El Loco, Surry Hills

I finally bugged Biggie A enough to take me to the first of the Merivale ”family of restaurants” – El Loco. After two failed attempts due to bad weather, it was the third time lucky. We made it! I could not have spent the Saturday night any other way than cruising with the boy and having a mexican fiesta.

It was a little daunting to find as it was conjoined with The Excelsior Hotel. We had no idea where the point of entry was. We walked through whichever entrance we first sighted and to our surprise was this funky little buzzing restaurant. Biggie and I were stunned as it was not what we were expecting at all.

El Loco was so alive! It was amazing. Every corner we turned there were groups of people chattering away whilst munching on tacos, hot dogs, burgers or corn chips whilst sipping on some margaritas or downing some beers.

Our turn. To kick the night off, we have a pink grapefruit and ginger margarita for me, and a beer for the boy. Perfect. The slushee had a great sweet taste with both flavours working well together, however, a tad little too strong for me on my empty stomach. Had there been dancing and singing, I’m sure there would have been no complaints at all.

And, here comes the tacos in cute little paper boats. Tummy is hungry…..

“Pollo” – chicken and sweet corn salsa

“Carne Asada” – lemongrass beef and salsa verde

“Camaron” – prawn, salsa verde and pico de gallo

Now this was the “secret taco” for the night. I only get knocked back when trying to sneak in a few questions to the waiters. I had the first bite and I thought it was pork belly. Biggie had a bite. He had no idea what it was but kept eating because he thought it was delicious. It wasn’t until our last bite that we finally asked a waiter what it was. Our special for the night ended up being…………….. lamb’s brains! It was nicely crumbed, had all the perfect asian accompaniments and the sweet sauce binded it altogether. All I have to say is well done to El Loco for making lamb’s brains taste so delicious. It would be the only time, ever, that I would probably eat such a thing. Good work guys!

A side of corn chips with freshly made guacamole and salsa goes a long way. It was so simple yet so tasty!

The last of our dishes is the “Excelsior Hot Dog” with a grilled pork frankfurt with pickled jalepenos, pico ge gallo, mayonnaise and cheese. With Biggie not being a fan of cheese, he didn’t seem to keen on this hot dog. I didn’t care, it just meant more for me. The cheese does look overbearing, however, it isn’t at all. It melts in your mouth with every single bite. I somehow convinced Biggie to have a bite and he ended up loving it! This just goes to show don’t ever judge a book by it’s cover.

What a lovely little place El Loco is. Biggie and I were definitely impressed, not only by the food but the decor and atmosphere also. I cannot wait to see what else is in store for the Merivale family of restaurants….

El Loco
64 Foveaux Street
Surry Hills NSW 2010
Tel: +612 9211 4945

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