Taquito — Restaurant in Melbourne

ORDERED: 🌽​ Elotitos: Grilled baby corn, horseradish butter, queso requeson, pickled radicchio ($14.00) 🐟 Ceviche de pescado: Jalapeno tatemado, leche de tigre, avocado, crisps (MP - $24.00 when ordered)) 🌯​ Tamal de tuetano: Roasted bone marrow tamal, chicken chicharron ($23.00)

🌮​​ Pescado Taco: baja style crispy fish, mexican tartare, pickled cabbage 🌮​ Birria de chivo: goat birria, queso requeson, fresh jalapeno 🌮​ Salchichon de la casa: grilled house made mortadella, mustard pickles, avo crema 🌮​ Maiz blanco: white corn, salsa macha, mint crema, pickled onions Flight of 4 tacos ($28.00)/ ($8.50) each

🥖​ Churros with dulce de leche atole ($13.00)

For two people it came to $65pp for food.

REVIEW: I'm going to say Taquito has the BEST FISH TACOS in Melbourne. For that title, Taquito gets a 5/5 when I've been on this quest for years but drops a couple of points since it wasn't a completely flawless experience. Soft, pliant taco wraps with a subtle corn flavour holding delicious crispy fish and a fantastic cream white sauce. Exactly how I imagined it to be done, and it played out perfectly. The pickled cabbage adds a bit of tartness so you've got all your senses hit with every bite. Their tacos are different from the standard Mexican offering, so their offer of a flight of 4 makes sense. Tried a couple others, but they couldn't hold a candlelight to the Pescado. Birria de chivo would take 2nd place though.

Entrees are interesting, and certainly geared towards a fine dining type presentation and mix of flavours. A spin on the classic elotes (although would've actually preferred actual corn instead of baby corn) and the black sauce presentation of the ceviche actually threw us off at first. But, trust in the process and we did end up really enjoying that dish.

Churros were a bit too thin for my liking. Without the satisfaction of the crispy vs softness of the churros, and the dulce de leche in a very liquid form... it was messy and there was no real satisfaction derived from biting into the churros. You could probably do dessert elsewhere.

Service is friendly, and atmosphere is lively. Set downstairs, they've also decorated the interior with greenery up to eye level. Gives very casual vibes, and a nice breath away from the concrete industrial city that is Melbourne. Highly recommend Taquito if you're looking for...

Taquito is a Mexican bar and eatery in Carlton. They handmake their tortillas from scratch and even grow their own chillies and herbs. I highly recommend booking a table in advance because they can get booked out quickly. You’ll either be seated in the front home-style dining area or the back which is a much larger space with high ceilings and an open kitchen. You can also opt for their Set Menu for $70pp, or order A La Carte.

Had we gone and only tried their tacos, I would give them a higher rating but unfortunately I was slightly let down, mainly by the tuna ceviche. For 5 small cuts of fish for $31, it really didn’t wow us enough to justify the price. The fish itself had very little flavour, I did enjoy the pistachio cream but the sour/spicy watermelon dressing didn’t do enough for it. We finished it in two seconds and felt ripped off.

The potatoes on the other hand were great - really crispy on the outside even though it was dressed in the tangy salsa and creamy aioli. I’d recommend if you’re a potato fiend!

Our tacos were fantastic. Be warned that they’re pretty small tacos, so we ordered a flight of four each. Instantly loved that their tortillas were housemade with corn rather than flour. Our favourite was the chicken - really juicy and flavourful, all it needed was a drizzle of lime and it was great as is. The ox tail, whilst not a typical protein option on a Mexican menu, was particularly tender and juicy. The fish and steak were also winners. They all had great flavour, nothing was lack lustre. Staff provide you with their complementary housemade chilli sauce if you’re looking for that spicy kick.

If you go for anything, go for their tacos and order a few of them if you’re hungry. I obviously can’t vouch for anything else on the menu besides the potatoes, but I’ve heard their corn is great too. Taquito is a great option for Mexican in Melbourne, and I’d recommend! I just think their prices vs portions could be tweaked, but it’s a sign...

Absolutely terrible service. Initially the service was good and our waiter was polite and friendly. We were told to sit outside as they didn't have availability inside.

It started raining intensely, to the point where the tables were drenched in puddles of water, even with a covering. We tried to go inside to sit down on two empty bar stools out of eleven empty seats with no reservation signs. A bartender rudely told us off and shooed us out like dogs telling us to get back outside. Very odd.

Further, another waiter rudely told us to stay outside when we aproached the door from the outside to ask if we could get our soggy food takeaway.

There were other groups who witnessed this awful service and experienced it themselves even though they, like us, spent a lot of money.

When we went to pay, we politely asked why were not allowed to sit inside. They did not give us a reason, citing it was their 'policy' and that they were fully booked. Despite the fact that many inside seats were vacant for close to half an hour. My friend offered to leave when a booking arrived.

Their attitude was dismissive, illogical, petty and condescending - rolling their eyes and walking away while my friend addressed them politely.

I've read previous reviews and it seems like other people have experienced that same bizarre behaviour. The response from the business regarding online complaints has been to gaslight the customer - poor business practice and if anything validates the customer's concern around the staff...