Acland St Cantina

To boost traffic on Mondays, Acland St Cantina has a Mussel Monday special, $ 20 for bottomless pots (bowls?) of well, mussels.
We’ve been here before, in April for their 5 canapé sized tacos for $ 20 taco offer. Expensive and small was our summary from our last visit. Read all about it here
The mussels were very good served with parsley and a spicy sauce which Lola said was just right while I found it a bit hot. Nothing a $ 8 glass of fruit juice couldn’t wash down. They only have one flavor by the way — mussels, not the juice.
Lola coming from an island said they were small and she’d seen ones that filled up the whole shell! I think I’ve seen them almost that big at very fancy restaurants. We both had two rounds each (a big dish) and then got two more to share for round three. Eight bowls between the three of us for $ 60.
Service was good (jas tipped) and so was the lighting — I got the best spot in the restaurant by the kitchen, it’s also the only good spot for photos.

One of the best Mexican restaurants in melbourne. Definitely the best bang for your buck wise. The takeaway taco kits are also awesome!
The menu always changes regularly and there is a great cocktail list as well as happy hour.
The staff are always super friendly and helpful, it’s just a shame they don’t do breakfast anymore :-/

On the basis of yet another referral from a work friend, I headed over to this little Mexican eatery at the Fitzroy end of Acland Street for an early dinner on Friday night. First impressions are lasting, as they say, and the first impressions were gooood. Parquetry floors, exposed brick walls, dim lighting, funky wall decorations and a location below street level which gives it a beer cellar like ambience (if your beer cellar has been subjected to a complete Block-​like architectural makeover).
They have a grazing menu called «Just say When» which I interpreted as meaning they’d just keep feeding me until I exploded. At $ 45 a head this seemed like an eminently acceptable option. They also serve $ 10 cocktails from 5−7pm Monday to Friday. Hello Happy Hour! The restaurant web site describes the cuisine as «traditional Mexican at its most authentic, robust and passionate», and includes South of the Border classics like bocaditos, queso fundidos, ceviche, and mole. And based on my brief 2 week foodie experience in the country, this is exactly what they deliver.
A little bowl of guacamole came out first. Very tangy with finely diced onion folded through it, just the way I like it. Nice. Also, a piece of corn on the cob topped with jalapeño crema. Also nice. The corn was perfectly cooked with just a little residual crispness, and the sauce — while not as spicy as the name suggests — was an interesting alternative to the usual melted butter.
Next up was one of the restaurants signature dishes; Baja Fish Taco. This consisted of a crunchy little piece of battered, deep fried blue grenadier served on an open, soft shell taco with chipotle aeoli, shredded cabbage and, (I think) thinly sliced chilli leaves. Really good. Spicy but not so much that it overpowered the taste of the fish.
While I sipped on my $ 10 Martini I perused the tequila menu, deciding on a shot of Del Maguay Vida which was served with a little glass of very hot, slightly sweet sangrita Verde. The pulled pork Arepa arrived soon after; a corn-​bread roll served with more guacamole, pulled pork and some coleslaw. Tasty.
The dish that followed was the best of the lot so far — Carne Asada. Four soft tacos with a pile of barely cooked skirt steak on the side, guacamole, spicy mince sprinkled with white cheese, and tomato and grilled onion salad. Gorgeous; I would have been quite happy snacking away on the strips of rare beef, but the flavour combos provided by the accompaniments were too good to pass up. Just to finish me off, a little bowl of patatas bravas arrived, but I was already too full to even have a taste. Well… maybe just one tiny taste…
For dessert, I forced down a little bowl of Dulce de Leche mousse; a cube of what tasted a little like a firm crème brûlée served with tamarind ice cream and sprinkled with quinoa popcorn.
Acland Street Cantina is definitely worth a look if you’re a fan of Mexican food. Really good, authentic tastes, excellent service, and if you bring your appetite, exceptional value for money.

Dropped in here to pickup some take-​away on our way to see Bill Bailey. After seeing this place on a list of the best Cuban sandwiches in Melbourne, we had to give it a try… and we were not disappointed. The «Cubano», comes with pulled pork, ham, cheese, mustard and pickles and was absolutely amazing! Will definitely be going back for more.

Loved everything.
Great fish tacos, ceviche and this potato thing with pulled pork that I can’t remember the name of, but have been dreaming about ever since.
Salted caramel Churros to finish it off and great margaritas!
Will definitely be going back here!

I had no idea that this place was so big — I assumed it was just a crappy little takeaway joint — so I was fairly surprised when they took us back to the dining room! Awesome vibe and décor, definitely a cool place. If you like your margaritas strong, this is the place. If you’re like me and the smell of tequila gives you university flashbacks, you might want to order a different drink.
I’ve been here twice and both times the service has been pretty shocking. The first time they gave us a REALLY wobbly table, and were rather snarky when we wanted to move. The second time they put through the order wrong, gave us things we didn’t want, and still charged us for it all. Meh.
The pumpkin guacamole was a great way to start, the only problem being that it was way more food than we thought it was going to be! It was really well balanced — sweet, but with a really great heat! The ceviche was to die for — what really made it was the texture of the pumpkin seeds and apple (and some other strange vegetable that my boyfriend was able to name, but I can’t remember.)
The fish tacos were also fairly well balanced and smokey, but I think that they would have been much better if the fish wasn’t deep fried. They came off as much more heavy then they needed to be. They also had a really nice pickled coleslaw.
I LOVED the mushroom quesedillas! They’re reminiscent of a similar Newmarket Hotel dish, just slightly more delicate and a little less cheesy. I had them during my first visit, and was quite disappointed to find that they had disappeared off the menu by the time I went again! y.
The beetroot salad was a bit more complex than your average — sweet and sour with a few different textures, the orange gives it a sharpness. Exotic textures. Unfortunately, when I ordered this during my second visit they decided to put through the order wrong and give us a quinoa salad instead. Although unexpected the quinoa salad was pretty good. It looks tiny but there’s A LOT there.
I’d say that this place is alright. If you’re looking for something cool and different close to Fitzroy street, it’s pretty great. Overall, though, this place is fairly inconsistent and I’m always upset when I get the bill — it never really seems worth it! If you’re willing to go for a 10 minute walk and spend a bit more money, head on over to Newmarket Hotel.

Café cheap and funky, restaurant dim lighting and groovy. Food ok, drinks ok, incredibly loud a little expensive

A quick stop over before dinner in St Kilda meant we enjoyed some taco goodness with a drink. I like the layout and the selection of drinks on offer. This wasn’t the most amazing experience I have had and they are now competing against plenty of other Mexican options locally.
I found the restaurant and bar parts confusing, it’s hard to tell where you are and what to do in this place…

Acland Street CAN’T-ina, St Kilda
BY SHARKING FOR CHIPS AND DRINKS
How long should you wait before reviewing a restaurant? Should you get in there early to trump the newspapers, or should you wait a few weeks for the soft openings to subside and the place to ‘find its feet’?
By opening its doors, isn’t an eatery opening itself up to critical attention? Are we really supposed to part with our cash and accept whatever comes because the venue is new and therefore vulnerable to the incessantly fault-​finding public?
Or should camera-​wielding bloggers back off and, instead of criticising, find reason to celebrate anyone with the guts to plough an insane amount of money, time and hardwork into opening on the incredibly tough, full-​to-​bursting Melbourne food scene.
Chances are, anyone bothering to read a food blog such as ours will have an opinion on this, as we found that out the hard way when we came under fire for our (even-​handed and considered) review of Virginia Plains, which we posted a few weeks into the Flinders Lane establishment’s life.
We thought the backlash was unfair, considering our points had nothing to do with how long the place had been open, and were tempered with some positives. If you don’t believe us, please take a look here. Well, whichever side of the fence you fall on, it seems we are going to come up against the unwritten rule pertaining to early-​day reviews one again.
Acland St Cantina — an all-​day Mexican eatery from Melbourne Pub Group behemoth Paul Wilson — has only been open a couple of weeks, but youth is no excuse for possibly one of the worst dining experiences we have ever encountered. Let’s deal with the food (actually pretty good) later and, for now, address the litany of customer service disasters.
We arrived at the ex-​Prince Wine Store and headed down to the revamped bar area. Brightly lit and full of colour, trying to incite a lively Mexican atmosphere, one half was busy, one half was empty — this is something to do with licensing. That might be, and of course it doesn’t matter as much at breakfast, but it kind of looks a bit odd at 8:30pm at night. Declining the one table available (at the end of a dark corridor outside the toilets, yes, really) we left our name with someone who seemed to know what was going on. In fact he told us that, at most, we would have a half hour wait. Not fancying the stark reality of the bar, we headed a few doors down to Il Fornaio, mainly because ‘man in charge’ said he would give us a call when a table in the main dining room came available. An hour and ten minutes later, no table.
So we head back, only to be met with blank faces and a repeat of our previous welcome. When the penny dropped that we had already been in and registered our interest in dining we were offered (sans any kind of apology) two rather cramped seats at the bar. We accepted. Apparently the table he had set aside for us hadn’t left yet. Hmmm…
Now, some bars are very fun to perch at — Chin Chin and Casa Ciuccio for example — as are some kitchen passes — Huxtable and Cumulus Inc for example. You perch on your stool admiring skill, precision and craftmanship — a well-​oiled ship smashing through a busy service. You do not want to witness dirty work services and a barman who (and we do not exaggerate here) spends the evening with his hands in his greasy hair, examining the inside and soles of his shoes and, worst of all, repeatedly licking and dipping his fingers in a skanky-​looking tray of caster sugar or sherbet or whatever it was that glasses were being dipped into. It was stomach churning.
A girl came over and shouted about the menu — it wasn’t very enlightening, but from what we could make out there are: small snacks (cheapest one is $ 10, ouch); ceviches; cheesy baked dishes — described as a kind of fondue; an array of tacos, empanadas and tamales etc; main dishes (BBQ, grilled and spit-​roasted meats and fish); veggies and sides; and desserts.
Past hunger we opted for the Baja-​fried fish tacos with slaw and chiptole mayo and the ‘authentic Al Pastor’ — spit-​roasted pork with pineapple salsa. Also the Bohemia– braised lamb short ribs empanadas with Mission fig black mole, and bravas potatoes with two sauces. Oh, and the organic chorizo, chilli de aqua and dark beer sauce. We asked what the chilli de aqua was. ‘Shouting waitress’ wasn’t sure, but after some shouting conversation with another member of staff who similarly didn’t seem to give a shit we were told it was a jalapeño (I have since learnt it is actually spelt chilli de agua and is a chilli grown in Oaxaca).
The two rounds of tacos came out first — ‘shouting waitress’ shouted that she would get us side plates, but we were almost done by the time we managed to flag down someone who was prepared to get us cutlery and napkins. You know, the kind of stuff that dresses a table. We had to get the red and green hot sauces ourselves from the.
Continued on the Blog… Definitely worth a read…

It’s hard to come here and not be reminded of nights of debauchery when Mink bar used to occupy this basement space on Acland Street. Where once were curtained booths, now sit people happily tucking in to tacos! I think it may take several visits before the memories of vodka shots, late nights, early mornings, drag shows and crazy conversations are wiped from my memory. But what of this new Cantina?
The tequila list is good. Margaritas are well made and shots come served with the most delicious pineapple, mint and chilli juice on the side. That in itself would get me back, though the food on two visits has been a little hit and miss.
Potatas Bravas with two sauces was delicious, a pumpkin enchilada with caramel olive sauce insanely good, a cappacio under seasoned and not at all reminiscent of the ginger, finger line and chilli that it was supposed to contain, a pork taco on one occasion excellent and another time inappropriately balanced and overly sweet.
If I were after a dinner time mexican hit that I knew I could rely on, this unfortunately wouldn’t be it. But if I were after some very late 1am eats then I’d be coming straight here because let’s face it, seasoning and balance is probably not so important after a night of drinking.

The corner of Fitzroy Street and Acland Street in St Kilda has had a few injections of botox over the last year. The wrinkles are there but they have been masked by some poignant changes at the Prince of Wales complex. Over the years, Circa has gone through a metamorphosis or three since Andrew McConnell (Cutler & Co., Cumulus, Inc., Golden Fields) moved on. Now in the place of the Prince Wine Shop (which now sits resolute off of Clarendon Street in South Melbourne) in the back bowels of the subterranean dungeon you will find the Acland St. Cantina, the latest culinary outpost from Julian Gerner’s Melbourne Pub Group.
The rise of another Mexican cantina in Melbourne some may find boring or perhaps just feel that the market for this regional food is nearing saturation point however considering the offerings in the south, I think it is a welcome and exciting addition to the St Kilda edgy dining scene and compliments the other Melbourne Pub Group offering of seemingly Yucatan-​Mexican inspired (read: suckling goat tacos) at the Cellar Bar at the Newmarket Hotel.
After being led through the catacombs under the Prince once you present yourself you could be confused and believe that you are actually in Mexico, just without the ethnic Mexicans, graft and cheesy gimmicks. Paul Wilson must have been inspired fully in his latest tour around Mexico and it shows in the design and the menu. Not only will you find the usual staple Mexican foodstuffs available everywhere and anywhere these days, a fair amount of space is devoted on the menu to those wanting vegetarian options which coincides with the demographic in and around St Kilda. Clever. The unintrusive Mole (no, not game on Moll!) — an ancient Mayan dish that features chillis, chocolate and sometimes complex flavours if prepared properly also stands out on the menu as a speciality where the punter can taste three Moles (with goat, pork and duck) for $ 30.
Although I was tempted to try the stuffed cactus relleno ($ 12) I really wanted to see if the foundations were intact so went for the cantina guacamole with chia and serrano chili salsa ($ 12) and lo and behold, it was perfect. Blasphemy was exclaimed out of happiness and more margaritas ($ 16/​each) were ordered however in retrospect I should have ordered jugs ($ 32/​each) which would have been better value for money, which I learned to do by default at Touché Hombre last month.
I have always been critical of Tacos Al Pastor, which the menu was advertising as «authentic» so it was with great fanfare and expectation that a few were ordered next ($ 7/​each, minimum 2 p/​p) and I was very impressed. Tender spit roasted pork merged with a pineapple salsa that was impressive as anything that I had at previously at Senoritas or Mamasita. Browsing the tequila menu, you are spoiled for choice. Besides the standard «Blanco» offerings, they have a few Reposado, Aneljo and my personal favourite, Mezcal in their vast inventory of alcohol however the bulk of it resides in their wine cellar.
Being critical and judgemental are fundamentally different things. Although I act like a pretentious wannabe food critic when it comes to Tacos Al Pastor, primarily because I just like them so much; besides the quality and construction of the fish taco ($ 7/​each, minimum 2 p/​p) my eyes always judge the way a restaurant prepares and presents carne asada as a benchmark for determining a success. Paul Wilson mixes up the status quo by making this main dish a user-​assembled experience much like you would find if you ordered fajitas elsewhere; you construct your Oaxacan market style mixed grill of skirt steak, chorizo, assorted vegetables in a parcel of tortillas that are provided on the side. If Ed Sheeran was going to build a lego house, he would love making this one. It was a interesting way to present the dish which encourages more social eating however the volume of meat and vegetables are not proportional to the amount of tortillas that you are provided so we ended up needing to order more ($ 5) however it dragged out an enjoyable experience and enticed us just to order more maragaritas and enjoy the ambiance.
The service remained very cheerful and overtly helpful and when combined with the buzz associated with this place, both inside the cantina and out in the media, both St Kilda and the Melbourne Pub Group has another place to be proud of.

Chocolate Tequila Sauce.
Say what? Chocolate and Tequila coming together in delicious harmony? Save room for dessert.
We had a nice meal at ASC. The guac and fish tacos were really tasty. The overall experience wasn’t anything spectacular, but we enjoyed ourselves.
Then those sneaky, sneaky people made us pay at the front in front of an ice cream bar. So even if you’ve tricked yourself into thinking you don’t need dessert, you are confronted with an array of $ 4 ice cream tubs with free sauces and mix ins. I tell you what, a certain ice cream shop famous for its mix ins does not offer tequila sauce. Mash it up with XO Cherry Chocolate ice cream and cookie crumbs and you have a sweet mess.
I would totally come back here just for guacamole and ice cream.

Salsa, guacamole, frijoles, tortillas, horchata. I encounter these ingredients as often as I break New Years resolutions, and I do so increasingly regularly. The novelty of Mexican fare is finally wearing off, which means that in order to survive new cantinas have to offer quality.
I was keen to try ASC, if not for its kitsch pastel detailing, then for its location. Beneath Circa, next door to il Fornaio, a few doors down from Lau’s Family Kitchen, ASC emerged within a condensed hub of fine south side eateries.
The fit out is homely. It doesn’t conform to contemporary trends, it breathes within its own style, paying subtle homage to El Día de los Muertos folk art. A basement setting, I imagine that the night awakens a genuine sense of Mexico (I say this never having been to Mexico).
The food was fantastic. I wasn’t starving so I just had a steak tortilla, which was accompanied by a small quinoa salad. The tortillas are rustic, homemade. Everything tasted so fresh.
Upon paying, I noticed their delectable ice cream bar. To avoid temptation I didn’t examine too circumspectly, but my peripheral vision caught a glimpse of DIY salted caramel syrup. Needless to say I will be returning at some point to challenge my lactose intolerance.
I’m excited to come back to this establishment at night when it’s a little more buzzing. I might just try everything on menu. Welcome to St Kilda ASC, do stay a while.