Mestizo
103 Hampstead Road
NW1 3EL London
Date of Last Visit: Saturday, May 2nd, 2009
The Victims: Gerry, Ben
The Damage: £40ish?
The Background: I went to Mestizo with Gerry and Ben back on May 2nd, but somehow never managed to write up a review. That might be because Gerry
and Ben and I had already had our fair share of beverages that
day. Mestizo was kinda muddled into this hazy memory of Shakespeare and Stratford-upon-Avon and flowers and trains and pubs and Marylebone Station.
Because, you see, we'd spent the afternoon visiting the birthplace of Shakespeare in Stratford-upon-Avon. And after lunch
and with not much else to do before our train, we went on our own little pub crawl. (No place really super memorable to report.)
The train back to London from Stratford-upon-Avon takes a little over two hours, which was just
enough time to work up enough hunger that it made sense to talk about
dinner plans. Mexican, it's unanimous.
We figured it out with Google Maps. The train gets into Marylebone. We
can take a bus east from there to Euston, and then we can walk to Mestizo.
Even More Background: I've been wanting to go to Mestizo for ages because a year or two ago, I went to my friend Con Ann's holiday party and there were a few Mexicans at the party. I asked them what their favorite Mexican place in London was, and they said hands down, Mestizo. They felt it was the most authentic.
The Entrance: We get a table by the window and place our orders. The complimentary chips and salsa are nice, but it's a small portion for three people. Maybe we could have gotten free refills? Not sure. (In most Mexican restaurants in Chicago, the chips and salsa are free and keep coming, and you usually pay a small
supplement for the guac.)
The Food: Then we start ordering margaritas (should have taken some photos) and it all gets even hazier after that. I order the Pabellon Criollo, which is described on their menu as, "shredded beef marinated with onion, red and black pepper sauce, fresh garlic and sweet chiles, served with rice and beans." The plantains that arrive with the dish are a nice surprise.
It's all okay, but I find the beans a bit watery and even the shredded beef is too watery. (But maybe that's what the rice is for.) And plus, it all seems a little bit cool. As in not hot. And I feel like, at £12.50, it's a high-margin dish. Maybe the cost is in the spices. I don't know.
Other Items of Note:
- Gerry gets very excited because Mestizo also sells a small variety of mexican products. (Gerry is Costa Rican.) She buys a bunch of stuff before we leave.
- We were slightly transfixed by the flat-screen TV which seemed to infinitely loop a program of Mexican dancers.
The Service: A bit surly at first, but she warmed up to us later.
The Verdict: I was disappointed, as you can probably tell from this review.
8 comments
I find that when going to ethnic restaurants famed for fiery food, being Caucasian is a signal to the wait staff that they should tell the kitchen to tone down the spices. As I like spicy food, I find it useful to emphasize to the waitrons that I like spicy food, I can take spicy food, I won’t send it back to the kitchen as inedible because of the heat, and they should tell the chef to make sure that s/he doesn’t skimp on the spice.
On the other hand, watery refried beans or shredded beef is inexcusable.
I don't think the dishes we ordered were meant to be spicy–full of flavor and spices, yes. But not necessarily of the "hot, hot" kind. But either way, it just wasn't very good. If I go back, I'm going to stick to tacos.
Mestizo does a Sunday buffet that I really like, much more than I liked the dinner I had there. Quesadillas made from fresh homemade tortillas, usually a few regional specialties that you can’t get in your average Mexican restaurant in the US, and the times I’ve been there there’s always been somebody who explains the dishes in detail.
Great to know! Thanks for the tip!
Oh god this is another restaurant I keep meaning to try but had another disastrous internet dating experience with…had a car crash on the way so never got there…
I remember that post! That was a classic!
Have you ever tried Taqueria on Westbourne Grove? I walked by it the other day and the menu appeared fairly authentic
You are all correct, Mestizo will not serve HUGE amounts of food, it´s not a Californian refill style where people usually just eat as much as they can, hello, we´re in London!! watery beans? well, I lived in Mexico for years and exactly this is one of many style they cook beans, Chips and salsa? you can always ask for more, I´m surprised about the comments above, I´ve been to Mestizo more than 5 times and twice at the Taqueria, you can´t compare, Taqueria is just for TACOS, Mestizo is a RESTAURANT with a great variety of mexican food from many different regions.
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