Mama de Luna — Restaurant in Brisbane City

I love a good fish taco so I was hanging out to try this newly-opened branch of Mama de Luna in Wilston Village. I had heard good things of their original place in Windsor, so was happy that hubby and I found time to have lunch here at the end of their first week. It’s a very bright and colourful space with pink and yellow walls; they have tables plus bar-type seating so you can view the passing foot traffic. And there is shelving with interesting Mexican bits and bobs for sale. I drank an iced mocha, and hubby went for a berry smoothie. Our drinks were cold and flavourful; I could taste the coffee and the chocolate in mine (not always the case in a lot of places). And he enjoyed all the cold, berry goodness in his drink. Hubby went for the beef chilli tacos while I of course chose fish tacos made with wild-caught whiting (which you can have either deep fried or grilled). I went for deep fried, natch. Very sorry to say we were both very disappointed in our meals. I understand that restaurants have to cater for all tastes, but these plates were just SO bland. And sadly there wasn’t even a bottle of Tabasco to shake over them. I feel mean saying this but my fish pieces were like eating cardboard. I liked the idea of the cornmeal coating but there was no flavour anywhere. I was hoping for lovely, tasty, zesty sauces and fresh herbs, but nope – nowhere to be found. I gave up on mine and let hubby finish them off. He said his chilli version was bland too. I tasted the beef and it had a very slight fragrance of spices, and I do mean slight. And no heat that we could divine. As hubby said, how come the chilli is so dry? Okay, you don’t want your soft white corn tortillas falling apart but … We had no idea if you ordered at the counter (no info on the menu or on a sign, nor were we told by the waiter what to do), so hubby jumped up and went off to the counter to order. Which must be the thing to do, I guess. Service was perfunctory, neither welcoming nor friendly. Perhaps they were tired at the end of their day? Anyway, we tried it, and now I’ll just go back to getting my fish tacos from the local fish and chip shop....

The interior was very authentic looking, we sat inside and started with guacamole and tortilla chips, which were great. The tortillas were light and crispy, and there was a generous serving of guac and sour cream—though we could’ve used a few more chips to go with it. Had to get fish tacos which were delicious, with a beautifully fine and flavorful crumb coating on the fish, complemented by the refreshing pineapple and cucumber. The tostadas were large and crispy, topped with flavorful chorizo that paired perfectly with the refried beans, lettuce, sour cream, and coriander. We also tried sopes for the first time, and I really enjoyed the variety - three different types to sample. The base was thick yet soft, almost like a potato patty, which was an interesting and satisfying texture. To wash it all down, I paired the meal with a watermelon margarita, which was light, fresh, and refreshing. Overall, the food and prices were good but we thought the dishes lacked a bit of flavour and spices. We were inside and it was very hot, I recommend asking to be seated out the back with a breeze and a bit...

Nice atmosphere and decor, which gave it a Mexican feel. However. The food was another story. The Korean chicken burger was ok, quite dry chicken fillet coated in some.crumbs, nothing really korean about the taste. It lacked flavour. The Baja fish salad was fresh but quite tasteless as well. Strange to see little whiting fish... I thought it would be a bigger whiting fillet. It's like the crumbed fish and chicken were over fried (perhaps it's because there were only two staff running the whole cafe). The staff were friendly and nice. Overall, the food was fresh, but lacked flavour. It's certainly not Mexican- even the Chipotle Mayo lacked flavour and any spice (it didn't even have any heat). I don't think I'll be back. It's okay as a cafe, but it's not Mexican. Honestly burrito bar is closer in terms of...