Hecho En Mexico Altona — Restaurant in Melbourne

The Covid pandemic crushed the hospitality industry across this country and it brings be great joy to dine at places like Hecho En Mexico that are bringing food back to the people. Saturday night, we booked a table for the 8pm sitting (there is a 6pm sitting as well) and we were greeted by the loveliest woman, Dulce, herself Mexican and clearly a woman with a natural talent to make diners feel at home. As soon as you walk in the décor takes your breath away. The lighting, the murals and the stunning bar display. It all blends together giving off an infectious energy. The décor is just the beginning though. The atmosphere on Saturday night was one of eclectic excitement. We are all out dining again with no Covid restrictions. Music was playing. Diners at tables chatting. Staff flitting around to host their guests. Lots of movement, colour and lighting - it all pulled together to create an inviting environment. Yes I thought the music was a bit loud, yet I was tapping my toe to the beat of each song. Having spent several weeks in Mexico, I can attest that this is indeed, authentic food and not the Australianised version. The food at Hecho En Mexico is not overly cheesy, no layers of sour cream and a spicy blend that is quite unique. Let me set out what we ate. Entree: taquitos ($15 for 4 pieces) which were delicious and well cooked, served with a little cabbage / corn / spring onion. Main: enchilada (chefs favourite) consisting of a deep fried burrito served with a side of Mexican rice, pico de gallo, mint cream and black smoked chipotle aioli filled with beef. The cheese is from Oaxaca which frankly makes it so different to other enchiladas. My plate of sizzling fajitas platter with choice of steak / tofu / fish plus $1 for chicken fillet sautéed with onion, capsicum, mar tomatillo salsa and Tajin seasoning, served with a side of Mexican rice, corn tortillas , black beans, pica de gallo. fajitas was enough for two, so we did take home leftovers. It comes on two plates - one with the chicken and vegetables sizzling away. The second plate is well presented with rice, beans and tomato salsa. Top this off with a jug of sangria that certainly got us through the night along with an original margarita - a visual site to behold and taste. Apart from indoor seating, there is a functional outdoor covered area at the rear with its own bar, swinging couch, toys for kids to play with and even suitable for dogs. Out the front is a small deck area but come summer - bring on the Mexicana hospitality with chairs, music, couches and lighting. Come for a meal. Come for a drink. Bring the kids. Bring the dog. Bring your grandparents. It’ll be the ‘go to’ place when the warmer weather arrives. The part owner Aaron and his team have spent considerable time fine tuning the model for this restaurant right down to the training of their staff. Everyone were on their toes, friendly, efficient and ever so helpful. Hecho En Mexico does a roaring take away trade but would recommend dining in to take in the full experience. Plus Mexican food doesn’t travel well like a pizza might. Come in and enjoy. Notes: Wheelchair accessible from the front of the restaurant to the rear. Toilets themselves are a visual treat, I’ll let you discover why. Kids easily catered for. Dietaries managed well a great range of vegetarian and vegan options. Good parking on the side streets without meters. There are 7 of these restaurants in Melbourne and I’m grateful that Altona now has another great eatery which will raise the bar for locals and take summer dining to a...

One of the worst dining experience of our life. We went to this restaurant for our anniversary on 17th February booked in advance, reached and order our food. First we ordered drinks and some entrees. We got our drinks after around 20 minutes, without the entrees. Thought it might be busy and entrees should come in few minutes. After around 10 minutes, when we still didn’t receive our entrees we decided to order mains as well, thinking that if entrees are taking so long, we will again have to wait for mains. 45 mins passed and we still didn’t get entrees. My wife and I decided to talk at front desk and told wait for 45 mins is unacceptable and refund the charges for food as we just don’t want to eat here anymore. The person attending went to kitchen to check what happened. In between he came to us 2-3 times to confirm, are you sure you didn’t receive the entrees because kitchen has marked as done. We told him you can go and see the table there are no plates, we are not the people who eat and don’t pay, mind you we were 5 ppl and first order was for around $140 and next one was for $120. The guy comes back to front desk again and began processing the refund, with no care that there has been delay/negligence from kitchen or server. During the conversation he or other staff member didn’t say sorry even once. While during the refund, the guy even said to my wife, I don’t want to argue with you while processing refund. Any other honorable business would have said sorry and even offered to refund the drinks’s charges but they didn’t have any regret. That front staff guy was upfront rude. To owners of the business, the front staff person was an Indian guy. Never ever going back to this restaurant or any other branch of this.

We then went to the neighboring pizza place, the service and...

We live in Pier st and regularly wander down to Hecho En Mexico restaurant in Altona for an evening meal. My partner and I went there last night and it was, as usual absolutely fantastic.

When you think of restaurants you’d normally think of the cuisine and quality of the food. We tend to forget about service, friendliness and engaging staff and the owners. Hecho En Mexico has all these qualities and more ‘in spades’.

It goes without saying that the food is authentic and the comprehensive menu is loaded with tantalising entrées, mains and deserts. As global travellers we both find the food, margaritas and sangria are world class.

Owners Aaron and Sarhill always make time to visit our table to welcome us and have a chat and and are consummate hosts.

Paris and Dulce are delightfully engaging. Always with a smile, they greeted us and looked after us with our drinks on arrival and gave us plenty of time for us to peruse the menu (which is always hard for me because everything on the menu is tempting !!)

As busy as they are, they make it a point to swing by our table and check to see that everything is alright.

The food is just superb and every time we dine there, the whole evening is a wonderful dining experience. There is a difference between just ‘eating’ and ‘dining’.

Super clean amenities and accessibility friendly. Vegetarian options available. Outdoor dining is also an option.

We recommend this sensational Mexican restaurant without question as it’s become our ‘go to’ restaurant in Altona.

If you haven’t already been there give Hecho En Mexico a shot and I’m sure you won’t be disappointed.

Thanks Hecho En Mexico, we’ll be back. See you soon !!

🌮🌮🌮 🍹🍹🍹...