Besos Latinos

I travel the world with three good friends. One is very picky from Venezuela. Tonight I thought I would take him out for his favorite food Mexican. What we got was right up his alley. They had dishes he was familiar with from Venezuela, Cuba and Mexico. The food was great I can see why Gordon Ramsey and Carlos Santana took pictures with the chef. But timing is everything and the timing of our food was way off. That is a huge pet peeve of mine being a chef myself and knowing the chef was not in control on a Friday night. The waitstaff did realize what was happening and got right on it. They were really friendly and made us feel right at home. Honestly you wold never know you were in New Zealand the place transported us back to a town in Venezuela. The atmosphere with the piano playing in the background was very relaxing. We would highly recommend Besos Latinos to all who’ll listen and can’t wait to go back.

Came here for our anniversary last night. Elliot Stables, as expected was very busy and we couldn’t get a table so we walked into Besos Latinos and saw plenty of tables! The food was DIVINE. The beer and wine we thoroughly enjoyed as it complimented our dishes quite well. The food also came out much faster than expected too. Love that the staff was always checking in on us and asking how our meals were. The atmosphere was quieter than out in the food court area but we enjoyed that so we were able to hold a conversation with each other without having to raise our voices. However I was wanting fish last night and we were told they didn’t have any :(Hence the 4 stars.
Prices were reasonable. (However there was a great pre-​theatre deal of $ 29 for a 2 course meal which we did not get).
Would definitely come again for some great mexican latin food :)

I popped into Besos Latinos during a tasting night at Elliot Stables for one thing and one thing only, the camarones diabla. I had heard about these from a friend in the know. Juicy tiger prawns in a spicy habanero and garlic sauce. They were delicious, addictive even.
I have not been back for anything else, nor have I actually sat in their rather large restaurant (we always eat in the common area) but if their succulent prawns are anything to go by this place is hawt, in more ways than one!

Waiter to was «too tired to get the menu for me» and he asked me to «stop bothering him and to decide what I wanted».
Terrible place

I really love Mexican and Latin American food, like a loooot — so when we got to go here for a foodie meet-​up I got really excited.
The Food & Drink:
We were welcomed to the restaurant by the owner, Luis, and with a cup of Horchata — a drink that is made of ground rice and oats. It was very refreshing and completely different to what I was expecting. Luis said that it’s a traditional drink, made to counter hot food and temperatures.
We started with the Holy Guacamole and the Salsa Roja O Verde to eat, the latter was a normal salsa but served warm and packed great flavour, nothing too spicy here.
We were then served a small bowl of pure deliciousness — Ceviche — this was my first time having ceviche. Having never tried it before, and honestly not really knowing what to expect, I was floored by the freshness of the fish and the mix of amazing flavours. SO MUCH BEAUTIFUL FLAVOUR.
Then, we had deep fried Empanadas and Flautas — popular Mexican street food. So easy to eat and flavour that keeps you wanting more and more. The Empanadas are vegetarian with courgette and (I believe) corn filling, where the Flautas has cheese and chicken filling, I preferred the Flautas to the Empanadas personally, but both were good!
For the main event we had Beef Alambre and Grilled Chicken (hot plates) served with fresh corn tortillas. The beef dish was the perfect level of spicy for me, the chicken was a little sweet and both had a really beautiful BBQ /​charred taste to them.
To finish (yes there was more!) we were individually served a dessert similar in texture to rice pudding (the name escapes me sorry), which was very very sweet — perfect for a sweet tooth. The table also shared the Flan de Café which again was sweet but not to sweet, and not overly coffee flavoured — yum!
My Must Trys from Besos Latinos:
Salsa Roja O Verde, Flautas, Ceviche — the Ceviche really is a must though they only serve it if they have the freshest fish which is a good thing to note!
Location and Ambience:
Besos Latinos is located at the back of Elliot Stables with it’s own seating area (but you can still order their food for the food court), the restaurant itself is beautifully decorated and has a great atmosphere that could suit a romantic evening but also a birthday dinner party — they even have their own fountain!
I saw advertised that they have live music on some week nights and would be very keen to check that out at some point!
–This meal was for a foodie meat up and therefore was free, but that does not effect my opinion, all opinions are and always will be my own–

The décor is cheesy but fun but the food is the best Mexican I’ve had in Auckland! It’s the far end of Elliot Stables and has traditional and contemporary Latin music playing with live music at weekends (not Friday nights it seemed). This place was actually recommended to us by a Mexican over on business with work so we thought it must be pretty good!
The fajitas we had were great as was everything else including the margaritas

We had one of those grab one vouchers, two machete tacos, 2 beers and chips and salsa.
I heard great things about this place so I was slightly expecting great things… However I felt I was let down.
The food was average — I prefer mama locos soft shell tacos, we had one chicken and one beef and they tasted the same. I was expecting more. The Mexican beer on the other hand was really nice!

I have no idea why this place was one of Metros top 10 eats in 2011… A lot must of changed since then. Some decorations are cute, others naff, the place is empty and the food cold.
My waiter is nice but doesn’t make up for the lack of all other sparkle

Besos Latinos is found in Elliot Stables in Central Auckland. After seeing photos of the great vibes it provided I thought it looked like the place to be.
However we came during a weekday lunchtime of which it was very quiet. Maybe only a few tables seated. For such a quiet service, the drinks came out incredibly slow. We ordered a caprioska jug, and it came out as we were almost finishing our meal. We had questioned where it was and we were told it was coming soon.hmm.
The food was, nice. It doesnt shout amazing. The one standout was the pastry for the empanadas which had that soft chewy texture but flaky and crispy on the outside. It is cool how they make a foot long taco which is what we shared. Besos Latinos fills the spot and nothing was bad, but nothing was fantastic, although except maybe the caprioska. It deserves a lot of credit, even though the wait was well long.
I would recommend maybe coming for dinner or cocktails if thats more your scene to get the real Mexican boisterous vibe.
Rating
Food: 6.5÷10
Service: ⁷⁄₁₀
Value for Money: Average
Elliot Street, Elliot Stables Auckland Central
Opening Hours:
Tues-​Fri 12pm-​2pm, 530pm-​Late
Sat 530pm-​Late
Sun 1pm-​8pm

I really loved the deco walking in, sugar skull and interesting paintings on the wall, slight creepiness but very attractive.
Granted I’ve only been there once but the food wasn’t anywhere near what I was hoping. It could be my bad luck but both my partner and I were disappointed. Needless to say I won’t be back again. There are quite a few delicious Mexican restaurants these days to go around without trying hard to avoid this one.

I will be blunt and crass, the scenery is nothing to write home about. The décor is cute and kinda rustic, set in the back of the Elliot Stables, Besos Latinos looks unsurprising. Looks can be deceiving and in this case very inaccurate.
Oh yes, the Food. you bring out some good food and ALL is forgiven, and the Besos Latinos delivers good food with a smile, I don’t really feel I can say ‘authentic’ without being the nationality that the restaurant conveys, but this is as close to it as my little middle-​age-​white-​boy-​mind can comprehend. The flavours are amazing and the preparation is adorable, the mixture of colours deliberately set against the backdrop of mouth watering taste.
For a meal that had no bacon, ribs or steak in it, and still getting 5 stars from me? this HAS to be good, check it OUT.

Last Sat night I went here with my lovely hubby who picked this restaurant for its online status, including the décor that was was professionally designed. It was a perfect date night pick!
The service was very, very attentive (almost felt a bit rushed — we started to think they wanted us out early to get more customers in, however the venue is quite spacious and they only had two other couples dining at the same time until later in the evening when a large group of women on a hen’s night came in — which by the way, each had sambero’s waiting for them at the long communal table, well suited for big group’s).
We ordered three courses and were ALMOST full by the end — which makes us sound like pigs but it is more indicative of the size meals! Honest!
For dessert I ordered the gluten-​free, dairy-​free (not that I am ‘free’ anything, but helpful to those of you who might be!), coconut, Brazilian pudding, served in champagne glass and was absolutely amazing! I don’t know how they made that taste so good, but it was super-​duper yummy! We also had a coffee to share at the end which is a dessert in itself, very sweet and comes with a cinnamon stick, made for a nice change.
Muchas gracias Besos Latinos!

As many other reviews have described, Besos Latinos is hidden away from the bustle of the Elliot Stables communal dining area. The interior latin-​american-​themed décor and overall atmosphere was great. They played Latin American music (mix of traditional and contemporary) which has a great vibe. Apparently they have live music in the weekends.
We came in for a light lunch: bruschettas with sides of salad and rice which was great. However if you want a more filling lunch you might want to go for something else. (They have a different dinner menu also)
I ordered a cappuccino afterwards, they add cinnamon which was a nice touch but if you’re not a fan of cinnamon you should probably advise them when you order their coffees.

Went here for my brothers birthday and I have never had such bad service in my life! And I’m not the sort to complain but it was shocking we were the only people in the restaurant and the staff were rude they dropped menus and came back over 20 mins later to ask what we wanted they took some drink orders then walked away and half of us were waiting and half the time our drinks were empty they were standing at the front chatting. The food was ok but didn’t compensate for the terrible service. I wouldn’t go there again.

At the far end of Elliot Stables, Besos Latinos have their own tables — which is great on a busy Friday night. I sipped on a shot glass of a tasty Mezcal and we finished off with a perfect Flan Frida. I had the fish escabeche, which was well-​flavoured but the fish was overcooked. I tried the Mexican coffee, but it was not to my taste — I won’t order it next time.
Waitress was unsmiling but friendly and attentive. Wall treatment and graphics added much to the ambiance.

Besos Latinos is a cute intimate little restaurant located within Elliot Stables, but down the back so that it has its own kinda’ area rather than using the communal dining area. I went with a bunch of friends but it seems just perfect for a romantic date, it was dark and cosy with live music with a Latin American flavour. Awesome.
The place itself integrates décor, atmosphere and flavours from across Latin America. This includes my favourite Mexican (yay) but also Brazilian, Argentinian, Peruvian, Carribean and everything else around that area of the world. The meals are quite small, I found myself hungry after I’d finished mine and we ended up getting pizza later on in the night, but they were tasty. Again, probably better for a small intimate dinner than a group one at the beginning of a night out.
The waiters are lovely and all speak Spanish or similar, the accents are to die for: D

Since I’ve been living up in Auckland, I have been going crazy for Mexican food. I think solely because there’s so many decent offerings up here, and Besos would definately be one of my top picks. Besos is actually an amalgamation of Latin flavours from Cuba to Argentina and Brazil, so it’s not just Mexican!
Located in the always busy Elliot Stables complex, basically a fancy upgrade to the common food court model. There is separate dining options available in the actual restaurant or if you are eating out with others who are ordering from other places then you can eat out in the ‘village common’.
I had a chicken quesadilla type thing and it was so good, just fresh authentic flavours with a whole lotta mole dipping sauce! Mmmm

Besos Latinos is one of my favourite restaurants at Elliot Stables. Unlike the other restaurants, Besos Latinos has it’s own seating area which is perfect for a romantic dinner or if one wants a bit more privacy. A perfect location to visit when one wants to sit across from someone and stare deeply into their eyes. It is brightly decorated adding to it’s Latin American, Mexican and Caribbean theme.
I love the service at Besos Latinos, the waiters are so friendly and warm, always smiling and laughing which more me creates a great, relaxed atmosphere. The flavour and variety of choices on the menu also reflected the theme and I throughly enjoyed my mexican chicken!

Situated within Elliott Stables but self contained towards the back, away from the mayhem of the communal dining room, Besos Latinos offers a brightly decorated Latin American paradise. I visited on a Saturday and it was quiet, but the staff assured me the Tango Show every Thursday and Live Latino music every Friday are the most popular nights.
The menu offers a pretty standard but well rounded selection of treats at reasonable prices. It only took us a few minutes to decide on a sharing platter and rounds of margaritas, not wildly adventurous, but we know what we like.
A final note of caution, the platters at Besos Latinos are great for sharing but aren’t as large as the menu description suggests, I could probably eat one on my own.