Last night called for a bit of Mexican at El Capo in the Northern Quarter. (@ElCapoNQ)
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| El Capo |
This restaurant hasn't been around long (it opened earlier this year I think), but they've already established a big name for themselves so I had to go see what the hype was about.
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| Comical Welcome Signs |
We arrived at possibly the busiest time, around 8pm on a Saturday night, and were warmly welcomed on the door. We entered the first room which was full of people drinking, and loud music, but no tables set out. We had a sudden thought that this may be a small restaurant that stops serving food and becomes a bar in the evening (it wouldn't be the first restaurant that we'd come across like that). There was a staircase to the rear of the room near the DJ leading down to the basement though and we thought we best check down there before leaving to find somewhere else, and it's down here that we found the restaurant.
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| Great Artwork |
At the foot of the stairs is an incredible piece of art work on the wall facing onto a small but very busy little restaurant which looked as though we might have a wait for a table. We asked the friendly man at the bottom of the stairs and he said we'd have probably a 30min wait. Luckily I was also very keen to try the bar next door (the Whiskey Jar) so we took the time to grab some whiskies before our meal and came back at 8:30 for our table ready and waiting.
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| Busy Little Restaurant |
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| Great Decorations |
We sat down and took in the authentic Mexican decorations on the walls and laughed at the stereotypical film on the projector (Nacho Libre). We took a look over the menu, which although not huge left us spoilt for choice.
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| Menu |
The menu offers a selection of both traditional Mexican and South American foods including Tapas, Burritos, Enchiladas etc.
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| Appetisers and Wings |
For a change my girlfriend and I decided to share a starter this time, opting for the small "Macho Nachos." Corn tortillas topped with cheese, beans and sour cream. They're also served with a side of guacamole and house salsa and a choice of either shredded pork, Columbian chicken, shredded carne asada, chilli con carne, or xocolate chilli. We selected the pulled pork option.
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| Mains |
Although we usually try to ordered separate things for mains so we can try as much as possible, we couldn't help but order an enchilada each, they just sounded too good.
I opted for the shredded pork enchilada, while my partner ordered the Columbian chicken option.
Before the waitress took our order to the kitchen she managed to get an extra sale out of me with an up-sell by offering me a side of Cassava chips.
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| The Surprisingly Small Kitchen |
We ordered a couple of drinks to the table with our order, and then eagerly watched the small service hatch in the kitchen for our starter to be ready.
Despite how busy it was we didn't wait too long before the starter arrived. It's a shame to say though that I think our drinks had been forgotten as we had to remind the waiter who brought our food over about our drinks order. He quickly went to get them for us as we tucked into the nachos.
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| Small Macho Nacho (£5.00) |
The chips were the freshest nachos I've ever eaten. It seems that when you order nachos in most restaurants you get the standard chips out of a bag. You could immediately tell these weren't the same, these were fresh with loads of crisp.
The guacamole and salsa on the side were incredibly fresh. Large chunks of avacado in the guacamole and tomato in the salsa, and not packed with heat to hide any defects in the recipes. I'd almost forgotten these nachos were meant to have pork on until I discovered the shredded pork beneath the top layer of nachos. How could I forget? I wouldn't be forgetting it again though as I took the first bite of it. Juicy and melt in your mouth soft pork.
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| Fresh Sides of Salsa & Guacamole |
So far so excellent.
Our table was cleared and the mains soon followed.
On each plate laid 2 thin enchiladas decorated with sour cream and melted chilli mozzarella. I'd sort of expected over filled rolled up tortillas on the verge of breaking point, so it made a welcomed change to see 2 tightly wrapped rolls instead.
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| Shredded Pork Enchiladas (£8.50) |
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| Columbian Chicken Enchiladas (£8.50) |
Taking the first bite followed a similar pattern to the starter. The freshness of the tortillas was illustrated by the flour taste as I took the first bite. The shredded pork was the same as the starter, but that's what I'd expected, and hoped. The "chilli" mozzarella wasn't spicy in any way really but the creamy cheese flavour was noticeable.
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| Shredded Pork Enchiladas (£8.50) |
The unintentional side order of Cassava chips were a delicious change to the normal potato or sweet potato fries. These lightly fried little cubes of Cassava (a common crop found in South America), were delicious. Although I preferred the more heavily fried ones my self.
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| Cassava Chips (£3.50) |
After the food, what better more Mexican way to wash it all down than with a shot of Tequila? And El Capo offer a huge selection of over 80 Tequila's to choose from. We're no Tequila connoisseurs so just opted for the honey Tequila as we're a fan of most things involving honey.
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| Cazcabel Honey Tequila (£3.50) |
These were fantastic, a great honey flavour with a kick at the end that isn't overpowering. A great way to finish a great meal!
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| Fire & Tequila |
Conclusion
El Capo is a small fish making their way in the big pond of Manchester restaurants, and it's clear why their able to achieve this. Their Mexican food is delicious. Without packing their meals with as much spice and heat as possible, they're willing to let their fresh flavours speak for themselves. The meats in their recipes are cooked to perfection and the traditional Mexican and South American menu choices make an excellent change to the common menu choices elsewhere.
My only criticisms would be that it felt a little claustrophobic being packed so close to neighbouring tables, so next time I visit I'll probably try pick a quieter time to go.
The only other criticism was that our first drinks order got lost in the hustle and bustle of the evening but the food and apologetic staff made up for it.
The delicious Tequila was also some of the best I've ever had (so much so that I'll be on a hunt for a bottle of it once I complete this memoir).
So, if you're after a Mexican meal in Manchester, or you're a fan of Tequila, then make sure you take the short trip not far into the Northern Quarter and try El Capo. It's a fantastic little restaurant serving both excellent food and drinks!
Meat Rating: 8.5/10
Money for Meat: Paid in Full
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