MEXIco, Derby *now closed*
If you are a regular reader to this blog then you'll now that MEXIco is one of my favourite places to dine in Derby, it has authentic Mexican dishes as well as incredible cocktails in a great surrounding atmosphere. I was invited in late February to head there again to celebrate National Margarita Day with some of my blogging friends to enjoy some cocktails as well as some dishes to suit those cocktails perfectly, served up by Chef Johnny Hernandez.
We got to sample some of the various margarita's they had on offer as part of the National Margarita Day, including a Chilli Margarita which had a great kick to it and would go perfectly with a meaty burrito,
MEXIco just has the best dining atmosphere, we were quickly seated and caught up over a generous supply of stone ground corn chips with pots of Salsa Verde and Salsa Roja. The corn chips are some of my favourite but definitely preferred these with the cheese dip they supply (trust me it's worth heading to the restaurant just to try that!). Johnny plays a great host and came out to greet every one of us as well as giving us a quick overview of what he had planned for the evening before heading into the kitchen to get the dishes prepared. MEXIco are well known for working alongside producers locally to source the freshest ingredients available. Not going to lie though, the drinks were flowing well during the entire evening.
The first dish on offer was their stone ground corn chips topped with Chicken Tinga and Ground Beef with a generous layer of melted Monterey Jack Cheese and a homemade Guacamole. It's actually this restaurant where I first tried Guacamole and now it's my favourite thing. I really enjoyed both of them but preferred the Chicken one as it was more suited to my taste buds than the Ground Beef.
Next up was a sneak preview into one of Johnny's new dishes, the Prawn Ceviche. What was interesting with this dish was that the prawns are techincally raw but are cooked in lime juice. Marinated the prawns into the citrus juices of the limes causes it to 'cook' them. There's no heat involved but I thoroughly enjoyed this dish. I thought it was very refreshing with a nice ting to it too, I would definitely enjoy these in the summer months.
The Tostadas we sampled next were delicious and combined a lot of different flavours within the two flavours, Pulled Pork and Chicken Tinga. These were quite messy to eat but were packed full of flavour and would serve as a great starter option to your meal.The last savoury dish of the evening was another new idea that was coming to MEXIco, the Stuffed Roasted Peppers. We sampled the Beef and Feta in a sweet but spicy tomato based sauce. It was full of filling within the pepper but had a bigger kick than I had expected so it wouldn't probably be suited to my taste buds, however Jordan really enjoyed it and said it'd be something he eat again.
To end the night, we tried a 3 chilli infused tequila (which was HOT but extremely tasty) as well as some of MEXIco's finest Churros. These were topped up with chocolate sauce and a Dulce De Leche, they were so crispy and whilst very tasty I couldn't quite eat them all as by that point my belly was full of tequila and good food.
If you are heading to Derby any time soon then make sure you definitely sample some of the authentic Mexican flavour that Chef Johnny Hernandez and his team are serving up. MEXIco also do a fabulous lunch menu which starts from as little as £9.99 for two courses, which is great value and a great pit stop during your shopping trip around the Intu Derby Centre.
There's also talks of developing a 'to go' style menu as it's been highly requested by their diners and I think would be really beneficial for the restaurant moving forward.
Thanks to MEXIco and Chef Johnny Hernandez again for another amazing evening, and for convincing me to drink more than enough tequila!!
*Restaurant Review. I was invited by MEXIco to be a part of the National Margarita Day celebrations. All photos and views are my own.