Bar Tobalá — Restaurant in Melbourne

On the corner of Melville and Bell St lies the Mexican themed @Bar.Tobala with a dynamic menu.

Manchego Jalapeno Waffle Con Pollo - a crispy and spicy cornbread waffle topped with poblano chicken salad with smoky salsa macha and pickled onions.

If you're expecting a light fluffy crunchy waffle, it's not this. Think what a Mexican waffle would taste like and when you eat it it would match. It's quite dense from the corn maize but tasty and it's packed with heaps of shredded chicken which makes it a hearty meal. The chicken salad has enough mayo to keep it moist without drowning it and I love the subtle spice mix which gives a lovely chilli hum to the dish. To round it off are the pickled onion rings for the perfect touch of sweetness and particularly, acidity. Awesome creation despite not being a traditional Mexican dish.

Taco Asado de Puerco - homestyle ancho braised pork shoulder served with in season tomatillo salsa. The taco is delicious, encasing chunks of tender pork shoulder that ooze flavour and the slightly sour green tomato seed like tomatillo salsa balances against the meatiness.

Elote - classic street corn, charred and dressed with mayonnaise, cortija & tajin Corn, boiled, charred, rolled in just enough mayo to make the cheese and chilli mix stick, this is quite moorish.

Cactus Fruit Sorbet with Fresh Tropical Fruit Can't leave without dessert and something light and refreshing is exactly what the sorbet delivers in spades. It's served with a unique South American tropical fruit inside a half shell (not edible) holding a slightly sour but  tangy mango like fruit with one or two big pips. Quite enjoyable I must say. Very enjoyable dining experience with very friendly welcoming staff.

Another visit for the ever changing menu of traditional Mexican fare.

Stracciatella Divorciados Soft strands of cheese and cream served with a spicy salsa, tangy tomatillo salsa and poached tomato, served with totopas

The corn chip like totopas are slightly puffed, crunchy, and are perfect for dunking into the slightly thick creamy cheese like mixture. The mixture is quite rich, has a slight cheese taste like gooey mozzarella, a very slight spicy hum, and is rather enjoyable. The totopas are very moreish.

Pozole Rojo Con Puerco Pork shoulder stew made with ancho and guajillo chillies and hominy served with cabbage, jalapenos, lime, avocado

Definitely recommend fishing the lime wedge out and squeezing the juice out. The stew is more soupy in consistency, a unique blend of comforting flavours. All the contents are pilled in the middle but its deceptive to the eye, surrounded by the tomato base with a very subtle chilli hum, this is really tasty. The pork shoulder is super tender being shredded into the stew and once you uncover the contents of the mound you can enjoy the avocado, cabbage, and jalapenos. Interesting but satisfying.

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ORDERED: 🍟 Half and half: totopos, guacamole & salsa al asador 🌮 Beef Birria: beef birria: beef slowcooked in a rich red adobo served with chipotle salsa, coriander & white onion 🌮 Campechano: smoked bacon, brisket & chorizo with an orange taqueria salsa & topped with chicaron 🌮 Mushroom barboca: grilled field mushrooms in a guajillo adobo with tomatillo salsa, coriander & white onion

I paid $34.50 here for my portion!

REVIEW: ⭐ The stand out for me at Bar Tobala was the half and half! Snappy fried tortillas with a dusting of a savoury salt made it the perfect carriage for the refreshing guacamole/the interesting take on the salsa. Its heaviness and depth made it different to the usual offerings of a bright & tangy, tomato-forward salsa which made it memorable! The fillings for the tacos were also generous - letting me nibble and enjoy the fillings before I brought the whole weight into my hands. 🫴

The tacos felt one-dimensional to me. The ones we chose were hearty (which can be great for winter) and the heaviness is cut through by the sharpness of the onion. My favourite was the beef birria. In Mexican food, I like contrasting elements so the squeeze of lemon wasn't enough to bring the citrusy element to the forefront. 🍋🍋 However if you prefer meat forward, generous portioned tacos, then you may enjoy your time at Bar Tobala.

I appreciated the service! We were hot where we were sat, but when I requested aircon to be switched on, they were happy to accommodate. We felt cooler after that 😅. I also appreciated that they didn't have a credit card...

Fake reviews , most of these reviews are fake . On another section of google people ask the owner when the restaurant will be open , he tells them it opens in March yet there are reviews here from early February . I walk past this restaurant 5 nights a week around 8 pm and have seen the owners ( or staff ) in there putting in tables/chairs etc and knocked one night to ask when it would be open and i was told March ...... so reviews from Feb are the owner or his friends trying to entice people with fake reviews . Poor show.

In reply to owners response ..... i never said you closed at 8pm i said that is when i walk past .... i can only go by what i was told by whoever was in the shop at the time so please don't call me a liar ( you sound to be quite an unpleasant character ) . Your other google response to questions stated to the person enquiring that you were open in March . When i pass by the most i have ever seen in there is 2 people ( and one of those has to be staff as he is behind the bar ) the other i assumed was another staff or the bar guys friend helping him to get the business ready for when it opened so if as you say you have been open since Jan business must be awful quiet . Regardless i still believe the reviews here are mostly by friends or family and as you have called me a liar and seem a nasty type i won't be bothering to visit any time...