Mexico Britomart — Restaurant in Waitematā

The interior is inviting and some effort has gone into design and selection Service was prompt enough and we were provided with illustrated menus which gave us an idea of portion sizes.

We ordered loaded nachos which came with beef , salsa, guacamole, sour cream and mushroom, capsicum, burnt corn quesadillas. Both dishes were tasty , generous and reasonably priced. However the spice level was clearly toned down to meet an expectation of local tastes . I prefer my Mexican a bit more picante ! The nachos and quesadillas were both very delicate and both my companion and I would have preferred them to be more robust so as not to disintegrate in our hands. Very clever and pretty but completely impractical. We followed with cinnamon churros served with just the right amount of dulce de leche ( a sauce made by caramelising condensed milk). So the churros were perfection . We had a a guava mock tail which was delicious and a good craft Pilsner , not cheap, in line with more upmarket establishments. I could not resist the temptation of a margarita, a long time favourite, frankly I wish I hadn’t . The menu offered a sugar free option. A margarita should be sweet and sour , the Cointreau has enough sweetness which contrasts with the lime. My drink I learned was made from an artificially sweetened premix syrup that left a cloying taste in my mouth all the way home whence I washed my mouth out with malt whisky. I couldn’t detect tequila in it and after being shaken the entire mix was deposited in a large size glass so that the glass was full to the brim with ice creating the illusion of a large serving. This was not a margarita! There should be no more than 3 pieces of ice in the glass! Where was the tequila? Other points of note , not a single member of the staff understood Spanish, one of the waiters was wearing jeans and trainers . In summary if you are unfamiliar with Mexican food the presentation, decor, the undeniable tastiness of the dishes would be perfectly acceptable but Mexican it is not. The other matters are just management , standards and training. There is not provision on the star rating for halves , MEXICAN is better than 3 star but definitely not a 4 star so 3.5 star. Convenient risk free parking is to be had in the building opposite...

Upon arriving at 9 PM, the evening quickly turned sour. We were ushered to a small table next to the bar—clearly not anyones first choice. When we politely expressed our dislike for that spot, we were told no alternative was available, even though several other tables appeared unclean and in need of attention.

We were further frustrated when the waiter mentioned that the kitchen would close in just five minutes—a stark contradiction to the advertised 10:30 PM closing time. Despite this abrupt announcement, the staff eventually cleaned another table for us. However, it took an additional ten minutes before we could place our food and drink order, all while other areas of the dining room remained neglected.

The seating debacle wasn’t an isolated incident. Two other diners who arrived after us were similarly directed to the bar table. One diner, visibly upset, left immediately when no alternative seating was offered, while the other had to endure a similar wait after being offered again the same table, until a different table was finally prepared.

As for the food, the disappointment continued. The fish tacos were bland, and the pork tacos were a disaster—old, dry, and overcooked. The beef tacos fared no better, lacking both flavor and freshness. Only the prawn tacos managed to stand out, though they couldn’t redeem the overall experience. To add insult to injury, our order of a carafe of frozen margarita arrived as a single, poorly blended glass, with large chunks of ice detracting from what should have been a refreshing drink.

The service left much to be desired as well. Staff seemed disengaged throughout the evening, notably a bearded gentleman who spent most of his time leaning against the bar rather than attending to guests.

Ultimately, by the time we left at 9:35 PM, it was clear that not only had the kitchen closed earlier than promised, but the restaurant’s priorities lay elsewhere—accommodating new diners instead of addressing the needs of those already inside. With misleading information, subpar service, and uninspired food, we cannot recommend this...

Went here to have dinner with some friends, and was really disappointed by the quality of what I ordered. I had the potato and pumpkin quesadillas and the guacamole and both dishes were bland, and honestly made me feel a bit queasy.

The quesadilla filling was literally just pumpkin and potato with no seasoning (or very weak seasoning you can’t taste), so that wasn’t pleasant. I hoped at least that the chips and guacamole would be okay because how could you possibly mess that up! Unfortunately though, the guacamole tasted off and half of it contained rock hard bits of unripe avo :(

We also ordered a carafe of the strawberry margarita to share, and to be fair, it was delicious. HOWEVER! Be warned, the carafe is insanely small— so small that it looked like a little flower vase, and we got two small drinks out of it that couldn’t even reach the top of our little glasses we were given. For $30, it just seemed like a bit of a rip off. The atmosphere, I will say, is really nice— the restaurant itself is beautiful. And the waiter we had was nice.

This is a bit strange, but I’m not going to leave this out because it was just so random! At one point while we were there, a huge splash from behind the bar hit us when we were sitting at our table. We were sort of close to the bar, but far enough that we were shocked. It must have been a drink one of the staff opened that was fizzed up possibly, because I’m not sure how else that would happen. It quite clearly hit us and got a bit in my hair and on my clothes, and even though the staff saw it hit us, none of the staff said anything, not even an awkward laugh or apology, which seemed a bit strange.

Overall, it was an odd and unsatisfying experience! So unfortunately wouldn’t...