Mexican food in Westlands

UPDATE FEB 2020:  I have since been to Mercado Mexican restaurant in Nairobi and the food was significantly better. Not earth shaking but a definite improvement on the last visit. The cocktails were lush, but man oh man was it pricey. Incidentally the Blue Door nightclub opposite is fabulous.

Mercado, Mercado. I wanted to love you. I wanted to rave about you. At one point last night I was composing eloquent Mexican love poems to you. Then I tasted your food. Top marks for presentation, struggling above midway for the food.

Mexican is my favourite food in the whole wide world. On my trips to Mexico I am happier than a pig in shit. Find me a bar that serves margaritas and I’m joyful, find me an authentic Mexican margarita and I’m ecstatic. So a trip to Mercado was long overdue. Id’ heard a lot of good things about it and was super excited to get my Mexican on.

You’ll find Mercado Mexican restaurant at the top of Kenrail Mall in Westlands. An unhappily unglamorous entrance to a restaurant but the height allows for views over the city. As the lift doors opened in front of Mercado I am entranced, the décor is fabulous. Mama I’m home

Warm and inviting decor

Sleekly authentic with a modern twist would capture it. Raw wood beams line the spacious room. Warm lighting and murmured conversations vie with authentic smells. I am ushered in beyond the bank of terrariums and vintage filament lamps, to a space chaperoned by an expansive bar. Mexican tiles on the walls mimic the authentic table wear. Tables have a unique twist with riotously coloured furnishings and benches suspended from the ceiling. There is an outside area for cocktails and stargazing, another area for reclining with coffee. It felt like the kind of place you could hang out all day. Indeed, they serve breakfast so you probably can.

Excellent service

Our waitress was lovely, full of smiles and efficiency. Her knowledge of the menu was impressive and her pronunciation of the Mexican dishes put my O Level Spanish to shame. Our drinks were with us in seconds. My grin grew to match the waitresses…this was fabulous. Everything was perfect. The lighting, the ambience, the drinks, the service and the menu looked divine.

Fabulous menu

Like many first dates though appearances can be deceiving. All was wonderful until the food arrived. Perhaps if the menu had been a little less impressive our expectations wouldn’t have been so high. The glossy 10-page booklet, resplendent with gorgeous food photography, had me licking my chops anticipation. The expansive menu was culinary food porn. Start with fingers foods; ceviche, taco cones filled with aubergine and corn or chicken wings. Move on to small plates; Tostadas, soft flour tacos, quesadillas or jump into more gluttonous portions with Burritos, chicken mole and Tilapia with lentils. `The menu states that ingredients are local and fresh. The recipes looked authentic the presentation of the menu was immaculate.

Average food

The food wasn’t bad it was just lacklustre in comparison to the rest of the package. Guacamole lacked seasoning, lime and coriander. Halloumi fries were overcooked. The quesadilla was amongst the saddest I’ve ever seen; a mere scraping of beans and cheese making the most miserly Mexican sandwich.

My Mushroom Ajillo tacos were fine. Fine isn’t a great accolade for a restaurant. They just tasted like friend mushrooms with beans and a cheese topping. The flavours of garlic and chilli were lacking. The presentation of hubbys burritos was poor. It was a small wrap filled with pulled pork that had been liberally bulked up with rice and peas. It came served with three miniscule pots of salsa and guacamole.

In short the whole menu lacked depth of flavour and pizzazz. This was Mexican I could have cooked at home and it felt rushed and poorly thought through.

Mercado Mexican restaurant in Nairobi

Cooking isn’t just about chucking some stuff in a pan; it’s about layering flavours so that different elements hit you throughout the dish. Relying too heavily on traditional Mexican sides to provide a more complex flavour profile is cheating and in this case it didn’t work.

I’d been all up for staying on; having a coffee and a dessert but the disappointment of the food soured the evening. Despite such an effusive start we left for drinks elsewhere

Mercado is a restaurant that promises so much. The location, decor, ambience, staff and service are top notch. They just need to give the kitchen a kick up the butt. It’s not bad food but it could be a lot better.

I loved heading into the city and am determined to explore new places to eat. Any suggestions let me know.

In the mean time I’ll stick to local haunts or wait until I can try a few of these fabulous looking places.

 

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