Retro diner meets hipster taqueria at Frankie's Tortas and Tacos

I admit being loudly, perhaps sometimes unfairly, vocal about the dismal state of Mexican food here. In my defence, it's one of those cuisines that, once experienced in its best iterations, feels impossible to live without. And, historically, so much of what Australia has called Mexican has been, um, questionable. Salsa shouldn't taste like spaghetti sauce with chilli powder in it. Burritos shouldn't have mayonnaise in them, even if it's been rebranded as "chipotle aioli".

Eat whatever makes you happy on your own time, but when your marketing involves an entire culture, I believe some standards ought to be upheld, as a matter of respect. (Also, mayo in a burrito is gross.) 

The list of restaurants doing decent Mexican food in Australia has existed for years, and is growing. I was especially excited when, in 2019, a street food-style stand called Frankie's Tortas and Tacos popped up on Smith Street in Collingwood, serving – you guessed it – tortas and tacos.

The tortas, in particular, were a welcome arrival on Melbourne's Mexican food scene. What is a torta? It's basically a Mexican sandwich. Generally made on a soft white roll called a telera or a slightly crustier roll called a bolillo, it's usually stuffed with meat and accompaniments, the bread often smeared with refried beans. 

If you're lucky enough to travel to Guadalajara in western Mexico (or certain corners of Los Angeles), you can find torta ahogada, which is drowned in red chilli sauce. Regional variations of the torta abound, but it's a common dish in restaurants throughout Mexico and the US.

Now Frankie's has moved from its Collingwood stand to a proper restaurant space on Johnston Street in Fitzroy. The small room has a diner-like feel, down to the long counter that provides a good chunk of the seating. Tables are red-laminex-topped and chrome-wrapped, the walls white-tiled and mirrored.

There's booze now, including a couple of canned alcoholic seltzers ($12) that I hope they somehowv manage to distribute beyond the restaurant, because they're fantastic – and I speak as someone who hates every other alcoholic seltzer I've ever tasted. The paloma version, made with grapefruit, is refreshing and not too sweet, while the tepache version, made with fermented pineapple, will appeal to kombucha-lovers in particular.

Aside from the drinks, the menu is pretty similar to the stall. There are four kinds of tacos and four kinds of tortas and a few sides (guacamole, $5; corn chips, $7).

The tacos ($20 for three) aren't the best in town, nor are they the worst (by far). A bit salty at times, a bit too much liquid for the tortillas they're on, but entirely acceptable. 

The tortas, on the other hand, are really good. Melbourne is in a golden age of sandwiches right now, and these tortas deserve a place in that pantheon. Served on a bolillo, with just the right amount of squish and pull, the chicken milanesa version ($18) in particular hits all the right notes, its interior smeared with refried beans, its chicken moist and crunchy, its texture the perfect amount of slightly sloppy, but still eminently eatable.

If the greatest achievements of this restaurant are the tortas and the seltzers, its reinvention of the Choco Taco follows closely behind. Perhaps inspired by the recent outcry in the US when frozen-dessert company Klondike announced it was discontinuing the beloved, taco-shaped ice-cream creation, Frankie's has partnered with Billy van Creamy to make its own versions ($12), one chocolate and cinnamon, the other a deeply flavoured caramel version. They are both bloody delicious.

A funny aside about service. When our photographer called to set up the photo-shoot for this article, one of the owners warned her that if I was going to say the service sucked, I shouldn't bother coming in. I honestly don't have any idea why he might have assumed that was something I'd do: the service I've had at Frankie's has been friendly and accommodating and occasionally downright charming, even on a busy night when the place was short-staffed. Have some faith in your crew, dude. They're doing great.

Vibe: Retro diner meets hipster taqueria

Go-to dish: Chicken milanesa torta ($18)

Drinks: Beers and tequila-based cocktails, house-brand seltzers and (very) short wine list

Cost: About $50 for two, excluding drinks

This review was originally published in Good Weekend magazine