This is a review of a Mexican restaurant, Cafe Pacifico, tucked away in Darlinghurst’s Riley Street and which has a different vibe compared to other restaurants around, like Verde.

First off, the setting. You build up your appetite as you climb up a flight of stairs only to the smell of fresh nachos and cooked meat. The restaurant (with an added pub feeling), has a good capacity of seating, and it works well for functions.

You can rock up to the bar to order your drink or get a waiter to do the walking for you.

I made the mistake of ordering a couple of cocktails at the bar. I was told to wait back at my table for 5 minutes and to then return back. I returned after 5 minutes and the bar lady smacked her palm on her forehead. Great! “Another 5 minutes!” she said as she rushed to make them – this time I waited at the bar. Strike 1!

Back at the table, and it took pretty much 20 mins before we got the waiter’s attention to order our meal. When he turned up, it seemed like it was his last day in his job, because he just looked at each of us as to what we wanted, looked back at his pad – scribbled and looked at the next person – barely uttered a word. Strike 2!

We ordered a plate of nachos to share and I ordered a meal plate which included 2 chicken enchiladas served with Mexican rice and a sort of a lamb curry.

The nachos turned up and it was alright – nothing amazing about it. Second cocktail turned up and still no mains. It took at least 25-30 mins after we finished our nachos before we could get our mains.

When I had the mains put in front of me – my first thought was – “Damn this is big!”, it explains the time taken to prepare it. The enchiladas were great – but the lamb curry was pretty damn spicy. I like hot food – but this needed a glass of water after chewing a dice of lamb.

I’m not sure if the staff were deaf and blind, but getting their attention for more water and clean cutlery was impossible!

Overall, this place is great of a big occasion or when you have a big group – because you get so caught up in the time with other people around you that you almost forget the time taken for your food or the service you get overall.

Taste of the food is good, but not so much in terms of value for money. My Mojito cocktail was probably the highlight of the night – even though it took 10 mins!

Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 7/10
Wine/Cocktails – 7/10
Staff – 5/10
Value for money – 6.5/10

http://www.cafepacifico.com.au/

P.S. They only have 1 testimonial – http://www.cafepacifico.com.au/index.php?s=testimonials