Is Taqueria Super Macho the Mexican restaurant Hong Kong has been waiting for?
- The city has long needed an affordable Mexican restaurant of reasonable quality, but the menu at this casual taco joint misses the mark
Black Sheep Restaurants has been on a roll, and 2018 saw the expansive group receive its first Michelin stars – for Belon and New Punjab Club – and open its debut overseas venture, Canton Disco, in Shanghai. Black Sheep now has 19 restaurant unique concepts in Hong Kong.
The group’s latest opening is Taqueria Super Macho, which has the daunting task of taking over the old Yardbird space on Bridges Street. It is intended to be a casual taco joint, but the interior designers have taken this philosophy a little too much to heart. The white walls feel bland and lazy, while the pink neon lighting makes us think of a Patong beach bar rather than Mexico’s Pacific coast.
Nor does the food resemble Mexican food I have tried in Los Angeles or Mexico. The rock shrimp aguachile ceviche (HK$88) tasted fresh but was devoid of spice or tang, which was a recurring problem. Our various tacos – crispy shrimp (HK$38), fish al pastor (HK$38), adobo-marinated steak (HK$38) and adobe-marinated squash & chillies toreadoes (HK$28) – were all, even with the numerous condiments provided for us to build our own morsels, disappointingly bland.
Elsewhere, the flavours were too extreme. The grilled chicken tostada (HK$58) with guacamole, chillies toreados and sour cream was excessively salty. The charcoal-grilled Mexican street corn (HK$38) was perfectly cooked, but the queso añejo cheese, guajillo chilli and lime juice that it was slathered in resulted in overwhelming sourness.
Black Sheep has done a decent job of filling certain niches in the local dining scene and Hong Kong has long sought an affordable Mexican restaurant of reasonable quality. Unfortunately, Taqueria Super Macho is not that. Our wait goes on.
Taqueria Super Macho
33-35 Bridges Street, Central
Tel: 2333 0111