Melbourne is currently in a love affair with Mexican, one that I think is long going to continue. Nathan is also currently in a love affair with Mexican so, on a cold Melbourne night (they are becoming quite frequent), we wandered down chapel to Fonda Mexican. This is a restaurant that I have wanted to try for ages but, is always jam packed and a Tuesday night seemed a safe bet for getting a table.
The restaurant, although large, is a welcoming and open space and we were greeted at the door and seated right away. The menu is fairly simple but contains fresh ingredients and some that are surprising, such as quinoa in the burritos, so it is definitely not your run of the mill Mexican, which is a nice change.
We make our decisions fairly quickly and Nathan puts our order for food and beer in at the front counter. Service is fast and friendly to boot, which is always a bonus.
We start with tortilla chips which is served with guacamole and a smoky salsa. The guacamole is well seasoned and still has chunks of avocado, which is just the way we both like it. The salsa tastes great but I find it a little watery for my taste and made it difficult to scoop on to a chip.
Tortilla crisp with guacamole and smoky salsa $7
For the mains, Nathan had chosen the pulled pork quesadilla and I picked the chicken burrito. The quesadillas were served simply on a white plate with a lime wedge. The pulled pork was well cooked and the chipotle added a nice smoky flavour which worked well.
Pulled pork quesadilla with chipotle, orange, cheese and lime $14
My burrito was tightly rolled and gigantic. However, because it was rolled so tight I was able to pick it up and eat it with my hands without any of the filling falling out. I found the addition of quinoa interesting as I’ve never seen it before and I was presently surprised. In saying that having quinoa in the burrito makes it quite filling and I struggled to finish. My chicken was seasoned well but I was sad that I didn’t taste a lot of the avocado crema as I am a big avocado fan.
Grilled chicken burrito with
pickled cabbage, crunchy roasted corn, baby spinach, avocado crema $15
Overall we enjoyed our experience and found Fonda to be affordable while still serving good, honest tasting Mexican that is fresh and fast. I think the only mistake we made, was not ordering the charred corn which looked darn good and was piled with cheese.
So if you enjoy the current Mexican trend and are in the area, check out Fonda Mexican and do me a favour and order the charred corn.
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