Mamasita

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  8      Value  8     

Friends gave awesome raps about this little restaurant called Mamasita, so being the curious food piglets we are, we decided to pay Mamasita a visit. Upon arrival I was surprised to see the massive queue of revelers, to be completely honest it turned me off the place a little – Being the typical hungry impatient Sydney-siders. I’m glad we decided to hang around and was greeted by super friendly host who informed us about the 30 minutes wait. Just before we were seated, we decided to smash down two fancy cocktails – Mojito and Margarita with Mexican street style Corn. (MMM super delish!)

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Feb 16, 2012 

5.8 Average

Food  7      Ambience  6      Service  5      Value  5     

I have been to Mamasita many times now. It's funny, I do like it, but I have to be honest with myself and say I don't really understand the queues out the door that persist after all this time.

The food is good, but it's not sublime. It's difficult to get into, noisy, and drinks almost require you to take out a second mortgage. Part of the appeal (for us) may be the fact that the menu is (bar one item, I think) completely gluten free, which certainly makes life a lot easier for my coeliac friend, who often finds the dining out experience somewhat limiting.

Service is very brisk at times, which can be irritating. I don't know....I'm conflicted. I like it, but...when I'm queueing on those dingy stairs, being told once again I have to wait 3 hours for a meal, even though I turned up at 5pm (and that's another thing - who eats at 5pm apart from toddlers and nannas?)I feel like saying, "How much longer can you ride on the coattails of corn cobs and social media?". Might try Mi Corazon, there's got to me another ball game in town, surely.

Nov 15, 2011 

5 Average

Food  5      Ambience  5      Service  5      Value  5     

I was interested to try this place since I grew up in California raised on regional Mexican and Central American food. My first impression of the menu was, "someone is trying to get all Rick Bayless/Frontera Grill down here in Australia".

I thought the food was trying a little too hard and too much dependence on salt and raw heat to make it "Mexican". I felt like I was having a flashback to Silicon Valley circa 1998 when every loser dot com, twenty something thought it was cool to go and blow $25 bucks a shot at the newest trendy tequila bar.

If you're one of those people that looks at an ethnic restaurant and thinks, "there are alot of native born people eating there, it must be good", all I can say is there would be no Mexicans eating here if this place was in California.

The plus side is, I now know that I could sell my tequila collection I brought with me and buy a car if I needed to.

Oct 04, 2011 

9 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

Great place. Nice feel inside and the staff are friendly enough. The food is fresh and of a higher standard. Good place but a little pricey on the drinks.

Sep 22, 2011 

9.3 Highly Recommended

Food  10      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  9     

Came here about a year ago and loved it. Came down from Sydney a bit early to make sure I could come here last Thursday, it was worth it!

After a brief wait (by virtue of being one person - a group of 3 in front of me had their number taken and had to go for a drink until called back), I was ushered to the bar. The staff were super friendly but not in a forced way - good people. A thorough runthrough was given of what's what on the menu, with pretty honest recommendations of what was recommended and what wasn't.

The margarita wasn't premade and well worth the $16. Delicious. I started off with the street style corn on the cob, which simply must be had! Next came tostaditas with fish, fantastic and fresh tasting. The tostaditas with chicken were another highlight. Had a pork taco (with pineapple and white onion) and a fish one that seemed to be dusted with cayenne pepper. The salsa verde they provide cools things down nicely if needed.

Even though I could hardly move, I had the sweetcorn icecream, and even though I'm not a dessert guy, I was well impressed. If I'd had more time or was in a group, I'd have given their tequila selection a try.

Extra points have to be given simply because good Mexican is elusive. I still haven't found anywhere in Sydney that could be called half as good as this place, so I'll be making sure I make it here each time I visit. If you're in Melbourne, call yourself lucky!

Aug 27, 2011 

4.5 Below Average

Food  5      Ambience  6      Service  3      Value  4     

Over rated. Came here on a quiet Tuesday, the place was more or less empty. Had been looking forward to it all week. Very poor service from the start, our waitress seemed to have difficulty even mustering a smile. $38 seems a bit rich for Sangria, but it was tasty.

As for the food, it was what it was, Mexican done adequately. Would recommend the corn chips and quesadillas, but otherwise, give it a miss.

Jun 21, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  6     

I go to Mamasita about once a week. The food can be a bit hit and miss depending on what you order but my favourites are the corn, crab totstidas, quinoa salad and mushroom quesedillas. All very tasty. I'd recommend to get there early as possible as the place gets packed out pretty quickly. If you order the right things I think two people can leave quite full for about $30 each.

Service is always nice and friendly and the food always comes quite promptly. The place can be quite noisy but for two its ok as people are generally seated close to each other. Can't wait for my next visit!

May 18, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  8      Service  9      Value  7     

I agree with most of the comments regarding the food, the corn on the cob is sensational, ceviche was lovely, the pork belly tasted like reconstituted beans and I don't like beans! We even tried the tongue, which was pretty good. We came out really, really full but I suspect we ordered way too much. And that would be my only complaint about the place - the waiter should have warned us, but perhaps he'd rightly picked us as 2 greedy little pigs from the outset. The place has great atmosphere, but the best thing about it is the service. The staff are amazing. First they remembered us as we were lining up at the door - (after an earlier, brief exchange - amazing to witness for us Sydney-ites where attitude is king), then, on discovering my mate's knee injury, the waitress swiftly swapped our position at the bar with a table allocated to other diners - we didn't have to ask; then the most attentive, charming, helpful waiter,(who even went and looked up a book when we enquired about the cheese! OK, he might've been making up the book thing, but he did come back with information!) Even waiting for a table was not too painful. 30 mins on a Wed night, which gave us just enough time to decide what to eat. If we could bottle up this level of service and transplant it to Sydney it would be a very good thing indeed.

Apr 10, 2011 

6.5 Recommended

Food  8      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  4     

Tostaditas de Carnitas: Slow braised pork shoulder with encurtidos and jalapenos. This is kinda a must try dish according to many food bloggers. The pork was tender and the bitesize of it made everything awesome!

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Mar 30, 2011 

7 Recommended

Food  7      Ambience  7      Service  7      Value  7     

At first it took a while to get a seat, waited 30 minutes for a seat for two.
Food was great service was helpful, with recomendationon what to eat. I would definitely come back again and recommend to all to try Mamasita.

Mar 16, 2011