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Super Taco has landed on Crossley St at a particularly good time. In the space of six months, this little CBD laneway has undergone quite the transformation. Côte Basque, Andrew McConnell’s newest venture, sits directly opposite, while Bard’s Apothecary, one of my favourite city watering holes, is just a few doors down. As if I needed any more signs that Crossley Street is the current alley du jour, when I arrive for lunch, Andrew himself is in the middle of a photoshoot outside. Consider it officially anointed.
At just 30 square metres, Super Taco is a tiny operation with a tight remit. It comes from Georgie Larkins, who spent years working across hospitality marketing and venue development. Leading the kitchen is José Angel Delgado Juárez, formerly of Rockpool and previously the owner of a restaurant in Pachuca, Mexico. The proposition is wonderfully simple: four tacos, tortillas pressed in-house, a self-serve salsa bar and a handful of drinks and sides.
Melbourne’s relationship with Mexican food has changed a lot in recent years. While chains and Tex-Mex once shaped much of our understanding, places like Frankie’s Tortas and Tacos and El Columpio have helped broaden the picture and turn our focus onto authentic Mexican cuisine. Super Taco distils things further still. Don’t come expecting a sprawling menu, burritos or nachos – you won’t find that here.
The vibe
Four cooks jostle for space in the open kitchen, tortillas hit the griddle, and a trompo loaded with al pastor turns in full view. I arrive just after opening, and people are already tucking into tacos.
At the self-serve salsa bar, four house-made varieties range from ‘cool’ to ‘spicy’. If you’re unsure where to start, Larkins is more than happy to steer you towards the one best suited to your taco.
A handful of seats run along the wall, with standing room inside and a couple of tables spilling out onto Crossley Street. This isn’t somewhere designed for a languorous lunch: tacos arrive on paper plates, space is tight and turnover happens quickly.
The drinks
There’s Modelo, those wonderfully lanky bottles of Mexican Coke and Boing! – delightful name – a Mexican mango juice served super chilled, with tiny shards of ice floating on top. It tastes intensely of ripe mango without veering into syrupy territory, and is just about perfect alongside the punchy food.
If you’re after something stronger, the Mezcalita combines smoky mezcal with fresh lime, orange liqueur and agave syrup.
The food
For all its focus, Super Taco isn’t interested in being dogmatic. There are hallmarks of a Mexican taqueria – house-pressed corn tortillas and simply-dressed tacos among them – but the menu is ultimately its own thing.
There are familiar pleasures, too. The chips and guacamole are excellent: the former intensely corny and shatteringly crunchy, the latter creamy, bright and exceptionally fresh. It’s an uncomplicated start, but a very good one.
Every tortilla is pressed using just water and imported Mexican white corn masa, and they’re excellent: elastic, fragrant and full of corn flavour.
The al pastor is an immediate favourite. There’s a brilliant mix of caramelised, chewy edges and softer, fattier pieces of pork, with the outer bits taking on an almost jammy quality from the rendered fat and marinade. A juicy piece of pineapple cuts straight through the richness, while the sweet, earthy zucchini salsa and a lick of the spicy stuff make excellent accompaniments. The fried flathead plays a different game: piping hot beneath a fiercely crunchy coating, with fish inside so soft it feels almost steamed. Shaved radish, sweet cabbage slaw and cranberry salsa strike that all-important balance between fresh and fried.
The cauliflower, however, is the surprise. On sight, it’s perhaps the least exciting of the four. In reality, it’s anything but. The florets soak up a spicy oil while toasted pepitas and sesame bring a deep nuttiness. Paired with the cranberry salsa, it’s spicy, nutty and wonderfully complex. Better still, the cauliflower hasn’t been battered and fried into an approximation of chicken. It’s allowed to be cauliflower – and celebrated for it.
At the other end of the spectrum, the skirt steak barely needs embellishment. It’s cut into satisfyingly thick pieces and finished simply with coriander and raw red onion – it’s an honest taco. The skirt sacrifices a little tenderness for flavour, but the reward is beef that tastes robustly, unapologetically beefy. It’s for people who like their beef to taste properly meaty.
There is one small drawback to those house-made tortillas. About halfway through eating, mine begin to soften and lose some of their structural integrity. Suddenly, Mexico’s habit of doubling up on tortillas makes a whole lot of sense.
Taken together, these tacos are everything I love about Mexican food: bold, punchy and deeply soul-pleasing. They properly fill you up, but there’s enough freshness, acidity and balance to stop lunch from taking you out for the rest of the day. For a place with so little room to move, Super Taco gives you an awful lot to love.
Time Out tip
Ask Larkins for her salsa pairings before you hit the self-serve bar.
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