Off the back of a truck
A mobile Mexican favourite has found a new home in the city.
There's no stopping Sydney's age of Mexican food. Attila Yilmaz, the owner of one of the city's most popular food trucks, Al Carbon, has opened La Lupita, a casual, taco-focused eatery at the long-standing Circular Quay live music venue The Basement.
On a Saturday night, we arrive for dinner at what looks like a classic American saloon. There's a timber bar inside the entrance, with the music venue to the left and the restaurant, in what's known as the Green Bar, to the right.
La Lupita's menu is short: three starters and three tacos, so we order one of everything. Service is hit and miss. A waitress warned us it might be a bit loud when that night's billing performed a soundcheck, but there was a mix-up later with our order. Following this, our food arrived quickly, but then we were left to our own devices to locate a buffet offering plastic cutlery and napkins, and a good selection of salsas, sauces and vegetables.
Other than the soundcheck, the room is surprisingly quiet for a music venue, although later in the evening it's probably a different story.
Frijoles charros - ''cowboy beans'' - is a sort of upmarket nachos: tortilla chips slathered in beans; crema mexicana (similar to sour cream); and chiltepil, a dry, crunchy, spicy salsa with chillies, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds, stringy mozzarella-ish queso de Oaxaca and coriander.
Chicken wings, blackened and blisteringly hot, are served with a vibrant burnt-orange chipotle, lime and garlic cream. The meat is tender, beautifully charred and slips easily off the bone.
Crema mexicana appears again with elote (grilled corn), the cream stirred through juicy, warm kernels with chilli lime salt, shredded parmesan, and piquant green and red salsa, piled on tortilla chips. It's an addictive combination of well-balanced flavours and textures, though I think it might be even better in a bowl with the chips to the side.
The tacos, meanwhile, are served half-built, allowing diners to add their own salsas and vegetables from the buffet. The flour tortillas are well-made, soft and blackened, and the meat (spit-roasted pork, beef or chicken) charred.
The buffet is a smart idea - recognising the range of opinion regarding the perfect taco filling - offering bowls of shredded red cabbage, radish, cucumber and onion along with salsa verde, a creamy guacamole, and salsas ranging from ''super hot'' habanero to ''mild hot'' tomatillo. Unfortunately, our tacos arrive lukewarm, making the meat less tender than it probably otherwise would have been. The pork, served with grilled pineapple, is the standout.
There are about 20 wines available by the glass and a decent choice of beers on tap and by the bottle, with a couple of local craft options among the imported labels, along with a short list of classic cocktails.
The menu offers a dessert special, but when we ask what today's is, our waiter returns to tell us (despite it being only 8pm) they've sold out.
Yilmaz's first La Lupita, in Canterbury, has now closed, but we're told there's something else in the works for the area soon.
A few glitches can be expected when a venue is new, but with its fresh, simple concept, La Lupita looks set to be a crowd-pleasing addition to Circular Quay.
Menu
Mexican food-truck fare.
Value
Good. Tacos $6 each, starters $10, cocktails $16.
Recommended dishes
Spit-roast hot chipotle wings, elote, pork and pineapple tacos.
LA LUPITA
The Basement, 29 Reiby Place, Circular Quay,
9251 2797 Mon-Sat, noon-late