On The Ropes
Basics
Location
On Facebook
Per Person
2 Margaritas, 3 Coronitas, 3 tacos, 2 dishes, 1 dessert.
€22 per person
In not so many words
Hopes?
A touch of authenticity.
Reality?
A touch more spice needed.
First Impressions?
Down to earth, multi-coloured. Plastic-covered tables.
A USP?
A dessert that wins.
The food in three words?
Mex without Tex.
Can they get the staff?
Counter service only when we were there, but pretty efficient.
Service with a smile?
Friendly and unpretentious. Nice.
Would you take your friends?
Good for the spice-sensitive, I guess.
Rating for a dating?
More like a night out with a crowd.
Tip?
Just desserts for the dessert.
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I'd add more spice and sauce.
Going back?
Not for dinner. So many other places to try.
In Pictures
Facebook Photo Library
In not so few words
A couple of weeks back we tried Mexi-Japo-Fusion, which, wait for it, we thought was less than the sumo of its parts. This time we kept it simple. Just wrestling with a Mexican. Brightly coloured, with a rather stylish stainless steel countertop, La Jalapeña doesn't feel over-designed or calculatedly themed to death. But will the food fit the mood? Seconds out...
Round One: A very good claypot of fried nachos, melted cheese and shredded chicken. A really tasty little number which we liked a lot. It came with a very welcome little pot of chilli sauce, splodgettes giving the cheese some bite. We were looking forward to the rest.
Some dishes look pretty.
Round 2; Cochinita Pibil, three tortillas and some pleasant pots of condiments on the slate plate. It looked good. It tasted...all right. But there wasn't really the juiciness or bite you'd like from your CochPib, and it needed more of that spicy red stuff to keep it interesting. Three corn tortillas? Slightly odd to have an odd number. Four would make it ideal for sharing and almost a main course. Corn rather than wheat added a tasty touch, though.
Round 3? 3 round tacos. Chicken Molé was reliably tasty. Nopalitos - Cactus and pico de gallo - was the only dish on the menu we saw, aside you'd hope from the Guaco, that we think was purely V-minded. It was spicy enough. Chicken tinga was maybe the spiciest dish of the day even if, looking like an albino molé, it wasn't the prettiest.
So, solid but not spectacular, is where we're at. But.
But?
But! Maestro, if you please!
No holding back, go and try it if you can. A third of the size and it'd not be out of place in a Michelin* place. Combine with coffee for a different but delicious afternoon treat. One's probably enough to share.
Drinks? Well, we can't give the Margaritas much of a score. Too much ice, simply not enough cocktail to give you a proper whack with a gold brick wrapped in lemon or lime. The Coronitas were cold enough, which doesn't always happen.
So. The food at La Jalapeña's well-prepared. Service, the bane of some of our experiences, was pleasingly friendly - although we did our own fetching and carrying from the counter. Bottom line. If there was as much passion in all the dishes as in that spectacular dessert, we'd be back like a shot.
Basics
Location
On Facebook
Per Person
2 Margaritas, 3 Coronitas, 3 tacos, 2 dishes, 1 dessert.
€22 per person
In not so many words
Hopes?
A touch of authenticity.
Reality?
A touch more spice needed.
First Impressions?
Down to earth, multi-coloured. Plastic-covered tables.
A USP?
A dessert that wins.
The food in three words?
Mex without Tex.
Can they get the staff?
Counter service only when we were there, but pretty efficient.
Service with a smile?
Friendly and unpretentious. Nice.
Would you take your friends?
Good for the spice-sensitive, I guess.
Rating for a dating?
More like a night out with a crowd.
Tip?
Just desserts for the dessert.
If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I'd add more spice and sauce.
Going back?
Not for dinner. So many other places to try.
In Pictures
Facebook Photo Library
In not so few words
A couple of weeks back we tried Mexi-Japo-Fusion, which, wait for it, we thought was less than the sumo of its parts. This time we kept it simple. Just wrestling with a Mexican. Brightly coloured, with a rather stylish stainless steel countertop, La Jalapeña doesn't feel over-designed or calculatedly themed to death. But will the food fit the mood? Seconds out...
Round One: A very good claypot of fried nachos, melted cheese and shredded chicken. A really tasty little number which we liked a lot. It came with a very welcome little pot of chilli sauce, splodgettes giving the cheese some bite. We were looking forward to the rest.
Some dishes look pretty.
Round 2; Cochinita Pibil, three tortillas and some pleasant pots of condiments on the slate plate. It looked good. It tasted...all right. But there wasn't really the juiciness or bite you'd like from your CochPib, and it needed more of that spicy red stuff to keep it interesting. Three corn tortillas? Slightly odd to have an odd number. Four would make it ideal for sharing and almost a main course. Corn rather than wheat added a tasty touch, though.
Round 3? 3 round tacos. Chicken Molé was reliably tasty. Nopalitos - Cactus and pico de gallo - was the only dish on the menu we saw, aside you'd hope from the Guaco, that we think was purely V-minded. It was spicy enough. Chicken tinga was maybe the spiciest dish of the day even if, looking like an albino molé, it wasn't the prettiest.
So, solid but not spectacular, is where we're at. But.
But?
But! Maestro, if you please!
Good news, sports fans. This bout ended with a good, old-fashioned knock-out. There's an absolutely first-class dish waiting for you here. Not on the plasticated menucard, the - current - special dessert is a spongey base with a chocolate-orange ganache-type topping and a chocolate and chilli sauce. It's brilliant. Rich, well-balanced.
No holding back, go and try it if you can. A third of the size and it'd not be out of place in a Michelin* place. Combine with coffee for a different but delicious afternoon treat. One's probably enough to share.
Drinks? Well, we can't give the Margaritas much of a score. Too much ice, simply not enough cocktail to give you a proper whack with a gold brick wrapped in lemon or lime. The Coronitas were cold enough, which doesn't always happen.
So. The food at La Jalapeña's well-prepared. Service, the bane of some of our experiences, was pleasingly friendly - although we did our own fetching and carrying from the counter. Bottom line. If there was as much passion in all the dishes as in that spectacular dessert, we'd be back like a shot.
