Chinita Real Mexican Food — Restaurant in Bengaluru

A friend of mine found this place accidentally and suggested that we go there for lunch. After spending a lot of time savouring Asian Food my palate was craving for something fresh, so I immediately accepted the offer and planned our trip to Chinita the very next day. Well the place itself is not huge, but very cosy, simple open concept, and serving fresh Mexican food. One of our food blogger friend from Towntrendz did point out a review of Chinita a few years before, thatz when we realized this place has been around for quite some time.

For starters, we ordered some Tortilla Chips with Salsa, and Nachos topped with Soyrizo (the vegetarian version of the Chorizo - The Spanish pork sausage). While the Tortilla chips was fresh, crunchy and went wonderfully well with the two versions of salsa served alongside, the star however, was the Soyrizo Nachos. Our non-vegetarian friends kept asking us whether are we sure we ordered the vegetarian version and managed to devour most part of what was a large portion that was served. We did order the Mexican staple and my all-time favourite superfood guacamole on the side along with some pineapple salsa. The guacamole was made home-style, very chunky, well-seasoned and delicious and was a perfect accompaniment to both the nachos and the tortilla chips. However the pineapple salsa is something that I would prefer to skip the next time.

For drinks, we ordered an Almond Horchata and a cup of hot chocolate. We were warned by our friendly waiter that the Almond Horchata is something that of an acquired taste and may not suit the Indian palate. I still took that bold step and ordered the Horchata and was not disappointed very much. While my friends who tried dismissed that to be a more like baby food, I actually quiet liked it. It was a perfectly balanced between the rice, cinnamon and almond. Not one element was overpowering each other. I am no chef, however to make it more popular my humble suggestion would be to add a dash of hazelnut syrup. That will add-in the kick that this drink deserves.

For Main, we decided to order in a Tostada and a Burrito. Our choice was Spinach & Caramelized onion Tacos and a Roasted Zucchini and Corn Burrito. The flavours of the Spinach and the nicely caramelized onions was a wonderful match and so was the Roasted Zucchini and Corn. It was a delectable main, not too heavy. Personally I would have preferred my tacos to be a little more firm, if not crisp.

And Desserts were something that we all were looking forward to, the group of 5 decided to share 2 desserts and we ordered the widely reviewed Chocolate & Chilli Cake and a portion of Churros. While the entire foodie world is going gaga over how Chocolate and Chilli are a match made in heaven, I personally haven't managed to experience it yet. Thanks to Chinita, what a wonderful experience it was. The yummy chocolate cake melts in your mouth, leaving you to wonder where the chilli is and then it hits you. The chilli is more of the after taste and just dominates your palate afterwards. It's an experience all the 5 of us would remember forever. The Churros and chocolate was a good dessert, we enjoyed it, but not as much as the Chocolate and Chilli cake.

Quick Summary - Friendly & Super-Efficient Service, Extremely Fresh Food, Simple, but wide menu and a refreshing and authentic take on Mexican Cuisine, thanks Chinita Real Mexican Food

Disclaimer - I am a super foodie who enjoys food, but has strict regulations on what days I stay veg and what days I don't. The day I visited Chinita, I was a vegetarian and I would love to visit again on my Non-Veg day and explore the wonderful spread they have to offer,...

Mexico and India may lie on opposite poles of the planet but there is no denying about the similarities in their flavor. Both cuisine offer a flavor profile that is so vast yet can be compressed and displayed in just one dish. I recommend foodies to venture the Mexican cuisine first, because its so similar yet very different. Yes, those words are confusing, but i shall explain later.

Chinita is a quaint little place located close to Indiranagar BDA complex. Simple yet cosy. The music that played during the night made me feel I was near a beach! The people are very friendly. The person running the place, was friendly, asked us our preferences, suggested minute changes in dishes etc. When asked for regular water, they got us chilled water with mint leaves. These small things go a long way in enriching the whole food experience.

Since i was with a Veggie friend, i had to stick to veg options only. I took veg nachos and burrito bowl with green peppers and onions.

Veg nachos, though is not theoretically Mexican food, was very good. Crisp tortilla chips topped with a generous serving of baked beans, some cheese and a spicy salsa, topped with sour cream and jalapenos. This is the flavor profile i'm talking about. Just one dish takes you on a roller coaster ride of flavors.

The burrito bowl with sauteed green peppers and onions is a meal by itself. Baked beans slurry is poured over a bed of cilantro rice, cheese and salsa. This feels like comfort food to me. Simple yet never would i get bored of eating this dish. Since i requested for a spicy version, they gave me a small bowl of their amazing habanero sauce. Good stuff.

I know this review  just graces the surface of their menu. But I'm definitely coming back here soon, to try more of their stuff.

Ambience: 4/5 Food: 4/5 Service:...

Compared to how it was a few years ago I must say the quality of the food has gone down drastically. Dishes ordered: • Quesadilla Chicken : Good. 3/5 • Tacos : Chicken Tinga : Average 2/5 • Burrito bowl - Beef : 2/5 . The quantity is excellent. Meat pieces were hardly there. I literally had 8-9 small pieces in the entire dish but a lot of capsicum. Definitely disappointed with the overall taste and quality. When you pay Rs 500, one expects the dish to be slightly worth the money not waste of money. • Churros : 2/5. I had loved the Churros 2 years ago. But today they were extremely sweet and not at all good. • Drinks : Tamarind Margarita and Aqua Frescoa Watermelon. : Both were good. The watermelon drink was excellent. Tamarind Margarita wasn't upto my palatte but it wasn't bad. It's a personal choice.

Parking: No valet when I went for a Sunday dinner. But there's enough street parking around the restaurant.

Service: Excellent. Every staff member was courteous and nice.

Washroom: BAD state. Even though I saw the cleaning roaster attached on the door, the washroom was hardly clean. I have attached a picture of the exhaust fan which looked like it hasn't been cleaned in years. It was covered with dust.

Cost : Pricy. I wouldn't have said this in my last visit 2 years ago. But today the entire experience was average. Not worth the price I paid.

If you wanna go for the hype, then you can or else it's definitely not worth the money anymore. I really hope Chinita doesn't become one of those eateries which start with amazing concept , attain success, expand its business and then looses it's charm and...