El Burro - nice... like a cup of tea.

Ponchos must be one of Cape Town's favourite Mexican restaurants so I decided to take a big step out of my Mexican box and suss out the competition. The two restaurants I had heard quite a bit about were El Burro and San Julian. Each promises a unique Mexican experience so it only seems fair to try out both.  We opted for El Burro as it has replaced the venue of our old favourite, Beuna Vista in Green Point. Walking up the creaky old stairs, which add a great authenticity to the place, we hoped inside would be warm as it was storming outside and we were soaked from our dash in the rain. The restaurant is cozy and welcoming, largely due to the bold pink walls and bustling atmosphere. The decor is funky, unique and very Mexican and the deep fuchsia walls catch your attention with scatterings of unique mirrors, lanterns and Mexican collectibles. Bonus points for the coziness as it was  freezing outside and El Burro is a welcoming place. We all shuffled into our booth and added a few chairs to make everyone fit as I had decided to bring the entire group along.

 

 

El Burro has a huge variety of tequilas on the menu and most of the group opted for a classic margarita. There are is an entire tequila tasting menu for the true tequila fanatics. One of my more daring friends chose the chilli margarita... we were all a bit slow to try it! I have to say that the cocktails were not very well presented - a straight tumbler glass with ice blocks. Nothing that will knock your socks off. A simple martini glass with a lemon would've done the trick. Girls like a bit of flair! The chilli margarita is quite interesting if you can handle the bite, and I would definitely recommend this if you like it hot! I find that many margaritas can taste a lot like flowers so congrats to El Burro for making a fabulous margarita! Just a little work on the presentation...

 

 

The menu has a variety of interesting combinations and unexpected dishes but nachos were definitely missing for us! Probably not truly Mexican and more of a tex Mex dish but hey, we love them. The chilli poppers were unfortunately disappointing.. more like jalapenos with melted cheese and the smokey flavour almost had us convinced they were actually chourizo sausage. Ponchosand Fat Cactus still get our vote for best chilli poppers and unfortunately for El Burro this is our make or break in choosing which Mexican restaurant to visit. I probably should admit we are a bit obsessed with chilli poppers and most normal people wouldn't have noticed. For mains I had the prawn taco, which I really enjoyed and the portion size was massive! The sauce selection is impressive and they were all absolutely delicious. You could mix and match and experiment with different flavour combinations, which really makes a big difference to a meal and adds variety. The chicken mole ("Molay") was also a very unique and delicious dish with its chocolate and chilli spiced sauce on red rice.

 

Overall the atmosphere was lovely and our waitress very helpful and patient with our millions of questions. The food was nice, but not much more than that. They have a great 50% winter special which definitely makes it worthwhile to stop by for lunch. We all enjoyed the meal but it didn't have us craving more or desperate to come back.  It was nice... like a cup of tea is nice and that's about it.

 

 

El Burro winter specials

- 50% between 12 - 5pm.

www.elburro.com.