Mesa Verde

I’ve never had better tacos in my life. The beef cheek tacos were an experience and the chicken ones also excellent. Beautiful and unique décor with the place lit by several dozen little oil lanterns. It was absolutely the highlight of our trip to Melbourne, even with the choice between six flights of stairs or a tiny rickety elevator.

How hard is it to get tacos right? Absolutely avoid the pork taco, a gristly mess. Swordfish however was a pleasant smoky surprise. Side note: don’t order the «fries/​chips» unless you want a basket of uncooked potato with some chipotle mayo, we sent them back and they returned raw still,
Zucchini taco an mushroom were also very nice. But for the price you want consistency across the menu.

Great cocktails & food. What else can someone ask of a restaurant ?
We’ve been here twice now and both times were great. The first time was just for drinks. As an avid tequila lover we really appreciated the help by the bartender.
The cocktails are really tasty and The Last Hola is my favourite.
Their small menu — food to share — was tasty. The ceviche was one of the best we’ve had in Melbourne. The fish was nicely marinated and the added lime flesh with jalapenos added an extra layer of flavours.
Mesa Verde has become our new favorite Mexican restaurant.
Will go back to try the larger meals.

The mexican joint just before the rooftop of the curtain house.
Its really nice in here, very well laid out and a good selection of tequila (everyone has time for tequila). The food here is really nice, nothing id rave about, but decent enough to bring a big group for pre drinks and food.
The décor here is nice and very mexican, the staff are always friendly. Its a good stop point as you make your way to the rooftop and on the way back down for a quick shot to keep that buzz going.

They use agave syrup in their cocktails, eek! And they put it in an espresso martini! I don’t mind people getting creative, but if you’re putting super sugary products in a drink that’s normally sugar free, I think it’s poor form not to mention it.
Otherwise cute bar, good menu, tasty food (just had a couple of tacos. Pulled pork was great)

Went there after the Mexican festival on the weekend. Cool location, next time might try and catch a movie at the cinema upstairs. The service was friendly but not too much so. Our food came out reasonably fast. And was very tasty. We had a selection from the menu of about six dishes. Going without yard apes next time so we can sample the Mescal and Tequilla. Can’t wait.

Mmmmmmmm Tequila my friend we meet again! Mesa Verde occupies the old office space of Right Angle Studios (who write the excellent Thousand Guides). Having such a prime location right below Rooftop Cinema/​Bar and above Cookie and Toff you can expect a venue to match the high quality of the rest of the building.
I’m a massive tequila fan and woah they have a great range on offer here. I have started trying new mescals instead of tequila lately and Mesa Verde’s staff know their stuff and are always up for recommending a different tipple. The cocktails are tasty and decently presented and the beer choices are pretty decent though a little over priced for the beer on offer. Still the venue is nice for small groups and the low lighting gives it a nice ambience for relaxed nights. I’ll keep going back!

Maybe a tad too pricey for a student but the place looks amazing! Only a couple of vego options avaliable but we stkll ended up with a great meal. The quality of food is beautiful.

Great non TexMex Mexican. Service was friendly and discrete. Mushroom tacos — amazing. Pulled pork tacos — amazing. Prawn tacos, not quite amazing, but still pretty damn good!
The foods was great. But catch the lift up!

Vegetarian options kind of lacking, and don’t present good value for money. The quality is good, but not great.
Service was a mixed bag; a little overbearing at some points, while food ordered all at once showed up in drips and drabs.

Most dinners don’t start with a full leg muscle workout. 4 minutes and 6 flights of stairs make even the most fit person feel a little tight in the legs. Mesa Verde has accommodated for this by providing toilets for those who can walk freely, those on crutches and those in wheelchairs. The later (and those feeling less fit) can access the restaurant/​bar using the less adventurous lift. The toilets by the way are kind of cool — all light and white marble with a great view make you feel like a little bit like a trendy kid in NY.
But it (the restaurant and bar — not necessarily the toilets) is definitely worth the walk. Drinks are a amazing. The jalapeño margarita and another drink with sage leaves and pineapple where amazing. Litres and litres of different tequilas and a good list of beers.
Food was also great. Best unconventional Mexican in Melbourne. Tacos — especially the raw tuna were awesome. Warm light almost fluffy tortillas, with juicy spicy citrusy accompaniments. The Mushroom, and the pulled pork tacos were also stand outs. Everything else tried was also great. My friends said the cheeseburgers were a surprisingly good stand out but I didn’t try them.
I’ll be back soon.

Anything that requires you to walk up more than three flights of stairs (perhaps while slightly intoxicated) had better be good. Fortunately the kids at Mesa Verde know this and are well on their way to being a venue that rewards drinkers and diners for climbing six flights of stairs within Curtain House.
My real reason for coming here was to sample the cocktails. With over 200 tequilas and some of Melbourne’s best bartenders behind the bar, I was pretty confident that I’d get a killer cocktail (or three) that would bring my Friday to a close with the ceremony and respect that it deserved.
And right I was. Josh (previously of Eau De Vie) first made me a «P.G» featuring Tequila silver, muddled sugar snap peas, green tea syrup and lemon. A genius combination — the starchiness from the peas working well with the flavour of green tea and the tequila lifting it all together to provide a refreshing start to the evening.
Mesa Verde have hopes for an extensive salt collection and the P. G featured a green tea salt that worked with the cocktail rather than against it, as it the case I find with a lot of salt rimmed drinks. Later in the evening I tried an experimental drink that featured a smoked salt rim and garnish of acidulated and salted apple slices. Brilliant. And a perfect match to the pulled pork taco I was eating at the time.
The cocktails are considered and balanced and I’m eager to try more. As for the food… well, time will tell if this can get to the same heights of the cocktails. I ordered a prawn cocktail that took forever to arrive and eventually I was told it had run out and «would I like the civeche instead?». Sure thing.
A small portion with chunky fish and jicama and radish slices, the flavours could have been pushed to an extra level. It was pleasant enough but would I order it again in its current format? No.
Next, a pulled pork taco. The tortilla was fresh and hot, the pork filling moist with terrific flavour, but a chunky garnish with some zing would work well here. Jalapenos, pineapple or even some of the sliced apple that I had at the time with the cocktail I was drinking would provide textural contrast and pull it together.
If Mesa Verde can work cohesively across the floor, bar and kitchen and tighten up the flavours on the dining menu, I think it will kick some serious ass and I may just become its number one fan.