HOLY MOLLI
If you want Mexican street food done right, you’ll want to visit this Davie Village taco and torta spot.
Molli Cafe 1225 Burrard St. | 604-336-6554 Info: mollicafe.com
Open: 8:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday; 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday
The owners of Molli Cafe have worked at (the late) El Bulli and at El Celler de Can Roca (recently named best restaurant in the world for the second time) in Spain, but at their modest Molli Cafe on Burrard Street, you won’t be eating 22 courses or spending $400 per person.
However, the mere fact Rafael Flores and Bernice Balbuena were able to get coveted stages (practicums) at these iconic restaurants (both named to the world’s best restaurants list more than once) says something about the couple’s passion for food.
At Molli (it means sauce or mole, in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs), you’re looking at spending about $10 to $12 per person for some tacos or a torta and a non-alcoholic drink. It’s very good humble food. If you hit it at a busy time, you might even have to stand while eating. At 2:30 one afternoon, tables were all taken, but one became available just before our orders were up. A concise menu is written neatly on a chalkboard; it matches the concise size of the kitchen. There’s no ventilation so they don’t do any grilling or deep-frying.
The couple attended culinary school in Mexico City and since moving to Vancouver, Flores has worked with Hamid Saliaman at the Westin Airport and Diva at the Met as well as Tableau Bistro; Balbuena worked at Raincity Grill before its demise last year.
“It’s like Mexican street food. We keep it simple, and do it right,” Flores says about the food at Molli. “We take extra care with the proteins and mise en place (prep work).”
The food has fresh and bright notes with a good balance of flavours and textures, but one taco could have used more seasoning — a chorizo and potato filling tasted only of potatoes and I poked around for the chorizo. It may have been missing.
The tortas ($8.25 to $9.25) are made with a Portuguese bun, the closest thing they could find to a Mexican bolillo bun. There’s a choice of pulled pork, pulled chicken, breaded beef and fresh cheese. The latter (queso fresco) had a Mexican-style cheese that tasted freshly made and was brightened with avocado, onion, pickled jalapeno and tomato. The pulled pork for both the taco and torta is braised in an achiote sauce with orange, onions, and lime juice.
On Saturdays, they serve a rich lamb consomme soup made with love. Bones, neck, tomatoes, chili, tomato, garlic, avocado leaves, spices and meat are braised, then simmered for the broth. Rice, chickpeas and garnishes are added after the broth is strained. It’s delicious.
Molli opens at 8:30 a.m. and you’ll find some breakfast tortas as well as Balbuena’s fresh baking — a light and brioche-like concha (shaped like a shell with a slightly sweet crunchy top), biscuits, croissants and banderilla, a wand of puff pastry with sprinkles of sugar. In Mexico, these are favourites at merienda, a snack before dinner.
It’s not licensed, but the horchata (rice milk with cinnamon) and the “Jamaica” (hibiscus tea) are quite satisfying and they’ll soon be making agua frescas with fruits and berries.
It’s a simple little café, but given the owners’ high-end restaurant background, they know the value of warmth and welcome and you do feel it here.