El Cartel

So… Yeah. This was good, really good.
I took myself here for Mothers’ Day — just me, a book, fantastic food and delicious margaritas. I opted for the duck carnitas tacos and guacamole with plantain crisps. The tacos were generously heaped and the guac lasted beyond the crisps and was a delicious accompaniment to a few bites of duck.
Honestly it blew me away. I left feeling satisfied (and a bit tipsy!) and while I coule have eaten more that was really just because it was so incredibly delicious.
Huge props to the people behind the Bön Vivant here, El Cartel is a gem.

El Cartel is all casual and cool, with dim lights and hip Mexican interior. I came here with two friends with margaritas and tacos on the agenda and left positively unwound at the end of a working day. Staff were such a pleasure and made our visit a fun, memorable one.
The mixed berry frozen margarita packed a punch. This grown up slushee made for one delicious cocktail. We’d all ordered different flavours so, after trying the mango, peach and apricot and also the original margarita, I can confirm that they’re all pretty damn tasty. I’m not a tequila drinker and I don’t like my drinks too strong, but this was just perfect; strong but not overpoweringly so.
The food? Outstanding! We ordered just about every taco option on the menu and one from the specials board; a total of ten tacos. This meant we got to try as much of the menu as possible and also satisfy our insatiable post work hunger. I tried duck, beef, pork and cod and, whilst I’d normally have preference over certain kinds of meat, I genuinely can’t pick a favourite because they were all so delicious. Every dish was a standout; every taco a winner; every bite a pleasure.
Tacos, anyone?

GreAt little restaurant recommended by a bartender. Food was excellent! Only problem is that we had to wait because it is so popular. Went to bar across the street in the meantime.

Man, what can I say about this place except: what a find! My guy and I were in Edinburgh for the day and were actually looking for a pub off the beaten track when I spotted two huge Mexican flags flying off the side of a building. Being half Mexican and missing some good Mexican food here in Scotland, you know I b-​lined it over to the flags to figure out what we had just discovered. I peered in the windows to see tops about 10 tables packed in to this wee café. It looked full up, so we kept walking and I looked them up online.
First things first, it’s a first come first served type café. No reservations taken. They have a website, but there’s not much on it, only directions to check out their facebook page for a menu. After searching around a bit, I finally found their menu. Prices were pretty decent, so we walked back to see about a table. There was one two seater available, but we were told it was taken and that we could be put on the wait list, which was 45 mins to an hour. No worries, we could just go hit up a pub around the corner while we waited (which is exactly what we did).
The interior of this place is pretty typical Mexican. Sombreros on the walls, day of the dead skulls everywhere and a view straight back in to the kitchen as soon as you walk in. There are also a few frozen margarita machines and a fridge (hidden behind a blackboard) stocked full of beverages.
There menu is pretty awesome, with something for everyone (there are even veg options) Tacos (come 2 to an order), quesadillas (come three slices to an order), jalapeño poppers (come three balls to an order), beans, rice, slaw, etc. We ended up going for the lamb tacos, the beef tacos, the chorizo quesadilla, and the mexican slaw. The beef tacos came first and they were delicious. The beef was cut in bite size thick slices, so tender and amazingly seasoned. The corn tortillas were home made and perfect. The jalapeño poppers (they’re actually called bombers on the menu) came out next. Not exactly my idea of a jalapeño popper, but they were deep friend balls of feta type cheese (salty and chunky) with jalapeño mixed through it. They were served with a chipotle cream based sauce which went very well with them. Next up were the Mexican slaw and the lamb tacos. The slaw was a perfect mixture of cabbage, carrot, onion, pomagranate seeds and the chipotle cream based sauce that came with the bombers Deeeeeeeelicious! Seriously, so much tastier than I could imagine. Lastly, the lamb tacos. Holy mole’ mother of pearl, they were amazing. The lamb was tender and shredded, topped with mint and these slices of cucumber that reminded me of a NYC deli pickle, crisp and salty. We agreed that these tacos were the best thing about the meal, even though everything as a whole was amazing.
We looked around and noticed so many more things we could have ordered that people were eating, but were pleased with the amount of food we ordered and how full we actually were when we were done.
To top off the meal, we also ordered up some mezcal and ginger beer. I absolutely hate tequila (unless it’s mixed in to a sweet frozen margarita), so I took about two sips of my drink and passed it over to my guy who gladly finished his and then mine. Yick! (but very tasty according to my guy– and the other people around us who were happily drinking tequila or mezcal or beers or margaritas off their pretty extensive booze menu).
This place is a hidden gem and it was a great time had! The music was amazing (I love me some hip hop beats) and the staff were friendly and attentive. The toilets could have done with a bit of scrubbing as both men and women were using the women’s toilet, but that didn’t put me off in the slightest.
We will be back for sure, and I recommend you give this place a go, asap. Just make sure you give yourself some time to wait as this place is hopping!

Call me a philistine, but I’m not the kind of guy who much goes in for ‘trendy’ restaurants or that style of food or eating experience. I’m talking about this sort of thing:
There are some cuisines for which that is absolutely appropriate and, in such instances, you would set your expectations accordingly. Mexican food, however, is not the type of thing that I want to order tiny «tapas-​style» servings of from a bemusing and expensive menu.
My first clue that I was not to enjoy El Cartel should have been when our waiter told us that the menu is «Mexican street-​food». Well guess what, buddy: this isn’t a street stall, it’s a restaurant and you’re charging me restaurant prices!
The menu itself is a single, sparse page with two columns: one for tacos, one for other things. The selection of tacos is pretty varied and imaginative. Between the wife and I, we ordered three pairs of tacos (they come in pairs) and one bowl of guacamole.
The guacamole, as others have noted on here, was really excellently tasty but also amazingly small. Like maybe one tea-​cup in size. That might be fine if it was an amuse bouche, but this costs almost as much as an entire burrito from Los Cardos. It was served with about a dozen plantain chips. Sure, that’s more exciting than some tortilla chips from a bag, but they were extremely greasy (actually leaving pools of oil on the chopping board on which they were served), tasteless and so brittle that it is virtually impossible to actually scoop any guacamole with them.
As others have noted, the tacos are tiny. TINY. And you pay £6.50 for a pair. They were mostly quite tasty, although not well thought out practically. I don’t know if there’s some sort of special technique to eating them, but I couldn’t take a single bite without the whole thing disintegrating. There was also a thick leaf of kale running though one and, given how fibrous kale stalks are, it was impossible to bite through, leading to the entire taco being turned inside out and plopping onto my plate with the first bite.
The flavours are interesting, though. Everything seemed very well prepared and the ingredients harmonised together. I don’t know about authentic ‘street food’… do street tacos in Mexico really come topped with crumbled sheep’s cheese, pomegranate and toasted pumpkin seeds?
I want to emphasise that the ambiance and décor inside is *not* that of a fancy restaurant; it’s very casual just like the service, incongruously with the pretentious menu and lofty prices. A number of very hipster-​looking people were wandering in and out while we were eating, greeting the waiting staff with hugs and kisses right in the middle of the restaurant. This is run by hipsters, for hipsters and it felt a lot like I was sitting in a stranger’s living room rather than in a restaurant.
After the wife and I ate three diminutive tacos, half a small bowl of guacamole, half a thimbleful of beans and drank one bottle of beer each, our bill was just shy of £40. I left hungry, unsatisfied and irritated.
Don’t get me wrong, the food is great quality in here and tastes pretty good. But decide what you are, guys: a fancy restaurant or a Mexican street-​food dive. You can’t charge the prices of the former with the presentation of the latter. The ingredients of Mexican food is largely tortilla bread, rice, beans and vegetables. These are seriously cheap ingredients and there’s no reason to be so stingy with portion sizes.

I was beginning to think that maybe I didn’t like Mexican Food. I’ve tried many ‘Mexican’ restaurants and was getting fed up (literally) of stodgy food served with cheap mass produced tortilla chips.
After reading the reviews I decided to give El Cartel a go. First attempts at getting a table at this tiny, popular restaurant that doesn’t take reservations all failed. But today, after skipping lunch to cram in as many Doors Open Day venues as possible, we found ourselves starving at the awkward time of 5pm. Well awkward quickly turned to awesome! We got a table at El Cartel!
First glance at the menu left me bemused. A couple starters and a selection of tacos. No buritos, enchiladas, fajitas, nachos… I was hungry. Would there be much I wanted? Well, it didn’t take long to realise we wanted EVERYTHING! The flavor and texture combinations of the dozen or so tacos all sound fantastic. And the starters were just as ‘appetising’. For the 2 of us we decided to get the Sweet Potato quesadilla and the guacamole (with plantain chips — NOT bagged tortilla chips). We somehow managed to narrow it down to just 3 tacos (you get 2 of each; perfect for sharing). We went for pumpkin, steak and the battered cod.
The food came as it was ready — which was fine for us — didn’t want it all in one go. We started with the guacamole — and it was perfect; really tasted the avocado and the plaintain chips are a new fave. Also loved the smoky flavor the chorizo added to the sweet potato quesadillas — these I will be trying at home!
The tacos were all great. The perfect size and a great mix of flavours and so full of veggies. We easily got our 5 a day with the lettuce, tomatoes, radishes, courgette, kale, pumpkin, avocado, pomegranate seeds… I think this may qualify as ‘health food’!!
So, for restoring my faith in Mexican food (and not a cheap tortilla chip in sight) I give El Cartel 5 stars!

Lets have a for real talk about Mexican food for a minute: what it is, what it isn’t, and why it’s amazing.
Tex-​Mex, as good as it can be, is not authentic Mexican food. Burritos are God status, but they’re a Texican creation. Mexican food is not nachos. It is not salsa from a jar. It is not gummy flour tortillas. It is not smoking mountains of ganga and then going to Taco Bell.
Mexican food IS: colorful, textured, vibrant, bold, harmonious, spicy, and emotional. El Cartel is Mexican food! Mexican food is El Cartel! As good as any high-​end restaurant you’ll find in DF, but found, weirdly enough, in Edinburgh.
I thought I was going to go to this place to get barely passable Mexican grub. Just enough to cure any homesickness I may have been feeling. After all, I’m in the UK… how could I expect more? My first clue I was wrong happened when I stepped in the door. It looked like I had rolled into Boyle Heights or Huntington Park. They were bumping Gangstarr. Everyone had neck tats. There was no way in fuck I was in Scotland.
They made platanos amarillos to go with their epic guacamole. It was an amazing textural substitute for tortilla chips, and healthier. Their Mexican slaw used pepino seeds to make an incredible crunch. Pomegranate was used liberally. Their duck tacos were just… stupid. They were so good that I scored seconds. My boyfriend (a lifelong Angelino) said they were the best tacos he’s ever had. I concur.
I also bought a bottle of their hot sauce, I’m cheating on my girl, Cholula, so you know that ish is the bomb.

Yes. This place has the best tacos I’ve had this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Everything about this tiny restaurant is cute, from the décor (sugar skull fabric cushions, slightly glam turquoise wallpaper with gold skulls, rustic wood tables), to the Day of the Dead beer and the counter which is also a display case for a ridiculous range of tequila.
The menu is short but perfectly formed, it has a selection of tacos, sides and small dishes that were all excellent. The server explained to us that the food was tapas style and that everything would come out when it was ready. Myself and two friends ordered three types of taco, three small plates and all the sides, and every single thing was fantastic. I highly recommend the steak tacos and the guacamole with plantain chips was really great too! Lucky we had a large table because it was covered in food but we finished every scrap.
The whole lot of that plus five drinks came to less than £70! We were so happy with the whole experience we’ve all vowed to come back with others.
A word to the wise: because the restaurant is small and they don’t take reservations it can get busy, but if they don’t have a table when you arrive then you can nip across the road to the Bön Vivant for a beverage and they will come to get you when they have one free. Top service!

My flatmate told me about this place and how we needed to stop in for tacos sometime. We decided to stop in for some tacos and drinks recently and the food turned out to be good and fresh. I am from a state in the US that borders Mexico, so I am usually skeptical of «Mexican» food in the UK. But, in the case of El Cartel, they are definitely good at what they do.
I would describe the food at El Cartel as «boutique-​style» Mexican street tacos. What I mean by that is, the tacos are delicious with fresh ingredients, but I wouldn’t say they are actual street-​style tacos. They are an upscale version of that. By the way, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing either. For the intended Edinburgh demographic, the food and drink match up quite well.
The margaritas are good as well, although I do have to note that I’ve never in my life seen a rhubarb or pear flavoured one –either in Arizona or Mexico. Again, the adaptation of the food and drink to fit the boutique-​style Edinburgh food scene is quite impressive. They manage to combine the best of both worlds nicely. In the end, I think El Cartel is a good place to stop in.
One other thing, the plantain chips and dip are good as well. They made me very nostalgic about some good times down in Mexico, hanging out by the fishing villages in Baja. I suppose that the Dos Equis bottled beer also played a role in that as well if I’m totally honest.

EPIC. First time here and my his place is now going to be a regular place.
Stopped by for lunch with my partner. The atmosphere is good, fairly small place so I imagine it’d be pretty packed on a Friday night.
Our server was really helpful when we ordered. We got the guacamole with plantain chips after reading previous reviews and were not disappointed. The guac was DELICIOUS.
Next up the carne asada and pork shoulder tacos. Both delicious, but the carne asada is a MUST. The steak was cooked beautifully, smoky and spicy.
After this we were still a bit hungry so also ordered a serve or the quesadilla. I’m pretty sure I could drown in a tub of these. The whole ‘goats cheese with Mexican food’ thing works beautifully.
Serves are pretty small, however you can just keep ordering as you eat until you get full. They also serve these amazing garlic roasted peanuts which is a lovely touch.
I’m already excited for my next visit which will certainly include a margarita :)

This place is cool. REALLY cool. Cross between a totally laid back bar with old school hip hop beats and a kick ass tacqueria. What’s not to love?
The margaritas are strong, yet smooth and go down way too easily. Tacos come in two’s, perfect for sharing, and mainly meat centric — although my favourite was the plantain taco, which had a great meaty texture and was really complemented by additional seeds and pomegranate!
The highlight though, is the guacamole. YOU MUST ORDER THIS. In fact, order two. Chunky guacamole topped with feta and a sprinkling of Pomegranate seeds makes for a creamy taste sensation. It’s served with plantain chips, which is genius. I wish they sold them by the bag.
They’re open long, late hours too– can I go for lunch and then come back for dinner???

Considering it’s only been open for a month or so, I consider myself VERY lucky to have stumbled across this absolute gem whilst on a long weekend in Edinburgh.
The food is absolutely amazing with the combination of flavours in the tacos that blow your mind. Fresh, flavoursome and fabulous to say the least.
We opted for the salmon cerviche and guacamole for starters. Both very fresh and immediately showed us that we were dealing with high standard food.
The tacos (at a reasonable £6.50 for two) are incredible. We visited this place twice because we loved it so much so got to sample a few of them. Our favourite was the fish tacos, but the pork and duck were also both excellent.
The staff were really friendly but not overbearing and the margarita’s were refreshing and a perfect accompaniment to the food.
They’ve kitted the place out with dark colours and bright Mexican skulls which match the rugged rap music which pumps the ambience of the entire place with an edgy (yet not pretentious) hipster feel.
Highly highly recommended!

Yum, yum, yum and apart from Jalapeño poppers, it is all gluten free!
El Cartel has been open for about two weeks (if that) and replaces the much missed (and good for gluten free) Tex Mex 2.
Owned by The Bön Vivant and situated on Thistle St across from TBV and the companion, it is a great addition!
A tequila list as long as my arm, a mescal list and three types of margarita (clear, frozen blood orange and frozen blueberry and rose), plus beers then you can be well ‘hydrated’.
I loved all the food we had — starters around £5 so we had plantain and chorizo fritters and guacamole with plantain chips and pork scratchings. For me the sign of great Mexican food is the guac and with pomegranate, it was perfectly seasoned.
Tacos were fab — good range of fillings (we had fish, steak and duck) and I loved them all as they were all sufficiently different with salad, veggie or spicy accompaniments!
The place is well staffed, food came quickly and good service. It’s all dark wood, dark décor and rap music so more menacing Mexican rather than what you’d normally find in a chain. I loved it and can’t wait to go back.
So, prices: margaritas — £7.50, starters £5, tacos (2 in serving) £6.50 and chilli chocolate ice-​cream £2. We had 2 drinks, 2 starters, 3×2 tacos and ice cream = £43.50! Brilliant :-)