Expect some back of the throat action at this sizzling new tequileria with shots that will set your gullet on fire. By Devi Singh
Just next to Tabula Café but far pokier, Arriba enjoys its cozy little place with a few seats outside and the rest hidden in comfy confines complimenting murals adorning the white walls. It does manage to hold all the necessities even with a substantial lack of space and the décor doesn’t scream attention. The menu does or so it feels. With droll fancies of live guacamole bar to raging fajitas, the menu attempts to leave an impression but not a lasting one.
We decided to check out the live guacamole bar for we did have inkling about it. And we were right. It was nothing more than a heckled chef making way to our table all the way from his scurry kitchen only to mix up our avocado. Nice flighty spectacle but not impressive enough. Not undermining his efforts but is an act so basic worth all the theatricsIJ Take your pick. And oh yes by the end of the drill, guacamole turned out to be very boggy, wonder where did all the moisture come from especially when we didn’t ask for lime.
Anyway next up were some good old mushrooms roasted in tequila with white wine on a bed of truffle scented cubes of potatoes which were a good precursor to the fiery journey ahead. But before the spices could make us red, we had lovely panuchos topped with zucchini and squash mixed with some feta. For the drinks, it was hands down the margaritas which we went for. What else do you expect at a place which has tequila flowing through; it’s not called tequileria for nothing.
We started with the first tipple of the evening — chilli lime mango margarita which was exactly the opposite of what it implied and why we went for it. We couldn’t get any heat of the chillies. It was as if we were served a watered down version of a mango fizz. Nonetheless without losing much hope we aimed for a spicier drink and we did get it in yet another margarita, this time laden with pineapple, ginger and jalapenos. This one made us feel that we were after all, in a Mexican set 2 up with enough kicks to the palate that had us going for sips of water.
Moving on we ordered some enchiladas stuffed with spinach, corn and cheddar. This was too cheesy for us but did the works. For the mains, we went for chilei rellenos in walnut sauce.
The chillies were stuffed with the usual bell peppers and the crust like any other batter fry. The rice had the perfect edge and the right amount of heat coming through. To calm down the heat, we ordered delightful frozen coconut margarita faring well on our expectations.
To wrap it up all it was time we tasted some sweet goodness. How can you not think of having tres leches at a Mexican hauntIJ Predictable, fine but we had to go for it anyway. And good we did. Their tres lech came in as twee little cupcakes and in three different toppings. We loved the blueberry ones, of course. For some more sweetness or should we say tartness, there was some lime and tequila cheesecake served with avocado cream. More than being acerbic, this one turned out to be creamier probably because of avocado. Arriba won’t throw volleys of surprises at you but its quaint charm will sure manage to appeal.