Fonda Mexican Chadstone — Restaurant in Melbourne

As a long time visitor of Fonda and having been to various locations, unfortunately this branch is the least enjoyable. We came for lunch at around 12.20pm and it was not busy yet. We submitted our order via the QR code by 12.34pm. The 3 tacos did not come until 13.20pm. By this time, some of us have already finished their meals. During that time we did chase up our orders but the person who looked like the floor manager appeared quite dismissive and simply said to us "it's coming, it's coming" in the past half an hour. Even more disappointing that the 2 tables next to us who arrived after us got their food first before us. The main issue was the communication, we would have appreciated a follow-up such as "Sorry, your order is coming late / there is a delay in making your order" etc etc. But there is no apology let alone any information during this whole time. At last, after about half an hour wait, one of the floor staff finally came and said our last 2 items will be refunded but they are still making our food. It looked like the staff were struggling with the amount of tables to be served or they were simply not trained properly. As for the food itself, there are some quality improvements that need to be made. The barbacoa beef taco was soggy with beef juices/fat (see picture). The fish taco contains carelessly thick cut pickled onions (see picture). I myself am a chef and work in the hospitality industry. This is not a slice/cut size that is enjoyable for customers to eat, especially when served as a filling for tacos, sandwiches, salads, etc. The nachos was probably the most disappointing. The corn chips were stale, the whole dish was cold and there was no melted cheese, only some cheese sauce on top of the other toppings (see picture). The loaded nachos I've had that's served at Fonda CBD had actual melted shredded cheese on top of the whole dish, alongside other toppings (guacamole, pico de gallo, etc) neatly placed on fresh crispy HOT corn chips, served in a bowl that was piping hot, straight out of the oven/salamander. And this was at lunch rush hour. And the staff at Fonda CBD actually informed me that the nachos was "going to take longer than usual", which I appreciated. Fonda Chadstone can learn a lot from Fonda CBD. The management should arrange training for the kitchen staff and floor staff, especially in communication between the team as well as to customers. Will avoid this outlet from now on, and stick...

This is a bit of a tough review—mainly because the rating is more about value for money, which is extremely subjective. What’s worth it to me may not be worth it to you, and vice versa.

I do believe that Fonda is a notch above fast food Mexican chains. But to what extent—that's debatable. What I do know is this: I’m not sure it’s worth $19.50 (for the burrito).

Keep in mind, when I say that, my opinion is consistent. I find $19.50 for most things to be quite expensive.

At that price point, you need to be offering either (in my opinion) a very unique culinary experience or a large portion of food.

So yes, that means $19.50 for avo on toast, in my mind, is absolutely insane. You’ll never see me ordering that item at that price—definitely not at $25, which some places charge.

I ordered the Tasmanian Lamb Burrito ($19.50), Smoky Mac & Cheese Croquettes ($13), and a Mexican Iced Coffee ($9.50).

I have to give credit where it’s due: the dining experience was quite nice. Everything was served hot, tasted fresh, and had a good amount of flavor. But nothing really stood out as unique or interesting. That might sound harsh, but honestly, I could probably give the same compliments to Salsa’s—or any similar spot.

What stood out?

In my opinion, it was the Mexican Iced Coffee. It was different—sweet, but not overly so, with a subtle cinnamon note. The coffee flavor was reminiscent of coffee beans themselves, not espresso. It really tasted like the bean.

The lamb in the burrito was somewhat unique. It was soft and slightly gamey—but not overwhelmingly so. A good balance. The kind of lamb even non-lamb eaters might enjoy.

The Smoky Mac & Cheese Croquettes weren’t especially unique, but the salsa roja was excellent: a subtle, refreshing tomato flavor—not as dense or sweet as tomato sauce. The type of salsa you could put on anything—it was that good.

Everything was good—great, even. But $42 great (with GST and a surcharge)? In my opinion, no.

For $42, I’m expecting more than just “good” or “nice.” I’m expecting something spectacular—top-tier. A je ne sais quoi (French for “a certain something that can’t be easily described”).

And if it’s not the best, or the bee’s knees at that price point (again, taste is subjective), then I can’t recommend it as readily as a place that does offer...

Came here after a long while and I feel like it is overall worse than it was and is a victim of COVID-19. The “Feed me for 2” set menu is no longer available and we bought basically the equivalent amount of food and two horchatas and it came to $72!!!!

The food itself didn’t taste as nice as I remember. Our chargrilled chicken quesadillas were toasted too much to the point the bread was basically hard and snapped in places so it fell apart and the chicken was too salty to the point it just tasted bad. The corn was bland somehow and didn’t taste like how it used to. The horchatas also tasted worse. The only thing that seemed to taste like how they used to were the tortilla chips. I feel like this was all errors made by the chef/cook.

In terms of service, one of the waiters that served us wrapped his entire hands around the horchatas with a thumbless grip which I thought was weird to do and could be more unhygienic as opposed to holding the glasses normally without your entire palms and fingers touching the glass. It was as if he was trying to challenge himself or something.

Overall too expensive and not as tasty as previously. Last time I was here was probably in Jan or Feb 2021. I think I’ll avoid going to this place going forward but if I do come I’ll spend less money.

Update: Ordered the tortilla chips and chargrilled chicken tacos for takeaway. The tortilla chips were extremely salty and for some reason both dishes ended up being very spicy (!?) as if spicy salt had been thrown on both dishes or something. Not sure if the staff were playing a joke but I didn't find it funny despite liking my spicy foods. Other reviews say this place has changed and I'm going to have to agree. I can already feel my blood vessels hardening :( This place has certainly not improved, the Fonda at Knox...