The old Commercial Hotel, in an industrial part of Yarraville and better known to old-timers as The Mersh, has operated as Hotel Mexico for the past two years.
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Hotel → know → years
It’s now set for its best summer yet with a highly credentialled new kitchen team in place.
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It → set → place
Chefs Luis Sanchez and Leticia Lara – from Central Mexico’s Puebla and Tlaxcala regions, respectively – arrived in Melbourne in 2020.
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Sanchez → arrive → 2020
Six years later, they’re running three kitchens, and have received an official seal of approval from the Mexican Academy of Gastronomy for the authenticity and quality of their food.
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they → run → food
The “Sello M” (M Seal) was awarded to Sanchez and Lara’s Tacos El Habanero truck at Queen Victoria Market but all the food prep for that place, and their El Taco stand at the Grazeland food park in Spotswood, is done here, in the spacious pub kitchen.
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prep → award → kitchen
This is where they laboriously de-seed dried Mexican chillies for marinades, slowly stew brisket and osso buco to make beef birria and its accompanying consomme, and snip imported blue and yellow corn tortillas into triangles to fry into chips for south-of-the-border nachos.
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they → de → nachos
(Nachos are technically Tex-Mex, but Sanchez has fond memories of eating them in Mexico at the start of a meal, plonked in the centre of the table for sharing.
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Sanchez → have → sharing
The team also makes the chorizo used in a banging choriqueso taco.
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team → make → taco
I’m going to need all my cheese like this now, sizzled directly on a hotplate until it’s a golden, bubbling, melty mozzarella mess, snuggled around the chorizo like a warm blanket and left to settle into a caramelised crunch.
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it → go → crunch
The balance of juicy spice, the costra (cheese “crust”), and the tickle of freshness from coriander, pickled onion and jalapeno cream make this a satisfying one-hand snack.
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this → pickle → coriander
Speaking of cheesy goodness, jalapeno poppers are stuffed with a three-cheese mix and crumbed in corn flour (they’re gluten-free, like most of the menu).
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they → speak → menu
These molten marvels are striped with smoky chipotle mayo, also made here.
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marvels → strip → mayo
You could come by yourself and eat a torta while watching a Mexican documentary on the pub TVs (I learnt a lot about tequila production on one visit).
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I → come → visit
This crusty roll is filled with soft birria beef, and served with dipping soup and fries – a tradie lunch for the ages.
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roll → fill → ages
You might come with a gang for a DIY taco night: the $60 dozen-tortilla platter comes with all the fixings, including zesty pico de gallo salsa heavy on lime, and a simple but well-made guacamole.
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platter → come → lime
Maybe you drop by on Friday or Saturday evenings when a DJ amps the vibes, or early with the kids who have their own quesadilla menu.
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who → drop → menu
Despite the seal of authenticity, the flavours are toned down; bottled salsas are on hand should you wish to turn things up.
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you → tone → things
The venue’s design combines the best elements of the Aussie pub with gorgeous hacienda flourishes.
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design → combine → flourishes
A cheery archway painted with a bold “Hola!” leads to a huge astro-turfed beer garden.
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archway → paint → garden
A mural depicts sun-kissed, cacti-dotted desert landscapes and there’s a games alley, with basketball and air hockey for kids young and old.
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mural → depict → kids
Inside, seating areas wrap around a tiled bar with dozens of Mexican spirits, and serving nine different margaritas (including lychee, coconut, strawberry and spicy), some of them on tap, all of them well balanced.
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all → wrap → them
One wall is painted with a map of Mexico that shows which liquor comes from where.
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liquor → paint → where
Sotol is crafted in Chihuahua from a succulent shrub; raicilla, a type of mezcal, is a specialty of Jalisco in the south.
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raicilla → craft → south
You can try all of them, maybe taking a moment to toast our good fortune that Melbourne pub life and Mexican dining have merged so happily.
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life → try → fortune
Three more unusual pubs to try
Carpenter’s Ruin
What makes a pub a “pub” anyway?
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pub → try → pubs
This “mini pub” is in a restaurant space but the beers on tap, footy on TV, meat raffle and welcome-all-comers approach make it pretty pubby.
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it → welcome → comers
The three-martini and steak frites Friday lunch special ($75) is epic any way you look at it.
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you → look → it
If I say “plant-based parma” do you get excited?
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you → say → parma
If “yes”, know that the menu is completely vegan at this corner pub, from the eggplant parma with hemp mozzarella melt to the lion’s mane “steak” with pumpkin tahini.
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menu → know → tahini
Other dietary needs are catered to as well: gluten-free and allium-free options abound.
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options → cater → ?
British colonial history and Indian heritage merge at this 1854 pub.
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history → merge → pub
160 Clarendon Street, South Melbourne, londonarms.com.au
Good Food reviews are booked anonymously and paid independently.
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reviews → book → ?
A restaurant can’t pay for a review or inclusion in the Good Food Guide.
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restaurant → pay → Guide
The Aporia
