It wasn't planned to have a "big afternoon" at Radio Mexico in St Kilda. I even turned up to this Mexican taqueria on Carlisle Street, only a stones throw from Acland Street in shorts and trainers since I legged it in from the CBD. It didn't take long to settle in and when the service started bringing out the bottles of beer and later wine and cocktails, I should have known that our table of three was going to be making it a long and drawn out affair. In fact, we managed to eat and drink at this place for nearly five hours, which is how long I spent during my recent trips to both Grossi Florentino and Jacques Reymond so it proves that the power of pleasant conversation and of course decent food and alcohol can make the time fly.
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Although there were a few facets to the menu, we focused on the tacos to maximise the variety and get a good understand of the tastes on offer from the kitchen. Starting with the guacamole ($9) it occupied us until the first round of tacos and the third round of drinks were delivered. There was a fair amount of avacado and a mild salsa provided. Although not spicy at all, it filled its role as a distraction. As usual in Mexican restaurants, my attention focuses on fish tacos, where all tacos regardless cost $6.50 each. Radio Mexico has two different types, a grilled fish and a beer-battered fish. I opted for the "Pescado de la Casa" or the fish of the house, grilled with black bean and corn salsa. I found this very bland and the fish dry and regretted not ordering an optional salsa to provide this taco with more flavour. The tortilla was great and I would learn quickly, when the "Cochinta Pibel" - slow cooked free range pork carnitas with beans, red onion, japapeno pickles and salsa arbol was delivered, that the tortillas are very robust. As the pork was very moist, combined with the salsa, made this a messy dish however the tortilla remained intact which I was impressed by. Despite the mess and the ingredients that ended up on the plate, I really liked the pork carnitas and how the ingredients paired together not only within the tortilla but also with my lager. The pork taco would turn out to be a favourite for us thirsty patrons.
The "Carne Asada" - BBQ hanger steak with cheese, home made cream, lettuce and salsa deviates from what you would expect if you were expecting a classic "street taco" but I thought it tasted pretty good and that is what was important in the end. The meat was tender and there was only a small amount of cheese, which I thought benefited the taco.
There are tables on the street and also a section near a fireplace outside on the terrace. Being inside, we were always in the line of sight of the attentive staff who were provided us with a never ending flow of alcohol and were patient as we ordered tacos throughout the long afternoon. Moody music was playing when we were seated however that turned into hip hop as the afternoon wound up. I had fun at Radio Mexico which was evident by the amount of time that was spent there and I would look forward to returning again just more appropriately dressed for the cold weather and conditions I suppose.
Radio Mexico
11-13 Carlisle St., St Kilda VIC 3182
(03) 9534 9990
My Rating: 13.25/20
Service: 3.25/5
Ambiance: 3.25/5
Quality: 3.25/5
Value For Money: 3.5/5
Twitter: @epicurean3006
e-mail: epicureanofsouthbank (at) gmail (dot) com
At the time of this post, 82% of the reviewers on Urbanspoon like Radio Mexico.
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