El Topo Mexican

Review:

Before I decided to write about it, I have been to El Topo Mexican restaurant twice: The first one was a small lunch with colleague and the second one was a bigger lunch with friends and family. El Topo Mexican is located on the rooftop of The Eastern in Bondi Junction.

Without further ado, lets get on with the food!

Chapulines – Roast Crickets, Chile Garlic & Lime – $7

It is not a typo from carrots nor the name of an Australian sports. It is really a bowl of roast and crispy crickets for you to enjoy. I asked a Mexican friend of mine who happened to have lunch with us that day. He confirmed that it was a genuine dish from Mexico although it might not be as common in Mexico City.

I must say it’s quite challenging for my friends to try these out.

Chapulines

Taco

For lunch time, they have a deal of any 3 tacos for $15. They have several tacos to choose from and individually they are $6 – $8.

The tacos were quite small but they had nice fillings. Most of us chose the cochinita pibil (i.e. roast annatto pork) which apparently was the most famous toppings.

Taco de cochinita pibil

Taco de pollo en mole amarillo, taco de pescado frito

Ensalada de nopales y garbanzos – Cactus, chickpea, corn, tomato & parsley – $10

The second exotic dish of this restaurant is cactus salad. The texture and taste were pretty similar to pickled paprika in a salsa. It was very refreshing even for a non-vegetables eater like me!

Ensalada de nopales y garbanzos

Ceviche de pez real – kingfish ceviche, achiote, watermelon, radish & finger lime – $16

The ceviche had a gorgeous presentation. Unfortunately, I think there were way too many other items but the ceviche on the plate. The squid ink watermelon provided an interesting colour to the dish.

Ceviche de pez real

Barbacoa de costilla de res – 12 hours beef short rib, barbacoa sauce, pickled cabbage & baby onions – $32

This dish was the main reason why I decided to come back. I was very tempted to order this on my first visit but $32 and a giant beef rib would not do well for my after-lunch work.

However, I can tell you that the beef rib was very yummy. You don’t even need to use your knife to cut through the meat!

Barbacoa de costilla de res

Flan roto de coco con chocolate y cajeta – Flan of coconut, single origin Mexican chocolate hazelnut & goats milk caramel – $14

I was interested in ordering the flan because of its glowing review in Jugernauts. I think I was over-expecting it a bit too much. It was a nice dessert, but not for $14.

Flan roto de coco con chocolate y cajeta

Bunuelos con chocolate – Mexican doughnuts & chocolate sauce – $12

I love doughnuts… any shapes and sizes! I love them even more when they were freshly made!

Bunuelos con chocolate

The final verdict for El Topo Mexican

I’m pretty sure El Topo Mexican is the only place in Sydney (or Australia) that has crickets and cactus on the menu.

Did you know?

There are two El Topo in this premise: El Topo Basement and El Topo Mexican (on the top floor).

Rating for El Topo Mexican:

7.5 / 10

Taste: 7.5 / 10

Price: $15 – $32 per main dish

Place: 7.5 / 10

Details:

Level 3, 500 Oxford Street, Bondi Junction 2022

+61 2 9387 7828

https://www.theeastern.com.au/venues/