Popular Leeds Mexican restaurant Pinche Pinche boasts it offers up authentic cuisine with recipes learned by the owner while in the country's capital.
The Chapel Allerton eatery, which offers takeaway and delivery, has been a staple in Harrogate Road since 2007. Owner Simon Heath, who’s from Yorkshire, claims to have learned the recipes in Mexico City when he lived there briefly in his 20s and strives to retain the authentic methods of preparing the dishes.
The menu offers Mexican street food, with dishes ranging from nachos, quesadilla, tacos, burritos, churros with a range of sides and starters. As a restaurant menu, it is rather limited as lots of these items seem very similar, essentially the same sort of food products prepared differently. It's far from fine dining, more a place to have a quick bite.
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For a takeaway menu however, it hits a lot of sweet spots. I was expecting some wild vivid flavours and colourful presentation when unwrapping my food but a lot of it fell short of expectation.
First off was the loaded Mexican fries which contained aioli, avocado salsa, jalapenos, radish and spring onion. With the £4.50 price tag, I was expecting this to be packed to the brim with sauces, vegetables and a massive portion to boot. What I got was a disappointing sight, I was faced with a small portion with just smattering of sauces. The fries were nothing special, either.
Next up was the chicken wings starter which really made up for the side dish. It was a really massive portion, so much chicken and meaty, cooked nice and crisp. The salsa on the side made for a tasty spicy dip as well. It’s a shame the fried chicken didn’t taste seasoned.
Every time I have Mexican, my go-to is a burrito and I just had to try the baja style fish one. I was really intrigued by it, it’s less common to see than chicken, brisket or pork (which are all on the menu). I feel like I made a mistake in this order. While I asked for medium spice, it was quite bland and contained a small chunk of fish.
It was a big burrito, there were lots of other ingredients in there, including roast potato, black beans, pico de gallo, ginger slaw, avocado, cheese, Chipotle aioli, rocket, according to the menu. But I felt the bland taste of avocado overshadowed it all. In hindsight, I think the meat fillings would have likely offered a lot more flavour.
For dessert, I went for churros which was the only option. These were the highlight of my meal.
It was a generous portion, with about six or seven large thick pieces of the cinnamon and sugar dusted pastries. They tasted freshly-baked with a crisp outer layer and soft doughy goodness inside. They were so moreish. The combination with the dulce de leche dip was heavenly.
The food was perfectly adequate, fine, okay, satisfactory – if a bit steep! But I was expecting so much better, I’ve had better burritos at Trinity Kitchen. Would I order from there again? Yes, I would but I think it’s nothing special, perfectly fine.
The bill
Loaded Mexican Fries £4.50
Wings and Salsa £4.95
Burrito Baja style Fish £11.95
Churros £4.95
Total: £26.35
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