Good Mexican cuisine in Mumbai is a myth, a sombrero-touting unicorn sometimes glimpsed (Taco Fresco, Sammy Sosa, Starboard) but rarely captured. It is therefore with much excitement and some trepidation that we attended a pre-opening food tasting at Sancho’s, Mumbai’s new Mexican restaurant. And we have to say, these guys might have nailed the feast.

Pecking Border

Run by Dish Hospitality (the company behind Aurus and the new Tasty Tangles), Sancho’s is the second outpost of a popular Delhi restaurant, featuring the same menu and typical Tex-Mex ambience, which at the  Mumbai branch means mud-caked walls, fat candle-lights, tables inlaid with fiesta ceramic and gaily patterned tableware. Also nice is the amount of sunlight flooding the space in the day, which is split into two sections by a pretty wall of undulating glass panes.

Hot Chip

Our meal began with an order of nachos coated with refried beans and scattered with jalepeno peppers, a large scoop of sour cream nesting in the center and mercifully little cheese sauce. These were delish and fun to share, as was the vegetarian quesadilla, which presents exactly the right melding of cheese, mushrooms, onions and chilies. Dunk slices of this into mango, tomato or habanero chili salsa (the third option is so spicy, it should come with a government-issued warning), steal a dab of sour cream from the nachos, and wash down with a mock Watermelon Shirley Temple – hey, they’re not serving alcohol yet, and it was hot, so don’t judge!

The chef sent out chicken fajitas and vegetarian enchiladas next, aromas from which seemed to fill the room. The fajitas were perfect, tender strips of chicken and thickly sliced bell peppers charred and tossed with big flavors. These came with warm tortilla wraps, excellent rice and refried beans and coarsely chopped salsa, and were totally worth the assembly process even for lazy diners like us. The enchiladas were bursting with veggies and smothered in a spicy sauce that did much better after a few dashes of salt.

Dessert of churros and milky cake might have been urged upon us by the friendly management, but we had no trouble polishing it off – the churros were piping hot, coated with cinnamon and sugar, magically crisp and tender at the same time. These sat next to a dipping bowl of chocolate, silky and slightly over-thick. The sweet, airy cake won over our table’s most skeptic diners, including the “non-milk” people and a persnickety nitpick who “doesn’t eat anything white”. Yes, we have strange quirks at the bpb office. 

Goof is in the Guacamole

The one big disappointment was that Sancho’s wasn’t serving guacamole the afternoon we visited, but the avocado dip will feature on their regular menu. Like a friend pointed out, it is the true test of a Mexican restaurant, and because of a dearth of good avocados, often one of the most difficult dishes to get right. But we will go back for it, for the casual vibe and good fajitas, and for the pleasure of another magical feast.

Getting there: Plot number 604, Pinnacle House, off Linking Road, next to Cafe Mangii, Bandra (W), call 67094455, Rs 2,000 for a meal for two (without alcohol).