El Mexicano is a new casual dining & takeaway restaurant in Joondalup that offers authentic Baja cuisine – Mexican food with a Californian influence. I was fortunate enough to attend the opening celebration last night to sample some of the food on offer.
El Mexicano opens to the public next Thursday, February 13th and will be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner – check out their website or Facebook page for the latest news.
The general idea is that you pick your style of meal (burrito, taco, quesadilla or nachos), choose your filling (chicken, pork, beef, fish, chilli con carne or chargrilled vegetables) and add your chosen heat of sauce (all $10.90).
You can also get a meal of chargrilled chicken, pork, beef or fish with Mexican rice, black beans and tomato salsa for $14.90. There’s a kids menu and even healthier options if you’re so inclined.
Owner and chef Max Tangermann was trained in Europe and came to Australia in 1984 to help open large five-star hotels around the country. Since then, he has owned & operated several local restaurants and has spent the last 17 years training many of Perth’s chefs as the Director of Culinary Arts at the Australian College of Applied Education.
The food we sampled tonight wasn’t strictly from the menu, but everything was absolutely delicious – and spicy. I really like hot (spicy) food, and it’s great to be able to get something with some real heat and depth of flavour, especially from a takeaway restaurant.
I’m not sure how Mexican these rice balls are, but they were full of chorizo and very tasty.
These sausages were the highlight for me – very spicy and almost impossible to stop at two. Or three
El Mexicano is family owned and operated, and their passion and excitement is clear to see.
Dessert is served – lemon tarts, chocolate tarts and chocolate brownie. Probably the best lemon tart I’ve ever tasted.
Spanish wine (and plenty of beer) to keep the guests lubricated.
El Mexicano is located in Joondalup Square near the new Bunnings. It’s in a group of eateries so there’s something for everyone, including Subway, Croissant Express, a Japanese restaurant…
…and Funky Fryz, which sounds interesting. I couldn’t find much information on what they will be offering (apart from the obvious, which surely isn’t enough to sustain a restaurant), although their trademark application mentions burgers, hot dogs and salads.
El Mexicano will also be joining the Perth food truck scene – including Park’d food trucks at Curtin University – so keep an eye out for them around town.
If you live in or around Joondalup – or simply love authentic Mexican cuisine – then you should definitely be adding El Mexicano to your list of places to try.ย I’m looking forward to working my way through the menu!
I like your blog! So informative!