Los Vida

I knew this day would come that I would go to dinner somewhere, and fail to come up with something positive to say, and this experience came last night. We were invited to join group of people for dinner at Los Vida. Have you ever been invited to a restaurant, that you suspect could end in near disaster? My wife, children, and my wife’s parents were all going and not one of them enjoys chilli or coriander! We viewed the menu earlier that day and attempted to come up with what we could order for them (I was fine with the menu) — I even called them to see what options they might have– I was assured we would be fine with plenty of options for non chilli and coriander eaters. Now I will tell you what happened.
I believe that when you go to a restaurant to spend a large amount of money– and we did — the restaurant has a duty of care to make sure you are comfortable in all areas, in addition to taking your order promptly and delivering it to you in a timely fashion. From the moment we got there, the music-​, or should I say noise was blaring so loud that I could only hear the person next to me and sometimes my wife across the table-​they did play some Santana (he’s Mexican right?) but basically it was annoying. I know that some people enjoy this type of atmosphere, but I only enjoy this if I am at a rock concert. Then there was the heat!!!
It had been a very hot day, I understand this but we were on the second level and on the wall was an air conditioning unit the size of the USS Enterprise (look it up) and it was either not working or they wouldn’t turn it on — I really felt sorry for the staff that were serving us– it was a Friday night and they had to run up and down stairs in this incredibly hot restaurant– one waiter must have changed his shirt halfway through because he looked like someone dumped a bucket of water on his back! Now about the food and drink– the staff were very good about getting us $ 9 beers and $ 18 Margaritas (skip it — tasty but very small– I could drink 12) and bottles of very warm water– somebody should have bought some ice. We inquired about the kids menu that was available — and told they could have fried cheese sticks (with spicy mayo) quesadilla (with cheese, beef, or chicken (wait, the chicken is spicy) or tacos (all spicy) we stuck to the cheese quesadilla, a safe bet. We ordered an assortment of starters to get things rolling –surely they can leave the coriander out of the guacamole? Nope, they can’t, so my wife didn’t get to try it-​it was nice but they give you way too much dip for the small amount of corn chips provided. The cheese sticks were a bit strange not much flavour there unless you dip it in the spicy mayo– sorry wife-​the hibiscus flowers were fried within seconds of disintegrating– also a bit strange– some one else might love them — not us. Then there was the chicken wings– quite nice and juicy but had a very spicy glaze so my wife was out again! My mouth was on fire by this time and warm water wasn’t helping much– maybe this was a ploy to get you to order something cold from the bar-​and my wife has only eaten a couple of corn chips, so let’s gamble and order mains — my wife had a «whatever look on here face, knowing that we would probably be stopping by Maccas on the way home– so I ordered the chilaquiles to share and the Famous fish taco– let me just say I really hate it when restaurants call something famous when nobody I know has ever heard of it-​I reckon it is a slow seller that that want to keep on the menu so they tack the word famous on it!
The taco was alright but had fried chili on it so my wife had a nibble on the cabbage-​and the main dish just made me angry to be honest-​I ordered the chilaquiles because I like skirt steak and also tomatillo sauce– what the dish consistent of was soggy corn chips on the bottom absolutely smothered in sauce– tomatillos are lime– like in flavour –very strong, and complete overkill on the part of the kitchen staff– and the steak was in little bits that would have been any kind of animal flesh but we won’t go there, and again spicy spicy spicy! I just ate because I was hungry– my poor wife only had a bite– lucky for here she was given a nice lamb cutlet to eat. In all fairness the beef short ribs were amazing I was told but a small portion, for a dish designed to share. As you can tell we were far from impressed and you would have to pay me to ever go back there, Don’t get me wrong-​I have not been to Mexico, but am very familiar with this type of food, but judging by other reviews, lots of people didn’t enjoy there experience there at Los Vida– I hope the owner reads this and reviews how his restaurant functions– Hats off to the staff — they deserve lots of credit working under these conditions. Oh by the way, when my wife came down the stairs to leave, a very happy diner– the biggest la Cucaracha she had ever seen– ran across the floor– oooops!!!

I’d been meaning to try Los Vida ever since I saw the renovations happening at what was once a furniture store. (And they really renovated — with extra mezzanine floors, it was like they had re-​built entirely!) Friends had wanted to head there one weekend, but with a group of 6 and no booking on a Saturday night, we would have had to wait an hour and opted to head elsewhere.
This time i took no chances and booked even though it was a group of 4 on a Tuesday night. No need, as it was only sparsely populated (well, it was Tuesday, but maybe a Tuesday special would help!)
First up I started with a Mexican beer, called Tecate. Our waiter described it as the Mexican VB, but only the good aspects. Served in a can with a wedge of lime and salt crystals on the top, it was like drinking a beer and eating some salty snacks all in one mouthfull. Odd, but good!
It was a little confusing ordering from the menu, which was divided into tacos, small plates to share and large plates to share. Our group ended up ordering 1 – 2 tacos each and 3 small plates, knowing we could order more if still hungry. The small plates came out first. The guacamole was good, served with pomegranate on top, although a larger container would have made it easier for dipping. It was served with a mixture of reddish (paprika-​coated?) and regular corn chips, with the latter being better. The reddish ones weren’t crunchy enough for my liking. The hibiscus flower dish was a little strange, and didn’t grab me, but definitely order the patatas bravas — so tasty and a big serving!
We ordered a variety of tacos, mainly on the flour tortillas, with a few on corn tortillas — the waiter recommended which one to choose for each, but you’ve ultimately got the choice. My Yucatan fish taco was delicious, with big chunks of fish and a very tasty sauce!
Best of all, I love the atmosphere of this place. It’s a very unusual layout, and far from a typical restaurant focused mainly on eating a meal and leaving. With its dark corners and colourful fittings makes for a great place especially to unwind with a few drinks and have some excellent Mexican food, far from the usual staples, alongside.

I frequent the Los Vida at Wintergarden for lunch semi regularly, so was super excited to try the full-​sized-​licensed-​restaurant location in The Nest (yah, its a thing).
We split the patatas bravas, which was the best dish of the night. I liked the mix of sweet and regular potato.
The chicken wings were a complete fail for this texture-​eater, the boiled skin was a bit glutinous for my liking, and I wasn’t huge on the tomato sauce followed on top.
The pork tacos fell somewhere in the middle. The meat was good, but overall they needed more spice and flavour.
I know Los Vida can do good things, but on this night, the restaurant fell short.

I visited for lunch, aware many of the other reviews were for dinner sittings.
My group ordered a number of tacos, guacamole, patatas bravas, water melon salad and croquettes.
The food was all fairly good, although the famous fish taco was nothing to write home about. The patatas bravas, with half potato and half sweet potato was delicious.

Hotsauce, lime juice and Tecate are my lifeblood. Any place that declares the words MEXICAN FOOD AND LIQUOR louder than they proclaim their own name (which I’ll no doubt forget after looking it up for this review; perhaps they’re distancing themselves from the fact they are indeed a franchise) has my attention. I steeled myself for taco-​fuelled glory recently and entered through the heavily-​tinted glass façade that now graces the busiest intersection in Crows’ Nest.
Don’t get too hyped up. This is Montezumas for the hipster generation. To be sure, the production values are high: sky high. I’m talking Jamie’s Italian high. There’s careful detail in every Virgin-​Mary-​cum-​Día-​de-​Muertos shelving flourish; the tiny mens’ room alone is home to the overwatching eyes of two four-​times-​scale Danny Trejo faces. If you ever suffer from stage fright, try imagining clones of that pulpy mothertrucker judging your output. There were more headset-​laden staff than customers when we arrived, including a bouncer who asked in consternation if we’d made a booking. No, we hadn’t. But considering how insanely efficient the tri-​level space is anyway, he needn’t have appeared so concerned.
Too bad the food sucks. The tacos were mediocre in a city that’s currently overflowing with good ones; to be honest, I’d even prefer to hit Guzman and Gomez down the road, even if I would need to apply my own coriander and fight with the street pigeons. We tried four kinds and none of them satisfied me. The battered fish was the best, but it wasn’t nearly as crunchy as the thought suggests. Sadly, this wasn’t the problem; nor was the frigid ceviche or the ‘80s-​style refried bean dip. Somehow the kitchen here has come up with the worst version of enchiladas I’ve ever tasted. Flat like a quesadilla, without the crispness, the tortillas were soggy-​wet through, devoid of stuffing and piled with a mountain of crappy iceberg and sour cream. I didn’t even think they were the right menu item, until I picked out a dob of mole that matched the description and gave that a taste. Inoffensive, but whodathunk it was even in there?
To add insult to injury, the pleasant, absent-​minded horde of staff spent about half an hour delivering our second (and final) beer. I think we can probably take it as a troubling sign when it takes substantially longer to pull the tab on a tinnie than it does to roll out a platter of limp and sodden throwbacks to a time when when Mexican food in Sydney was still just an excuse to drink tequila sunrises.

I should have read the other reviews first…
If a restaurant is pretentious enough to have a bouncer, it better deliver. Los Vida does not.
When we rang to book, the guy was busy having a conversation with someone in the background, so when we arrived and there was no booking, it wasn’t really surprising. They found us a spot though. Pity about the fact we sat in a nicely decorated sauna with so much noise, I couldn’t hear myself, let alone my wife.
From that point on, it only got worse and pretty much reflected the experience of the other Unilocalers who had visited prior.
— Had run out of the starters we wanted. The alternative ‘nachos’ were soggy and cold.
— Got our drinks wrong. Oh, that’s right. They forgot to ask us for drinks and we had to remind them it was part of their job.
— Tacos were tasteless, cold, like cardboard, and felt like they had been made that morning. Nothing was fresh. Don’t go near the octopus tacos whatever you do.
— We had been fed in less than 25 minutes (which explains why nothing was hot), but when it came to paying, it took 20 minutes!!!
There are too many good places in Crows Nest to waste your time here. I’d give a zero if I could.

With so many good choices in Crows Nest right now it’s not worth going here unless they seriously get their act together. Went for a friends birthday — a group of 10 people. I waited an hour for my food which when it arrived was seriously disappointing and tasteless. I would have knocked up something better at home in 5 minutes. This was not good Mexican food and not authentic. Have had the real deal in Mexico and this lacked flavour and was really boring. Each of the meals came out about 5 –10 minutes apart which totally disrupted the mood of the group. Some people had finished theirs by the time others food had arrived. When we said to the waitress this wasn’t acceptable instead of apologising her excuse was the concept was all about sharing –which was ridiculous. There is no mention of this on the menu, why wouldn’t your waitress advise you of this when taking the order and recommend choices based around sharing as we were a big group, and why take orders individually. How are you expected to «share» 1 taco between 10 people. They really need to take a serious look at the food they are serving and how organised the kitchen is. Upside was the décor it’s really well fitted out and some of the waitress were really lovely and helpful.

Great fit out, love the ‘tongue in cheek’ Michelangelo’s copy of Sistine Chapel.
Happy, very friendly attentive staff …10÷10 to the staff
BUT
… a pity about the food, what a let down after all the pre opening hype.
Below average chicken & pulled pork Tacos & Chicken Enchilada —, my dinner partner described it as the saying goes… ‘like eating cardboard’ hardly warm, absolutely tasteless barely any filling in the enchilada.
The ‘starter’ of Chicken wings were the saving grace — delicious.
but they were served after our mains had arrived — ???
From sitting down at the table the whole eating experience was over in 30mins. a little rushed.
We wont be back and wont recommend Los Vida Crows Nest.

The first thing I noticed walking into this place was the massive smile beaming from the face of our hostess. It created a great first impression, as did the second thing I noticed — the fitout, which is amazing to say the least. Not only is the ceiling artwork a Mexican version of Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel, but its four levels, all of which offer the most vibrant and comfortable furniture, provide plenty of dining options for the hard-​to-​please Crows Nest crowd.
Now, I was told before our food arrived to expect authentic Mexican. I can’t say whether it was or wasn’t, but it tasted damn good, so I’m presuming it was. The chips were made in-​house as was, of course, the guacamole, which, as the bar manager explained, was layered with a variety of ingredients to give it a balance of sweetness and sharpness, for instance pomegranate seeds. He was right, and it struck this balance perfectly. Speaking of perfect, the pulled beef tacos, which had chipotle sauce, coriander, poblano chilli and sesame seeds, created an experience in my mouth that was simply the greatest.
There were plenty of other positive aspects to my night here — the wine was great, the atmosphere was lively, and the staff (massive shout-​out to Lamar) were attentive throughout.