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
Review on this Mexican restaurant in Crows Nest, Sydney.
After spending most of Saturday at home, it wasn’t surprising that my appetite had hit it’s highest point by dinner time. So, what better way than fill it up with some Mexican food?
Located on Alexander st in Crows Nest, this restaurant has chains all over Australia.
My first experience was in the Gold Coast during university days, and I expected the food to be the same. I wasn’t disappointed.
It has Mexican style deco making it friendly and feeling a bit of video. The quality of food matched that of my past experience.
They have a 3 page menu with a wide variety to select from – or so it appeared. Because they have similar style food, they would have one combination menu called ‘San Francisco’ that may have beef and chicken varieties, while another called ‘Colorado’ might have both beef varieties – but cooked the same way as the ‘San Francisco’. I wish they had made it a bit simple by giving you the option of selecting 1 or 2 meats and the style in which you would like both cooked – also if you prefer rice or salad.
After 10-15 mins of confusion, and avoiding to over-order, we started off with a full plate of Nacho’s to share. I recommend you to get a side of guacamole when you order this. In fact, not many entrees come with this condiment – which adds that extra flavour of Mexican tradition (or at least what we all assume).
The drinks were good – but not the best. First, you have to go to a bar to make your order, and then tell them your table number to put it on the bill (or pay for it up front if you like). Interesting concept, but if I’m out for dinner, I’d expect that a waiter can take my order, walk 10 steps to the bar and back with our drinks ready. Nevertheless, it didn’t bother me. Second, the flavouring was all wrong, we ordered a Pina Colada, and it had too much cream. We ordered a Aztec Warrior and I felt like I a tablespoon of sugar shoved down my throat with every sip. We made do with sparkling water.
Dessert – well, this was probably the lowest part of our meal. While we anxiously waited for the Creme Caramel from the start of our meal – it was probably one of the most disappointing one that we had.
Look, all up – if you’re really hungry, grab yourself a combination dinner and stick with the mineral water. For about $20, it’s a cheap feed, and it will fill you up quickly. It’s a good place for family dinners or a catch up with friends, it’s not overly noisy, and the staff were quite friendly.
Atmosphere – 7/10
Food – 7.5/10
Wine/Cocktails – 4/10
Staff – 7/10
Value for money – 7/10