Once again Zomato were kind enough to invite us to a foodie meet up, this time in Cafe Pacifico, a Mexican cantina on Langley Street, Covent Garden. This restaurant is allegedly the first Mexican restaurant in the UK and at 33 years of age has stood the test of time. A lengthy bar, with an array of spirits lines the left hand wall, whilst the dining area fills the rest of the room, surrounded by Mexican poster art on the walls. On the ceiling, hang plaques, each adorned with names, but more about these later.
In true Zomato style I had a drink shoved into my hand upon entry and once again I wasn't complaining. This evening it was the house margarita which proved a nice precursor to the tequila history lesson from our excellent host Francisco. Ordinarily one might wander off at this point after a busy day's work and with the help of a cheeky couple of tequilas, but through his passionate story telling, our minds' eyes were led to the agave fields of Mexico and through the tequila and mezcal production process. The former made exclusively from the blue agave plant and a form of mezcal; both coming in a range of flavours depending on the cooking, fermenting and distillation process...as we were reliably informed whilst crunching on homemade tortilla chips dipped in a tangy and mouth warming salsa.
After the lesson, and with mouths tingling and dry from the tequila sipping, the drinking didn't stop, although this time the Estes cocktail was much more forgiving on the pallet, with fruity flavours offsetting the tequila and agave nectar.
And then the food came.
Unsurprisingly, it was Mexican food. Now, thinking about it, beyond numerous burrito joints and a couple of visits to Wahacas, I haven't been to many Mexican joints. That's not to say I'm not a fan of la comida, but apart from the aforementioned burritos, most of my Mexican food experiences come from an Ole Del Paso kit (hangs head in shame). However, in an attempt to redeem myself I can say that I have tried my hand at refried bean quesadillas at home and have a Spanish GCSE.
Anyway, back to Cafe Pacifico; the first round of dishes were a series of chilli, bean and salsa dips surrounded by beef and chicken tacos that were quickly pounced upon. The chilli dip added a nice bit of kick to the taco wraps with the beef steak cooked to perfection and with a really smoky bite. The chicken, however, wasn't that stand out to be honest (apologies, yes I had one of each). However, it was the refried bean dip that I kept going back to which I'm sure contained more beef hidden in it's depths (unless someone was a bit clumsy with their taco?!).
Next came the Curado Tequila Creole Sea Scallops with Crab & Asparagus, or so I understand from another review. I can only imagine they were good as they vanished pretty quickly without getting a sample myself, such was the carnage at our little corner of the bar - perhaps karma for my taco scoffing, who knows?
Nevermind, these were quickly followed by three sizzling, hot plates of fajita filling: chicken, vegetarian and beef and chorizo. A scramble for these ensued again, with a lack of plates forcing the most impatient of us to use their hands for plates. In a more civilised fashion I waited to use a dish and crack on with the beef and chorizo filling, topped with house guacamole, salsa, rice, refried beans and sour cream - altogether an absolute touch. However, the chicken was again a little underwhelming, but this didn't stop us risking burns and wiping the hot plate clean. Incidentally, fair play to everyone without plates for managing to not get guacamole, sour cream and meat juices all over the floor - obviously all the Zomato lot enjoy their food too much to let any go to waste!
All in all a thoroughly good feed and evening, but it still didn't stop me eyeing up the quesadillas on nearby tables or the tequila jerk barbecue wings on the bar menu. These, the hospitality, the lively atmosphere and the ice cold sol I had to wash it all down at the end are likely to have me coming back.
What about the plaques I hear you say, well Francisco reliably informed me that everyone that buys one of the ÂŁ150(!) or ÂŁ250(!!!) tequila shots gets their name painted on the related plaques, the latter on the black plaque on the wall above the bar. I think I'll stick to cheaper variants and maybe a couple of beers, but will endeavour to return regardless.
Until next time, thanks to our two hosts, Zomato and Cafe Pacifico!
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