Review: El Bolillo

The various restaurant reviews I’ve read online all go on and on about the food, and rightly so. ‘Plated beautifully’, ‘excellent flavours’, 'well done to the chefs'. Somewhere at the end, if you squint, you’ll spot ‘and service was great too’. So let me start this review of newly opened taqueria El Bolillo off with a nod to the service. Anyone can flash a smile but when someone really loves their job, it's not hard to tell.

An entire block before El Bolillo, it's easy to spot their cinema-style sign, but beyond that, it’s pretty hidden away. The street-facing windows are lined with curtains, a new experience for a chronic people watcher. This really concentrated the atmosphere into the small but somehow roomy dining space- high ceilings, warm tones, clean decor. An artfully lit bar made for a good centrepiece, but didn’t for a second distract from the five tastefully set tables. After being greeted and shown to my seat I very quickly made myself comfy, because what’s a nice dinner if you’re not in a position to enjoy it.

First off, the menus. Both clearly incredibly thought-out, I haven’t seen such a well-presented menu in a long time. The host explained all my options in a welcome amount of detail, even offering to adjust portion sizes to better suit a single diner. The cocktail menu is printed with a fun flavour key so you can head to whichever section suits you best. Set menu options preface the à la carte so I gave it all a good scan, cover to cover. I must admit, I was quite spoilt for choice so even after being introduced to the menu, it was some time before I got my order in. A cocktail while you ponder is always a great idea, so I went for the Aguachile Verde, which was dropped off to me in… a bowl? A very nice bowl though. Truthfully, I felt a little nervous to take a sip because this was my first time receiving a cocktail in a bowl, but thank god I conquered my fear because it was excellent. The Aguachile Verde consists of tequila, jalapeños, Regal Rogue Wild Rosé, chilli, and lime, and when I tell you it was delightful I really mean it. Definitely worth awkwardly sipping from a bowl for. It had a clean spice, an earthy freshness, and don’t get me started on the texture- as silky as silky can be.

First dishes arrived, I was immediately in awe. I’d settled on the tuna tostada with achiote dressing and finger lime, plus lamb belly skewers with black garlic al pastor and watermelon radish. Very few notes here, honestly because both dishes were fantastic from start to finish. The tostada confused me in a very good way because it wasn’t at all what I was expecting. Tostada in my head is crispy, round tortilla with a pile of topping. This one however was a delicate layer of tuna on a rectangle of flaky pastry. Crisp pastry and soft tuna was an unexpectedly perfect marriage because I couldn’t spot a single fault. Also my first time trying finger lime, exciting moment for me. I decided to give the lamb a chance before polishing off my second tostada, and coming from a non-meat lover, these skewers were outstanding. The fat had been cooked expertly which is really important to me because there’s nothing I hate more than chewing on fat. The fragrant black garlic glaze lent a sweetness to the charred meat. I will say, the skewers themselves were so long, I struggled to eat this when I got to the last bite or two. I understand everything on the menu is practically finger food but cutlery would have been appreciated, even though I managed without. I also think watermelon radish deserves to be treasured, the exquisite thing that it is. I didn’t get much from it other than a watery crunch, but not in a bad way. I’d have loved to see more of whole watermelon radish in its pink glory.

At this point, I was realising how gorgeous the crockery was, water glasses, metal skewers cocktail bowl included. I had to resist the urge to flip each plate upside down to check the make, something I (shamefully) do in lots of restaurants. Special mention to the illustration on the water bottle.

In terms of tacos, I'd decided on the grilled maitake with smoked garlic mole and chilli & black bean matcha crack for weeks before my visit. Knowing what a maitake mushroom looks like, I couldn’t see how it would work in

a taco, practicality wise. It was as expected, not particularly taco friendly, so I used my first couple of bites purely to trim it down to size. Once again, not a complaint, it was delicious. I don’t know for sure that it was grilled because there was a sort of batter on it, but no issue there. The batter was crisp, light and didn’t interfere with the mushroom’s flavour unlike other battered mushrooms I’ve had. There was a tang to the black garlic mole as well as a very fine kind of spice. I’m not sure I got much out of the chilli & black bean matcha crack because the mole was so flavourful.

The seared prawn taco with pimiento salsa, yuzu, sesame and tageres was my next target, and left me far from disappointed. The prawn was big, juicy, tender, mildly seared and was complimented so well by yuzu and pimiento. The first thing I noticed though wasn’t the filling, but the tortilla. The best word to describe it is homemade, I can’t say it any other way. I’m a big lover of acidity- I think a squeeze of lime or lemon makes most things ten times better, so my desire for a touch more tartness on this may not be a shared opinion. I respect places that present nothing but the dish itself, no salt or pepper, in this circumstance a wedge of lime, so I think they were right in doing so here.

I finished up and thought to myself, I can’t possibly leave yet. I ordered my second cocktail, third taco and dessert all in one go, but one thing at a time. Let's start with the Margs Las Coloradas, a divine little mixture of tequila, jalapeños, mezcal, cactus and figs. First off, incredible glass. The coating I thought was part of it was in fact a finely ground powder of Mexican oregano, chipotle and salt stuck to the entire bowl of the glass. This did make it near impossible to hold for fear of green fingers, but I every sip was preceded by a taste of that smoky, herby concoction. I tasted another component the more I drank, it was the ideal strength without tasting disgustingly alcoholic, a great companion to the richness in my final dish. The fig oil dropped on the surface made it into my last sip, making it that much more special. I must admit, within the first 60 seconds of it being on the table I’d forgotten what the rim was made of, but a server noticed my confusion and kindly reminded me. I think one of the most important things about creating a smooth experience is having your front of house fully clued in on every part of the menu whether they are bar or floor staff, and I could tell El Bolillo had done exactly that. Each dish that was brought to my table came with a detailed introduction, leaving me with no questions.

I suffer from an insatiable need to try new things, so told the waiter I was in the market for one more dish and we assessed the options. He kindly helped me decide: pork cheek taco with eel & meco XO sauce and quince pico on a blood taco which arrived on yet another beautifully crafted plate. Usually if there’s a seafood option available that’s what I’m having, no deliberation necessary, but boy am I glad I went for the pork. Once again, fat melted like it was nothing, pork fell apart in my mouth and that little strip of crackling almost brought a tear to my eye. I loved the quince pico, it was sort of a roast dinner situation but much more exciting (I don’t like roast dinners). The little cut out flowers amused me but after the initial excitement wore off, I started to think they looked slightly too juvenile to be pretty, adding very little flavour wise. Similarly to the maitake, the slice of pork wasn’t very efficient for a taco, but I can definitely overlook such a minor detail considering everything else.

You must be thinking ‘goodness, this girl was eating for hours’, and I hate to break it to you, that 90 minutes flew by. Not once during this time did I feel rushed to order or leave my table. There was no desperation to make space available for walk-ins or another sitting, and if there was, I had no idea. Yet another word of praise to the floor staff.

I’ve recently made a switch from dessert hater to dessert lover, and the mango oblea with coconut s’more and coconut & lime caramel confirmed I’d made the right move. The textures in this were spectacular; gooey, soft marshmallow and caramel, cold, crackly wafer shell and mango ice cream. Contradictory to what I said before, I don’t love citrus flavours in dessert, but this really swayed me. A dessert that left me feeling satisfied but not heavy, what a perfect end to the evening.

Oh, but not quite. With my bill came a shot of El Bolillo’s house made limoncello, made using masa, flavoured with yuzu and something that gave it its stunning pink hue, if only I could remember what. Now this was the perfect ending, thank you to the kitchen and front of house staff at El Bolillo for working hard, working well and being an inspiring subject for my first review.