey everything we had was worth the pennies! Quick rundown: Ribs - amazing Jalapeño poppers - phenomenal Barbacoa Beef Quesadilla - divine Chicken Tacos (come in portions of 3, but cost £1 singularly, and you have to mention that when ordering) - messy and tasty Veggie Tacos - likewise Mole sauce - tasty with a kick! All in we still only spent £16 each for all this and 2 beers, so I'd definitely recommend it for quality and value for money. The staff are super friendly too. I can't wait to go back! read more

One of my favourite places to eat at the moment! Have been here numerous times and really love it. The food and atmosphere are both top notch, with pretty decent service too. Staff can sometimes be a bit rude but on the whole they're lovely and have a good amount of knowledge of the menu. The portion sizes are ideal and there's a great selection when it comes to the food. Everything is packed full of flavour without being too overpowering. I particularly love the beef tostadas! I'm not a big spicy fan so didn't expect to love Topolabamba as much as I do, however others with sensitive taste buds might not be a fan as I do often find even the "milder" options a tad on the hot side. Personally I find the drink selection reasonably adequate - I love the mango margaritas - however when I've visited with friends they've felt it was on the smaller side. Maybe some other types of cocktails wouldn't go amiss! For four people, a lot of food and lots of drinks our bill came in just shy of £100 which I'd say is cheap for the amazing quality you're getting. I'd definitely recommend booking Topolabamba as it can be pretty busy all week long, but they can usually fit you in if you rock up without booking too. I've visited 5+ times and always recommend it to my friends, will definitely be back again soon! read more

I looove me some tacos. So i recently went here for a late lunch. Didn't know what to expect to be honest. However i am glad to say, i loved it. The staff/service were brilliant, as was the food! Toilets were clean and didn't stink to high hell (anyone else get put off by that?). My girlfriend (Debs) isnt a fan of spicey food, so we were a bit unsure on what to order (most of the food looked pretty spicey - which Debs aint a fan of). One of the waiters however helped us out. He too, doesn't like the spice of grand hell and pointed out stuff Debs would like (and he was pretty much bang on). He also pointed out that although the menu states 3-4 small plates each would be enough, he recomended only 2-3 because they were more filling than expected. I strongly recomend this place. Couldn't fault it. I imagine there would be a bit of a wait if you went at tea time on a friday or something, but my advice would be to wait. Then enjoy the mexican goodness. read more

I'm an American expat, so the Mexican food standard is high in my book. I've been here once before and can say the food is decent. What they consider spicy isn't what I would call it. I would consider it to be mild, medium at best. The chicken tinga tacos are good, the flavor reminds me of something you'd get out of a spice packet from the store. Their homemade Pico de gallo is OK - toooooons of onions in it. (Not ideal if you have to go back to work afterwards.) They offer an express lunch menu for £9.95 if that suits you. The one thing that I cannot overlook - they serve fries. No where, and I mean no where is there a place for American style French fries in a "traditional" Mexican restaurant. It's got to be one of my biggest pet peeves. Own your Mexican food and be proud of it - don't cave to those that aren't willing to step outside their comfort zone! (End rant!) The service at lunch is not ideal. There's currently one greeter, one server, and one bartender for 10+ tables. In Glasgow this place is about as good as it will get. I'm sure I'll be back, but still miss my authentic Mexican food from my neighbors south of the US border. read more

¡Ay, caramba! Another Mexican, the third I've had in two weeks! So this time it was Topolabamba in St Vincent Street. I've never been to Mexico, but I do believe that when I was a student most Mexican restaurants seemed to serve essentially chilli con carne (a dish probably originating in Texas) but in different configurations of tortilla, now everything is way more complex. But is it authentic? Well I don't know for sure, but I like the variety in the modern Gla-Mex. One thing I am sure about though is that the décor is not authentic, but at least in Topolabamba the Mexican kitsch is fairly understated and it is well turned out. The place feels like an upmarket chain restaurant, and being part of the Pinto group that is pretty much what it is. Think posh Chiquitos. Topolabamba has huge windows and we were stuck right in one when we went in. Personally I felt like a dummy, but I sometimes do! The tables are set really quite close together, so I don't think a romantic meal would work here unless you're a practising Mormon. Friendly as the seating was though, so were the staff. We were directed to look at our paper placemat menu and ordered West's El Barracho, which frankly arrived a little under-filled and a little too like West 4. The menu had a Classics section, but it also had a Street Food section - for that read tapas - so we went for a few dishes off that. Chicken Tinga and Barbacoa Beef Tacos, Shredded Beef Tostadas with onions, chipotle aioli & crumbly cheese, Tangy Cactus & Marinated Chicken Taquitos, & finally Black Bean, Cactus & Smoked Green Chilli Quesadillas. These all came astonishingly fast, which makes you wonder if the Street Food tapas are exactly cooked to order. Maybe Speedy Gonzales is the chef? Firstly I would say that a couple could have been hotter, but they were all spicy, all well-flavoured, all different and all over too quickly. For once I might have to say that maybe the whole experience was just a little bit too efficient. I'm tempted to give a five, but the underserved pint, the lack of warmth of a couple of the dishes, the cramped tables and the chain restaurant feel bring it down a mark. read more

I took my step mum and Brothers to this Mexican, which I have never visited before. I have to say, it reminds me a little of Wahaca in London with the foods options. The food was fantastic, a little spicy but overall great. The tortilla chips weren't hot when they arrived at the table but that's never a bad thing, the guacamole could have done with being a little chunkier. I had the burrito and quesadilla (too much for one person) so I shared it out. The service let it down in terms of promptness, I had to go to the bar to get the bill which I'm really not a fan of, they then brought it over. I'd have understood if the place was wall to wall, but it wasn't. I'd definitely go back for the food, not sure about the service. read more

Topolabamba offers something different in my opinion. It's following the trend of most new restaurants where small plates, tapas-style are the offering. They all arrive at the table randomly which is great so long as everyone is happy to share. I think it makes for a really convivial style of eating, as in my experience people that are into food, often taste each other's plates anyway. The choice is interesting, although I was disappointed that there weren't any dishes of the day this time, apparently they had had a very busy Saturday. Poor excuse in my opinion. I like the drinks range too with some Mexican beers that I haven't seen in Glasgow before, and a great range of tequilas. On both occasions that I've visited, the staff have been great, very friendly and hard-working, although I'd like them to watch the tables a bit more so that it's easier to get their attention when you want another drink. Will definitely stay on the list of places to visit. read more

Last night I finally managed to take a trip to Topolabamba, the new Mexican restaurant which opened up opposite Bread Meats Bread. I love Mexican food so I was pretty excited about stuffing my face with taquitos while sipping on a margarita, which is essentially, exactly what I did. The décor inside the restaurant is really natural and warming, with wooden benches and tables, leather seats and multi coloured lights to give it that cantina feel - as well as the Mexican music playing lightly in the background! We were showed to our seats and asked if we had ever eaten there before - which we hadn't. Our friendly and generally lovely waiter then went through the menu with us, explaining that it was a tapas style way of eating, with dishes coming out as and when they are ready. We ordered some Passion fruit and Cream Coconut margaritas and tried desperately to decide which dishes to choose. Naturally, we picked some Barbacoa Beef Taquitos, because taquitos are the best, along with some Smoked Chicken and Oaxana Onion Quesadillas, Smokey Stuffed Pepper and some Salt & Chilli Pepper fries. Minutes after we had ordered, the taquitos arrived at our table and we dug straight in. The menu claimed that these were meant to be quite hot, but I didn't find the heat very overpowering. The crumbly cheese and crema really complimented the flavour of the super tender, shredded beef. The taco good and crunchy, but I could have done with a bigger kick of heat. While we were munching away on our taquitos, our quesadillas arrived looking similarly delicious. The chicken inside had a great smokey flavour and the 'oaxana' onions (whatever that means) had a hint of vinegar to them but there was a balance in the filling that made it all come together. The Salt & Chilli Pepper fries were delicious - a little hint of chilli, plenty of salt and ridiculously moreish. The final dish to arrive was the Smokey Stuffed Pepper which we were both curious about as part of the stuffing was cactus. I don't know if it was the cactus, but the filling was probably the most flavoursome and tasty of them all. It was smokey, spicy, tangy, and sweet - all the things Mexican food should be! Plus it came in an adorable mini skillet pan which I just loved. We debated about ordering more savoury dishes but instead opted for a sweet each. I went for the Mexican Chocolate Cup which the waiter explained was made with a dark, bitter Mexican chilli chocolate - all of which sounded perfect to me; I think chocolate and chilli is a really great combination. The cup was, as expected, really rich, thick, creamy and delicious. Like the taquitos however, the chilli didn't have much punch and it was just a very slight tingle. I only managed to eat around half of it because it was so rich, which I was quite upset about because I was enjoying it so much! Our bill came to around £36 which seemed very reasonable for 3 dishes, one side, 2 desserts and 2 cocktails. The staff were incredibly friendly and helpful, the food delicious, the atmosphere and the décor great, and the value for money good. I'm really happy that there is now a good quality, authentic Mexican restaurant in the centre of Glasgow now, but I reckon they could do with kicking the heat up just a notch or two for people like me who like a good hit of chilli. read more

After hearing great things about this place, Tommy and I decided to go in for a drink before we headed to Grill on the Corner for some dinner. Looking at the menu, one of the drinks caught my eye but it had coconut in it, which I am allergic too. I asked the bar staff if they could do it without the coconut? To which they replied, sorry its a pre-mixed drink. I was really disappointed by this and they didn't even offer to attempt to make it without. Tommy went for one of their martini's which boasted about fresh ingredients, when it arrived it looked like it had been pre-mixed as well. We asked and the chap confirmed that it was a pre-mixed drink! In the end I opted for a glass of wine, which was awful. £10 down the drain as far as I am concerned. Wont be rushing back anytime soon. read more

We loved the atmosphere of the place for a girls night out - Helped by the great live singer! The menu had plenty to choose from & the tapas options were fun for the 3 of us as we were keen to try different things. The jalapeño poppers were our favourite with the homemade guacamole a close second! It did have a slight fast food feel to it & some things weren't made to order as we had some dishes within a few minutes of ordering - which you would expect to have taken longer to prepare. Would recommend to others to order a few things & then order again as some dishes got cold. The staff were helpful & attentive. Great margaritas too! read more