Las Chicas, Balaclava - Not Another Mexican Place (seriously...)

Usually the only excuse that I have to visit Balaclava, which is on the Sandringham line, a suburb that borders St Kilda is to either visit my accountant, purchase kosher food, practice conversational Hebrew (I know five words at best) or exit the station and immediately walk to the Local Taphouse. In this instance it was suggested that we visit Las Chicas on Carlisle Street to which I exclaimed "oh come on, I have had so much Mexican fare in the last few weeks, I need a break from it!" which startled the other party. After I carried on like a pork chop about Mexican fare, the forthcoming Cinco de Mayo celebrations and where I would be spending that festive day, the bored party advised me that Las Chicas was not a Mexican restaurant per se and is more of a cafe that has a few breakfast dishes that have Mexican influences, but that is the extent of it.

About the time that my face faded from red to white, we arrived at the cafe. Located near the train station, the front windows were wide open exposing the tables inside to the cool elements of the day. There are a few long tables out on the street which were being used fully by diners and coffee sippers. Prams were parked. The place was a hive of activity.

We were greeted and seated. Coffee was ordered. Menus were reviewed. The cafe does indeed have an expansive breakfast list and I did see a breakfast burrito detailed, but there was nothing else which had a Mexican influence. I ordered a SLAB ($14) which is a bacon, lettuce and avacado sandwich which utilised some very large but thin pieces of turkish bread. My bemused companion ordered the roast beef sandwich ($15) and said that the highlight was the beetroot that complimented the tender beef. For me, a coriander-based salsa livened up my healthy choice and despite the bacon being very soft (I prefer it crispy which is hard to come by) the sandwich was great and filled me up. The long black ($3.50) was a bit weak and didn't do much for me sadly. Service was pleasant and chatty and made for a relaxing pit stop before conducting boring business elsewhere.

Las Chicas

203 Carlisle Street, Balaclava, VIC 3183
(03) 9531 3699

http://www.laschicas.com.au

My Rating: n/a/20

Service: n/a

Ambiance: n/a

Quality: n/a

Value For Money: n/a

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At the time of this post, 82% of the reviewers on Urbanspoon also like Las Chicas.