From casual taquerias to luxe cantinas: 10 of Sydney’s best Mexican restaurants

From hand-made tortillas to comforting tamales or regional delicacies from the state of Oaxaca, Sydney’s once-sparse Mexican dining options are growing year by year.

Whether it’s a luxe cantina you’re looking for or a family-friendly taco joint serving bargain street snacks, our list of 10 critic’s favourites includes something for everyone.

Ricos Tacos

After 18 months of big tortilla energy and queues snaking out the door, Toby Wilson’s Chippendale taqueria has relocated to the hyper-coloured courtyard of The Norfolk. There’s a laid-back, no-fuss vibe here, with vivid murals, cold cans of Modelo and a menu that’s compact and focused. Tortas and quesadillas are big hits during the day, while night time features more tostadas (try the mixed mushrooms number). Taco al pastor is a crowd favourite, with adobo-marinated pork, grilled on the trompo (vertical spit) and dressed with vibrant salsa verde and a slice of ripe pineapple. Carne asada tacos are the real knockout though, featuring strips of sirloin cradled in double tortillas and doused in a hyper-addictive salsa macha of garlic, sesame seeds, nuts and chillies. Service is fast and efficient, and there’s also a “Mexican sports bar” upstairs for tequila shots and more cold cerveza.

305 Cleveland Street, Redfern, ricostacos.com.au

No 92

This renovated Victorian terrace exists in the sprawling grey area between a wine bar and restaurant. More of it, we say. The drinks list champions young gun producers, and there’s no shortage of mezcal choices to ride shotgun with
Mexican-inspired snacks. A freshly pressed masa taco cradles achiote pork belly cooked on charcoal and cut with a pineapple and tepache salsa; kingfish tostadas are dotted with smoked shoyu mayo, fermented chilli and shiso leaves deliver all
the crunch, punch and zing you could want. Surprise pastas reveal the diner’s easy-going side, and the spaghetti chitarra tangled with asparagus and zucchini flowers is deeply flavoured with a roasted poblano pepper sauce to challenge any doubts about the potential of “fusion” cooking. Consider skipping dessert for the “mezcolada”, a smoky coconut foam-capped riff on your favourite island cocktail.

92 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, no92gpr.com.au

El Primo Sanchez

Pumping high-fidelity booze and tunes inside a 1940s corner pub (formerly the Rose, Shamrock & Thistle) El Primo Sanchez is a sharp, slick and slightly swanky
Mexican bar brought to you by the team behind cocktail hotspot Maybe Sammy. Well-drilled bartenders shake superb margaritas and dance to salsa, while the chatty floor team guides guests through a menu starting with guacamole and totopos corn chips, and finishing with a silky orange flan. In between, tuna tostadas beefed up with a koji-fermented habanero mayonnaise; boisterously spiced chicken carnitas tacos; tiger prawns licked with flames and chilli butter;
and tequila highballs with smoked cola and lime. Fun! The best bit is the “¡Emergencia! Press for tequila” button in the karaoke booth. Slap it for shots to be delivered between Creep and Sweet Child O’ Mine.

27-33 Oxford Street, Paddington, elprimosanchez.com

Esteban

Charcoal is at the heart of this dark (and sometimes quite noisy) Good Food Guide hatted Mexican restaurant, fuelling both a parilla grill and vertical rotisserie; it’s there in the smoky tenderness of fire-roasted calamari, the caramelised char of sugarloaf cabbage with pistachio crema, and whole snapper featuring crisp skin against just-flaking flesh. The corn tortillas are the real deal, hand-pressed each day with fillings that span from traditional (tacos al pastor with marinated spit-grilled pork and pineapple) to contemporary takes including battered prawn with tomatillo, and beef tartare with egg jam. Agave reigns supreme on the drinks list with seven pages of tequila and mezcal choices, each helpfully described with tasting notes such as “smoked meat” (it does!) and buttered popcorn (next time). Book a seat at the granite bar for a chinwag with your cocktail maker, or the kitchen countertop to watch chefs in action.

1 Temperance Lane, Sydney, estebanrestaurant.com.au

Londres 126

Up a flight of stairs, Londres 126 is all dark wood panelling and obscure mezcal under lights – each bottle of the agave spirit with its own cabinet. Australian produce is championed alongside Mexican flavours, and the standout dish features grilled octopus in a morita salsa of roasted chilli, tomato and garlic on a raft of tiny, Colombian-style fried potatoes (papa criollas). Tuna aguachile is brightened by the acidity of blood orange and smoky habanero heat, but co-owner Pablo Galindo Vargas makes sure nothing is too spicy instead keeping
flavours fresh and robust to work alongside all that mezcal. The service is as polished as the timber fitout, with staff providing smart tequila recommendations and by-the-glass suggestions from a small but excellent wine list. A clubby spot for taquitos without a sombrero in sight.

8 Loftus Street, Sydney, londres126.com.au

St. Alma

In a suburb famous for its glittering coastline and multi-million-dollar homes, this 100-seater, unsurprisingly, isn’t your average taco-slinger. The old Freshwater Bendigo Bank has been reimagined into an oasis of southern California cool, all earthy and sun-bleached tones offset with brass accents,
terrazzo and soft curves; no folksy rugs or multi-coloured flags here. These elements of beachside glam weave their way into the modern Mexican menu, too. A wreath of charred octopus is strikingly tender, crowned with pickled turnips on a bed of chocolate-tinged prune mole (a sweet riff on the chilli-cocoa
sauce), while crispy plantain chips make excellent excavators for a little pile of tuna crudo slicked with punchy ponzu dressing. Expect plenty of Oaxacan flair, on top of the usual corn-based crowd-pleasers such as carne asada tacos, all
bolstered by a deep drinks list of agave-based spirits and sustainable wine.

20 Albert Street, Freshwater, st-alma.com.au

Maiz Mexican Street Food

Maiz is on an upward trajectory, having evolved from market stall, to brunch offering, to an impressive dining experience. The restaurant moved from its King Street digs to a new home at 33 Enmore Road (the former Hartsyard space) in January. Expect a dedicated mezcal bar (with house-made “mezcalcello”, a take on limoncello) and food rooted in tradition, amplified through punchy flavours and beautiful presentation. The new menu (which retains fan favourites such as esquites and tamales) features stand-out dishes such as the enmolada de pato: soft, hand-pressed tortillas brimming with silky confit duck, rich with a cacao and macadamia mole.

33 Enmore Road, Newtown, instagram.com/maizstreetfood

Nu’u by Nativo

You don’t need to go to Mexico to taste Oaxacan food. The flavours of the Pacific-facing region are now as close as Glebe at Nu’u by Nativo. This new cosy and casual restaurant and mezcal bar follows the success of Nativo, a tiny taqueria executive chef Manuel Diaz opened in Pyrmont in 2022. At this new venture, he and co-owner wife Diana Farrera work from their open kitchen, making everything by hand the old way, and serving up regional specialties such as tetela, memela and enmolada. Diaz is proud of his rich and almost chocolatey moles, blending dried chillies, nuts, seeds and plantains into thick, nicely balanced sauces that beat an ancient drum. They are a natural fit with mezcal, the smoky agave spirit that fuels Oaxacan culture. If straight-up is too much of a challenge, start with one of Farrera’s Mezcalina cocktails, each designed to highlight the flavour profile of a different species of maguey (agave).

29 Glebe Point Road, Glebe, nuubynativo.com.au

Mami’s Casa Latino

When Mexican-born Erendira Perez and Mariana Beverido opened their quaint new casual Bondi eatery Mami’s Casa Latino they wanted to channel the cosy vibes of a home-cooked meal (“mami” is Spanish for mum). The pair fitted out the space themselves, with items found on the street and their own homes, and decorated the exterior in the same cobalt-blue of painter Frida Kahlo’s family home in Mexico City, Blue House (now a museum). The menu is well-priced, too. “Nothing here is over $20. It’s a place you can take the whole family. It feels unpretentious,” Perez says. While the venue’s vibe is easygoing, chef Beverido doesn’t take shortcuts. Case in point: the signature pork confit carnitas tacos. “We marinate the pork in orange, like you would duck a l’orange, and then confit the pork for four hours,” Perez says. The result is a taco filled with beautifully rich and succulent pork and finished with onion, coriander and a zesty salsa verde. They’ve gone with a uniquely Australian tradition for the drinks, though, by offering BYO wine and beer (if you get wine from the nearby Royal Hotel, you get a 20 per cent discount).

286 Bondi Road, Bondi, instagram.com/mamis.food.bondi

Tamaleria & Mexican Deli

When Rosa Cienfuegos made the leap from Mexico City to Sydney to live closer to her father, she loved the lifestyle and diversity of her new home town. But there was one thing missing: her beloved Mexican food. “At the time, Sydney was not known for its Mexican cuisine and Mexican ingredients were virtually impossible to find,” she wrote in her first cookbook Comida Mexicana. After opening a market food stall, Cienfuegos’ cooking quickly gained a cult following, earning the nickname of Sydney’s “tamale queen” and leading to the launch of Sydney’s first tamaleria in the city’s inner west, where she serves Mexican street food inspired by her upbringing. Stop by for a breakfast of chilaquiles (tortilla chips served with salsa, queso fresco and fried beans), a plate of colourful tacos or tasty tamales, then hit the freezer section for extras to take home. You’ll also find shelves of Mexican ingredients of every description. From the rich flavours of Oaxacan mole to hard-to-find Mexican brands, the deli stocks everything you need to cook up a Mexican party at home.

463 Marrickville Road, Dulwich Hill, mexicanfoodaustralia.com.au