After lots of hype on social media and word of mouth, I finally managed to go to lunch at Cartel Tacos in Queanbeyan with a friend. It is a Friday lunch time so it isn’t too busy. I hear it gets packed on the weekends and at dinner time with a queue out the door. The eatery is situated right by the lake and it’s lovely in the warmer months.
First of all, I am really excited that the frozen margharitas (various flavours) also include virgin margharitas ($14). There is only the one flavour for the virgin version which changes regularly. That day it is blackcurrant and basil. There are quite a few seeds in this which get stuck in my teeth but it is still so refreshing.
There are lots of different tacos to choose from ($14 each). Not going to lie, it does get messy so these are best to have without sharing. I choose the carnita (pork shoulder, caramelised pineapple and chilli salsa, pickled red onion, Mexican cheese on a crispy tortilla), the baja fish (with battered flathead, lime and garlic cream, pico de Gallo and pickled red onion), and the La Gamba (with chilli garlic butter king prawns, caramelised pineapple and chilli salsa, guac and spring onion).
The prawns are my favourite. So fat and juicy, and the caramelised pineapple provides a lovely sweetness though I think there’s a bit too much of it. The chilli isn’t too spicy either. The shredded pork is soft but with the same overloaded caramelised pineapple salsa, which overpowered the pork, so I couldn’t really taste much else. The three tacos are a substantial amount and more than enough to fill me (along with the virgin margharita). I’m keen to try more of the other taco fillings in future.
Apart from tacos, there are some other sides like waffle fries, fritter bites and nachos.
I had seen photos of dessert, so I needed stomach space for that. Dessert is a long tres leches cake ($19) that is designed to share – it would feed two-three people. It comes with a cinnamon dulce de leche on the side to pour over the top. This is just heavenly, like biting into a fluffy sweet cloud. Highly recommend if you’re a sweet tooth!
Cartel Tacos is very family friendly with plenty of high chairs, space for prams and lawn for kids to run around. Though there doesn’t seem to be much undercover indoor space. Most people bring a picnic blanket to sit on the grass to soak up the sunshine. Not sure how it will go in winter, hopefully there will be some heaters provided.
My reel of the experience below:
Though not the cheapest meal, I believe yes this one lives up to the hype.
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