Exquisito

I was really hopeful that this place would be a ‘just-​what-​I-​need’ go-​to — cheap (ish), cheerful, unpretentious, filling Mexican grub. In the event, it falls short. In fact, it feels as though it’s completely content operating as a two-​out-​of-​five restaurant. It aims low, and meets that aim.
My girlfriend and I have been twice, and both times, have been the only people there. No effort is being made to draw in additional punters, either. Footfall on this stretch of Blackstock isn’t great, but attendance is well below what you’d expect. This says to me that other locals have tried this place and aren’t hugely interested in going back.
The food is middling to crap. The portions are inedibly massive, and not hugely cheap at that. I had a small burrito, which I barely finished. It was a monster, made harder to see away by the remarkable lack of flavour — something no Mexican restaurant should really ever struggle with. Both my girlfriend and I commented that the tomato sauce tasted exactly like a tin o’ tomatoes, heated up. And nothing more. On top, there were a couple of dollops of sour cream and a mountain of cheddar. In the burrito, the smoked chicken just tasted a bit old, dry and naff. After stuffing my face with this fare for a while, it ended up like re-​chewing someone else’s jalapeño-​flavoured gum.
I feel a bit guilty slating a local, independent business — but it’s a great opportunity missed, when there are places like Loco Mexicano in Westbourne Grove which do just what you need.

This is the sister restaurant to pizzadelique (
) just across the road. A little bit of an odd twinning which makes me wonder about the owners and their history, but this is as much of a decent place for cheap and casual dinner as its Italian partner.
I guess the main draw here is the ridiculous amount of food dished up. I’m no mexican food pro, so doubt that it’s all that ‘authentic’ or whatever, but it’s still super tasty and fresh. The burrito portion is probably the most ridiculous, with four served up on a plate. My partner-​in-​crime managed to scoff the lot, just about, but he was a little quiet and still for the rest of the night. I made the ever-​imaginative fajita choice — the chicken was good and meaty (of course, lots of it), veggies sizzling, and it was nice and spicy too. The service is a little flat, but fast at least. The atmosphere is a little low if there aren’t too many people in, but it’s easily pepped up when more people are eating. I think people tend to eat here late in the evening, so that might be your best bet for a lively night.

Massive portions and really tasty.
A shared starter, main course, two bottles of Cornona and a shared cocktail jug (which was amazing!)
worked out about £26. There was adequate veggie selection and I must say some looked better than the meat dishes.
The style of music did not appeal to me. I wasn’t expecting traditional Mexican music or anything but bad pop like lady gaga didn’t really make the vibe.
Maybe a bit of latino or acoustic tracks?
The staff did their jobs well. They weren’t constantly pestering you but were around when you needed and also brought along free tequila chupitos at the end.

This has become something of a regular haunt for my partner and I, usually when one or both of us are reeling from a heavy night. It’s tasty and easy and I say that having until relatively recently, thought I loathed Mexican food full of refried black bean slop and acidy tomato stuff. The portions are scarily generous but somehow we tend to forget this between visits and always over order (getting what’s left to go always provides us with a welcome midnight snack once our appetites are revived). And it’s definitely a cheap eat, especially when you get the 25% off offered before 7pm. We’re slowly making our way through the healthy selection of seafood and veggie options but never fail to order the whitebait to start, deep fried and served with a tangy tartar sauce. It’s a firm favorite. The décor is far from exquisite as the name may suggest, but more beachside café. But I’d rather that than dreary Finsbury Park. The place tends to fill up quickly and early, great if you’re a ruthless people watcher but better still, a good incentive to get there before 7pm. And if the otherwise sulky waitress failed to meet you at the door on arrival she’s always there with a big smile to open the door and offer you a warm farewell once you’re done.

Conveniently located a mere 5 minutes walk from Finsbury Park tube station, this restaurant aims to please and achieves its aims well.
We decided fairly late on in the day (around 5pm) to book a table for 8pm on a Saturday night. Arriving slightly late, we were greeted and shown to our seats in the busy main part of the restaurant.
Food was in very large portions and delicious! For starters we had whitebait and squid, which was very tasty. For the main course we both had burritos, chicken for my partner and smoked chicken for myself. They were both delicious and very large — hungry as we were, we could have done without the starters.
We went for house wine which was excellent. They seem to have a good selection of other wines and beers too.
Service was good and we left an appropriately large tip.
Overall opinion: great, I’d recommend to others, and visit again without hesitation.