Noshwellmenu

[rating:4]

It’s no secret that Vancouver is severely lacking in some good Mexican food. Thankfully, there are a number of restaurants including La Taqueria, Dona Cata and Don Guacamole’s on Robson that are attempting to remedy this situation with Mexican dishes that are far more interesting than what you could expect from the neighborhood Taco Time.

A restaurant with a corny name like Don Guacamole’s signals either the mark of a brilliant genius with an eye for the supremely ironic at work — or somebody lost a bet. Despite that, we’ve heard good things about Don Guacamole’s and are always up for trying out new Mexican joints.

(Top to bottom: 1. Nortenos Nachos. Serious Nachos loaded with homemade guacamole, monterrey cheese, refried beans, jalapenos and mexican sausage. 2. Corona, obviously.)

I had my eye on the Menudo in their menu, but was quickly disappointed when our server informed us it was no longer available (perhaps miscellaneous beef parts isn’t exactly in high demand). Instead she suggested an alternative, the lamb soup which was served with fresh tortillas. The simmering, reddish broth had a rich flavour highlighted by the various spices like cilantro, chiles and onion. The lamb was exceptionally tender and made the perfect filling for the fresh tortillas.

Case ordered the Chorizo taco which had an intricate blend of spices mixed in with ground pork sausage — a far more sophisticated version of the taco than we normally have in Vancouver. We also ordered the Nortenos nachos, a colossus of tortillas chips heaped with ridiculous amounts of homemade guacamole, refried beans, monterrey cheese, jalapenos and Mexican sausage. The regular size, which is supposedly the smaller of the two available, proved too much for us. Although the toppings were fresh and tasty, the extraordinary portion resulted in half the nachos being abandoned. The one beef we had was that the sheer volume of toppings eventually soaked through and rendered some of the nachos soggy.

(Clockwise: 1. Lamb Stew 2. Margarita 3. Taco)

Our meal came to $51 with tax and tip including two drinks. The meal was moderately priced and the service was decent. I hesitate to call this authentic Mexican food mainly because we don’t really know what authentic Mexican food tastes like. We would, however, like to think it tastes some thing like Don Guacamole’s.

Perfect for: a much, much better alternative to standard food court Tex Mex meals.

The Details

1333 Robson Street, Vancouver
604.569.2295

— ♠ —