Taco beacon. Calling me and guiding me to goodness.
I like their tiles. My favourite app in the world is Instagram, and since I discovered the wonderful hashtag #ihavethisthingwithfloors, I have become obsessed with looking at cool floor tiles. I used to just be obsessed with lovely ceilings. Now I’m an all-round interiors weirdo.
They give you a menu which acts as a place mat, and because of the tapas style nature of the menu, they provide you with little pencils to circle what you’d like to order. Usually I try to keep a finger on each item I’m ordering so I don’t lose it and end up with finger cramp, so this system was most welcome!
A vision of beauty. All the food.
Crispy ‘Fish of the Day’ Tacos
I absolutely LOVE fish tacos, so this is the dish I was most excited about. It was actually my least favourite, and I’ll be honest and say I don’t rate them at all. The fish was really overcooked to the point of being chewy. I was expecting a really light and delicate fish with a good crunchy batter.
Crab Ceviche Tostadas
These were beautiful. The crab cevich was really fresh and was really cold, so this tostada was really refreshing and light to eat.
Habanero Chicken Wings
All the fire of hell is contained within these. We flippantly ordered them and didn’t realise until we ate them that they had a 4-chilli rating on the menu. Strangely, the inside of my mouth coped fine with the heat but my lips were in agony!
Shrimp, Avocado & Salsa Verde Tostada
These were amazing. I really, really enjoyed them. The plump prawns were placed atop chunky avocade and spicy salsa verde. I liked the fact that it was a cold and light dish but that it packed a serious spice kick as well.
Mexican Slaw
So good. Like any good coleslaw, except better as it’s spicy.
Classic Queso Fundido
This is basically Mexican fondue. The corn tortilla chips are served with an artisan style Jack cheese fondue dip which contains chunks of garlicky roasted peppers and chorizo. For me, this was really tasty and addictive, but the peppers and chorizo were tiny and few and far between. I had a vision, especially with the word ‘Artisan’ on the menu, that it would be a home made taste sensation, when it felt a bit like it had come in to the restaurant in a sachet and heated up. I expected home-roasted peppers and chorizo in big chunks in the cheese goo, rather than a relatively smooth dip.
Churros with Chocolate Sauce & Horchata Icecream
At the dinner table I had to Google horchata as I’d never heard of it before. Horchata is typically a milk drink and it comes in many forms, but the Mexican version is milk made from rice and flavoured with vanilla and cinnamon. The cinnamon is very, very mild and gives the light ice cream a really subtle but beautiful taste. It was a perfect companion for the hot churros and an excruicatingly rich chocolate dip. The perfect end to the meal!
The staff in Topolabamba are really friendly, helpful and know what they’re talking about with the menu – they answered all of our questions and explained portion sizes well to us. The restaurant is a colourful jumble of odd lights, tiles, bunting and posters/art. It’s a fun and casual place and it’s perfect for casual lunch dates!
*
Topolabamba
89 St Vincent Street
Glasgow
G2 5TF
0141 2489359
@Topolabamba
*
