TL;DR: An old favourite after all these years, what would usually come to mind with the words "Mexican" being uttered. Many have come and expanded the horizons in the meantime, but that does not mean Montezuma's should be passed by. There is still a plethora of charm when looking in the right places, with big filling meals aplenty.
Montezuma's is an old flame for many a Queenslander over the past several decades. With not a whole lot of Mexican options frequently in town, this was a unique gem for so long and you could be rest assured that somewhere nearby there was an outlet. It has always been vibrant, and been able to serve a hot and filling meal ever since. For this outlet, like something is not often seen around this part of town, right there it stands in its own block, having its own establishment, and a car park to itself. For the first time in ages, serendipity had led to trying it out for one more time - and truth be told, it is just as good as it was ever remembered to be.
It was time again to meet my good friend for a meal, and if it has not been stated yet the turns for choosing where to go are alternating. For me, I saw that it was coming up a certain day and thus left it a little longer than a month. That would pass it into May, and I went to specifically aim for the 5th - essentially making it apt for some Mexican. All that purely was, was happenstance and I went to take advantage of it. At the time of deciding to make it that date, there was a specific place I had in mind. In the meantime, life had a way of happening - I was called into volunteer work early, but still was determined to fit all of the schedule in. So my mind raced to what else there was open, and this was not too far away. It was all going to work out in the end, if a delicious is in the midst it is hard to argue with that.
Inside is a mixed blessing. On one hand, they did do a good job of making the vibe Mexican due to all the bright colours and attention to detail with how Mexican architecture looks like. One another hand, this place could do with a bit of a touch-up. It might say that Montezuma's has been here since the 1970s, but that doesn't mean a refurbishment is not in order. Another toss up is with the lighting, they could allow either a little more natural light into the place, or give it some better lighting. There is potential to look unique and characteristic, with all the aesthetics around the place. Right here, you almost forget about the outside world which is a good touch to be honest.
The service was fine. Nothing really terrible about it, though nothing much stood out about it either. They took the orders fairly well, and delivered them within a reasonable time. Like with a lot of similar places, the efficiency as seen as key which they managed to handle well. Plates and such were cleared gradually, and they did occasionally come back to the table to check on how the food was.
Debates will always be happening about how to distinguish a Mexican place from something which is more Tex-Mex. Montezuma's is likely to be more the latter, though it will give the best of both worlds. You get all the usual Mexican style fare here - the burritos, the tacos, the nachos, enchiladas, fajitas, tostadas and whatnot. Vegetarians aren't quite excluded, though it is safe to say that it heavily favours the carnivores.
They start off the menu with meals that are smaller, and more based on street food. That and some dips with corn chips. Already though, those light meals still have a substantial quantity to them - you ain't seen nothing yet. The next section on the menu showcase some of the aforementioned Mexican favourites, plus several hearty stew-like meals, making something here for everyone. Most of these are served with a side of Spanish rice, and re-fried beans, plus the occasional one with tortillas. The combinations plates are the real shining star of Montezumas, which for the price of a regular meal clients are able to get a combination of their most popular meals. Most of them are enchiladas, and are something else to see.
All this is able to finished off with some light, sweet desserts. This is down Mexico way we are talking about, so expect a fair bit of chocolate here and there along with caramel. As for getting something to drink, they have a big range of beers from Mexico, as well as wines, sangria, and all the usual beverages to expect.
With perusing the menu, it becomes a bit tricky knowing what to have. Like it was mentioned beforehand, one of those reasons is due to the big plates that give you a bit of this, and a bit of that - they are always tempting when coming into this place. I was quite at the edge of considering and thus getting one of them, yet something in my mind changed it around the last minute. For a long time, I had wanted to try out the classic dish "chicken mole" at an actual Mexican restaurant - particularly after my dad had made it on several occasions. So that was the final choice.
Whether it was my dad's recipe from all those years ago, or this version of the dish, any gourmand or general fella who likes their food ought to try it out. For its strange and unusual flavour base, it earns itself a place in being on the world's fine dishes. Just reading any recipe from a web search, try to tell me another meal that is even remotely similar to it. The mole poblano dish took half a roast chicken, cooked the sucker really slowly - to the point the meat fell off the bone without much effort - and was smothered in a spicy nutty, chocolate sauce, that had nearly three dozen different herbs and spices. After that, it is garnisheed with several fruits - orange, pineapple, banana, and coconut - which is all served on a bed of Spanish rice. Let's just say, many reasons exist for why mole is such a a great and unique dish in the whole spread of world cuisine and the example right here managed to showcase that effectively.
The meat was as tender as it could be, falling right off the bones without much effort required. The sauce had definitely gotten infused into the flesh, which was also really juicy. It had a strange flavour that is really difficult to describe, and is not like anything else that exists on planet Earth. Chocolate is an apparent ingredient, yet it is not so sweet; they also have plenty of spices mixed together, yet it never feels so hot. Despite heaps of nuts being used in the sauce, unlike a satay sauce it does not become noticeable nor prominent. Regardless of that, one thing that it can be described as is scrumptious. The sauce was thick and plentiful, pouring itself right over the hot, well-seasoned rice. All the fruits on the side were sweet and juicy, contributing even more to the complex, intrinsic palate that is chicken mole. If you can rip yourself away from getting one of the combination meals, this is a good place to focus your eyes.
My friend did opt for one of those nation-famous plates - getting the Gringo which had a whole lot of beef. That was beef in a burrito, and beef in an enchilada, which then was served with a big bed of Spanish rice. It has been the lore of the land for so many years that I am a big hoover, and will make room to finish off the meals if need be. She knows it, I know it, and that became the case this time around. The enchilada got finished off, with only a quarter of the beef burrito remaining along with a good amount of the rice. I don't know how to explain it, but I have always loved the mouth-feel texture of beef that is slow cooked like it is here. Something about it is so tender, and the way it infuses the flavours of the sauce, then gets combined with the other ingredients in the burritos will be a lot like what they must serve up in heaven. The cheese is melted beautifully, and the tortillas are definitely given a buttery finish before getting cooked making them that much more delightful. Sometimes simplicity is the way to go. If the mole weren't so good, there would be order envy here.
With this friend, she always has the idea and the negotiating skills to weasel in dessert and/or coffee of some sort. Or it cold also be me. Nevertheless, she still reserves room for dessert afterwards and seeing that this place had churros, she just had to get some to finish off the lunch. An order of those was gotten, with the dipping sauce being good old chocolate. The coffee that they did was more in the vein of old-style brewing, hence it was a plain old black coffee for me. That coffee was great, with the brew allowing an initially smooth and mild texture for the drink, seeping that hit of strength throw bit by bit - not unlike how coffee gets brewed itself. The doughnuts were slightly crispy on the outside, but once you got into the middle they were soft like a cloud. Dipping them in dark chocolate is as good as it could get, the vanilla ice cream notwithstanding - though still a nice addition in its own right.
Like a lot of these old institutions that are somehow still around, it does pay to give Montezumas a go just for old times sake. It really does seem like a relic from another time when it was about the pinnacle of what Australians used to know about Mexican cuisine and how it works. Times have changed, and a bit more variety is at the finger tips - though it will still feel sparse to many North Americans accustomed to it all. For what it is worth, Montezumas is not anything that is mind-blowing and is far from the best place to get that Mexican experience. Nonetheless, on its own merits they serve a wholesome, and filling meal which is hot as the sun, and prove well as a place to saunter into at a moments notice. Maybe it is because I had it a lot as a kid, but this still does it for me.
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