LUCHA Libre recently opened in what's becoming 'cool chain row'.
The quesadillas were winners. Delicate almost, punchy as well, just absolutely enjoyable, the flavours combining very well.
The facade of the mighty Great Northern Warehouse at the junction of Peter Street and Deansgate is filling up with trendsetters. It now hosts three innovative operators from three cities: London is represented by All Star Lanes, Manchester by Almost Famous and Liverpool by Lucha Libre.
Hanging chilli bunches
All of them cleverly dance on a wobbly tightrope. They are still adored by indie-types and graphic designers, yet are slick and professional enough to attract investors with an eye for the big national roll-out. They don't want to feel mainstream, but are just mainstream enough not to remain imprisoned in various 'Northern Quarters' across the country.
All of them are inspired by North America despite their origins. Lucha Libre's point of difference is clear. It focuses on Mexican food and doesn't do anything with pulled pork. This is good. Everybody should just give over with pulled pork.
Corrugated pathThe interior of the restaurant has been Mexican themed to within an inch of its life. Chillies, vivid red, hang like warnings or threats, passionate posters of lovers and fighters put you in the Latino mood, condiment bottles wear devils' heads and bleached skulls. Free fighter (the meaning of lucha libre) masks are everywhere except on the staff.
The walls to the toilets sport corrugated iron sheets on the walls as though you're walking through an impoverished pueblo 100 miles outside Mexico City and not through twenty miles of Christmas markets.
It's over the top but entertainingly so and works well. The bar area is particularly handsome.
Looking down on the bar
The food works well too.
Let's start with two quesadillas. The chorizo and potato (£4.50) and the gringa (pork belly and pineapple - £4.75) were winners all the way. Delicate almost, punchy as well, absolutely enjoyable, the flavours combining very well.
Quesadilla winners
A 'large plate' of birria, slow cooked lamb, red rice and tortillas (£10.95) was hearty and spicy, very satisfying and suitably engaging. Another main of seared tuna crusted with chilli and sporting pickled carrots and this time hibiscus rice (£11.95) was more refined but equally rewarding.
More colourful and rumbustiously hearty was a delightfully delivered pair of sea bass fillets (£12.95) coloured up vivid red with achiote paste and given zest with a citrus marinade. The patatas del pobre provided a robust foundation to the fine dish. Achiote seems to deliver a smoky spice flavour and is prepared using seeds from the achiote plant which is also known as the lipstick tree for obvious reasons. I got that bit from Wikipedia.
Rouged fish
My fellow diners savaged a classic burrito (£6.50) and a cali steak burrito (£7.75) so quickly I can only assume they liked them. Some spicy popcorn nibbles were entertaining but for God's sake unless you're one of those idiots who takes part in chilli eating challenges leave the Icarus chicken wings alone (£4.75) with their red hot sauce.
These wings nearly ruined my meal. The classical allusion was appropriate, I was burned and crashed to earth, my mouth as hot as Popocatepetl's crater. Fortunately a horchata made from rice water and recommended by the staff put out the flames.
There were two fails.
The ceviche cocktail - fish cured in lime juice with tomato, onion, cucumber and somewhere salsa and jalapeno (£5.25) - was dull, characterised by an exceptional lack of character. Odd given the ingredients.
The second fail involved a shared Lucha sundae (£6.50). This included brownies, churros and ice cream and was a mess and weirdly unsweet. A sturdy lime and hibiscus cheesecake was a much better dessert (£4).
A Bloody Maria (£7.50) cocktail - manzanilla sherry, Calle 23 Blanco tequila, lime, Worcester sauce and red sangrita - was a marvel.
All of this is apparently 'authentic'. The Liverpudlian owners, chef and it would appear several of the waiters and waitresses, have studied Mexican food and obsessed over it.
Condiments with hats
I have to trust them over the authenticity because I really don't know.
I would love to say that I'm so up to speed with Mexican cuisine I eat it every Wednesday (and Fridays if possible); that I do so wearing a sombrero, occasionally bellowing "Arriba!" while flicking through an iPad for Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera prints to decorate my Acapulco-themed house where I like to go loco during the Day of the Dead festival. I'd like to say I spend at least three weeks of summer in those parts of Me-hi-co that remain uninsulted by Jeremy Clarkson just to sample the regional varieties of a diverse cuisine.
But that would be lying.
Mexican food has passed me by. Lack of exposure you see. I've never been to Mexico and Mexico has never been to me - or for that matter the north of England very frequently.
So I judged this food on the simplest of measures: Did I like it and did it match what I perceive are the qualities of Mexican food from what I've read in books and seen on the movies?
Yes it did. In its rugged, wholesomeness it was entertaining and satisfying. The staff were great. Some things were probably a pound or two overpriced but I'll certainly be back for more.
One final tip.
Have the Modelo beer without the lime jammed in the neck of the bottle. It's a fine beer, the lime ruins it and feels like an affectation from the eighties. Of course if you have scurvy then keep it there.
Leave the lime out
You can follow Jonathan Schofield on Twitter @JonathSchofield or connect via Google+
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Lucha Libre, Great Northern Warehouse, Great Northern Square, City centre. M3 4EN. 0161 850 0629.
Food: 7/10 (quesadillas 8, seabass 7.5, lamb 7.5, tuna 7.5, burritos 7 (apparently), ceviche cocktail 5, cheesecake 7, sundae 5, extras 7.5)
Service: 4/5
Ambience: 4/5
Tasty dip
Lucha Libre man
Cheeky popcorn
Bloody Maria - nice
