Zapatas Mexican and Latino Restaurante

Turning Up the Heat

MEXICAN cuisine is an entire celebration about the gift of sharing food with your amigos as well as unwinding and just having fun. It is all encompassing joyful party food, which has been captured to the full extent at Zapata's Mexican and Latino Restaurant in Northbridge.

Eccentricity brings Zapata's to life through interesting and culturally diverse people that represent this outgoing restaurant. The Zapata's team truly make this place a one of a kind dining experience bringing big smiles and big bowls of Mexican mayhem to your table. Zapata's manager Rodrigo, was more than happy to show me around and introduce me to the world of Mexico right here in Perth.

The menu is exactly what you would expect of a Mexican fiesta with all of the old favourites. Top of the "must haves" would be the "Los Tres Dip", consisting of a salsa Mexicana dip, guacamole dip and of course the chilli con queso (cheese) dip - classic. Of course these are all accompanied with corn chips and fast, friendly service. Nachos with shredded chicken, salsa, cheese, sour cream and spring onions are a great way to bring the zest to the Zapata's party. Great for one but even better to share, everyone can taste their own little piece of Zapata's delight.

Who would come to a beautiful Mexican restaurant and overlook the Fajita or Burrito? Not me - I had to try one of each! The fajita was served on a sizzling hot plate with marinated strips of chicken (you can have your choice of beef and prawn as well), onion and capsicum and was served with a heap of salad and tortillas. This would be ideal to order with a group of friends so you can try a bit of everything. Nothing beats sitting on high benches alfresco style on a warm summer night, eating at your own pace, a fajita here, some burrito there, a handful of nachos and some corn chips with dip and all the while having some great conversations sipping on an icy cold beer or cocktail.

When you have all these strong and rich flavours in Mexican food the perfect beverage is essential and Zapata's is one giant step ahead of you. Offering an assortment of beers with the most popular being Corona, Zapata's manage to top this with their Beer Giraffe - three litres of MEX Mexican Lager. Rodrigo describes these as attention grabbers and when ordering one of these you will know why (the entire restaurant comes to a halt as this showstopper is brought to your table). I would recommend this for a large adventurous group and not for your romantic dinner for two.

Saving the best to last is the extensive list of cocktails available at Zapata's. These not only look fantastic and get you in a celebratory mood but they taste sensational! The carafes of cocktails come in brilliant bright colours like electric blue and yellow and they taste as good as they look. "Must haves" include the classical Margarita and Rodrigo's newest invention the Columbian Dream - very refreshing.

Now that it's heating up it's a good idea to opt for places that encourage you to stay a little bit longer and enjoy the beautiful nights out. Zapata's is an enjoyable dining experience from the music, the warm fuzzy feeling a carafe of cocktails give you, to the truly chilled out ambience and flavourful Mexican cuisine. This is more than just a restaurant - it's a celebration of all the good things in life.

By Louie Coen