A taste of ...
Boquita
23 Kent Terrace, Mt Victoria, Wellington 6011.
We’d heard… Miramar favourite La Boca Loca has ventured out of the peninsula with a sister site closer to the CBD, serving up plant-based Mexican fare.
We ordered… A trio of tacos ($17), beautifully presented with the open discs delicacy layered on the plate. While the subtle peppery notes of the colourful edible flower garnishes were lost, you’ll hear no ’’style over substance’’ cliches from us. Instead, we want to use the term ’’garden fresh’’ for absolutely every single dish here. The pumpkin-kumara taco proved our favourite, the sweetness from the potato complemented the mildly tangy salsa, and a crunch of seeds enhanced the texture of the firm but yielding filling – getting these two notoriously hard vegetables wrong would be the kiss of death for any recipe, but here it’s executed perfectly. The tempeh and courgette taco was pleasantly piquant, and the manuka-smoked honey tofu is a must for aioli lovers. The side of mexi slaw ($6) while crisp was a bit too tart for our liking and could have done with a few more mint leaves to balance it out. Can’t decide if you want your totopos chips with mole beans or guacamole? Be cheeky like us and order an offmenu ‘‘sneaky’’ ($12), it comes with both.
The service… It was late on a mildly warm Thursday evening and, being the only ones there, the service was relaxed and friendly. Our server instinctively offered us a cold beverage from the fridge and our chips came at lightening quick speed, without compromising on quality.
The vibe… Mexican Cantina meets slick coffee culture. Natural light flooding through the glass front bounced off the white walls and the huge doors, sliding back into an entranceway arch, make the atmosphere bright and breezy despite its small size. Additionally, the sky-high ceilings and DJ Shadow-esque trip hop beats make this dinky eatery effortlessly cool and calm.
If you go… If you fancy yourself a budding Michelin star chef, be prepared to drop some serious coins on all the goods on offer around the place – from cookbooks to exotic chillies. We predictably gave into some retail therapy (weak as we are), walking away with their cinnamon-spiced 70 per cent stone-ground chocolate ($25), and mixing up a pre-bedtime hot drink with it as soon as we got home.
Rating out of 5: 4.5 – Janan Jay