Review – Amigos Mexican Kitchen, London Road

For those deprived of culture, such as myself, Mexican food is often overlooked as a sensible choice of cuisine to dine out on. Usually a hearty Italian or a gut-busting burger takes priority.

But since being introduced to Amigos Mexican Kitchen down on London Road, my gastronomical makeup has largely shifted in favour of all things Central American. Let me tell you why.

We’re all amigos here

As with all restaurants on London Road, Amigos has a sense of excitement and authenticity. Upon entry, there’s a noticeable buzz about the place. But this could be because everyone is slightly inebriated due to Amigos lack of licensing. A quick skip across the road to Steers Beers ensures cost-effective booze to accompany your meal, throughout the night. Amigos charges corkage depending on how rowdy your entourage becomes, but I’ve never seen it at more than £2 per person. And that got messy.

But the frugality doesn’t have to end with the drink; a glance through the menu puts to bed any worries that you may have had about how much damage your wallet can endure. I don’t want to say ‘cheap’; ‘cheap’ would imply shoddy service, second-rate food, a tacky interior, and customers more suited to the basement of a Maccy D’s. So, instead, let’s use ‘affordable’.

Affordable and ambrosial. I’ve never experienced a bad taste in Amigos (apart from eating the worm in a tequila bottle, which occurred on the night of the £2 corkage travesty … shudder). Normal protocol would be to start off with a plate of Cajun chicken nachos (to share) smothered with cheese, sour cream, jalapeños, and salsa. Just £3 per person. Fabulous.

On to the main course, I’m afraid my knowledge of the menu is confined to the ‘street food’ section – burritos, quesadillas, tostadas, and such. Opt for a large portion and pay no more than £8. You should also have enough food left over for lunch the next day. Although these dishes are basically the same ingredients arranged differently (like, seriously), they are full of flavour and have the capacity to make you moan about how you really shouldn’t have eaten that much for the next few hours at least. Which we all know is a good thing really.

If you want to push the boat out and pay upwards of £9, order the ‘sizzling fajitas’. They’ll arrive at the table, still sizzling in the tray. Cute. What’s nice is that you get to arrange the same old ingredients, but in your own special way! Which is really quite novel.

For dessert, adopt the same method that you would at an Indian restaurant: don’t order one. Firstly, you probably won’t need one, and secondly, I don’t think they pride themselves on their sweet section. I’ve always been given for the bill before I’ve been asked whether ‘Senor would like to see desserts?’

Tequila Mockingbird

An experience at Amigos could almost be turned into prinks, or behavior of that sort. In my opinion, the best thing about it is definitely the fact that you’re able to bring in a silly amount of booze with you. Tie that in with delicious food, a buzzing atmosphere, and a sense of affordability, and go mental.