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| - Atmosphere: Gorgeous. Beautiful bar, patio, table seating, and bathrooms with plenty of parking. Well-branded and visually stunning.
Food: Overcooked, little depth of flavour (which is a sin for Mexican), incredibly overpriced.
Empanada: The salsa and shell tease you with bold flavours until you discover there's little-to-no filling and you're eating what tastes like a pastry shell.
Clementine Xec: Essentially $9+ tax & tip for a cut up jackfruit with intense citrus flavour. Gets tired fast.
Cochinita Pibil Tacos: Pork shoulder's pretty hard to mess up; it's forgiving and a great cut to easily get tender. This was very dry, and the taco had a singular flavour of a mild tomato sauce. As with the tacos that followed, the tortillas were too thick, resulting in a chalky texture that muted the filling's flavour. A mark of a good Mexican restaurant is the tortilla, and these were a misfire.
Tsi'ik Tacos: Completely overwhelmed by the flavour of lime, obliterating all other flavours, including the beef.
Achiote Rice: Mushy, overcooked.
Braised Beef Shoulder: Finally meat that wasn't dry. The waitress recommend we order the rice with this, as the dish lacks any starchy side (it's a chop of chuck with a generous portion of sauce.) The greens on top made the dish difficult to eat, as they would fall into the sauce and as you ate, it would splash against your face. I'm okay with messy dishes, but this was a design flaw.
Overall, the restaurant is beautiful and while the food photographs nicely, it's simply not conceived or executed well, and the prices are not reflective of the quality. I can see the desire to pop in for their craft beer selection, beautiful patio and atmosphere, but this is not a dining spot we will return to. We hope it improves and wish the owners all the best.
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