Lower East Side | 3.5/5

SINGAPORE — It’s hard to miss Lower East Side Taqueria, what with its name in lights and its brightly coloured interior. Located close to the Tanjong Katong end, this eye-catching eatery is the brainchild of the people behind Spathe Public House: Owner Christopher Lim and chef-partner Claudio Sandri.

Though neither has experience in Mexican kitchens, both say they had a blast experimenting with the cuisine and drawing on their experiences eating Mexican fare, and they have added some twists to traditional Mexican dishes.

Some standouts from our meal include the tilapia taco (S$12) that came with a fried taco shell with the texture of you tiao (Chinese dough fritters). This provided a lovely contrast to the silky fish, while the mix of tomatoes, capers, onions and coriander contributed a fresh and nuanced balance of flavours — the dish is pretty faultless.

The pork belly taco (S$11) was also commendable, with warm, tender ancho-marinated meat, subtle notes of cumin, sweet melted peppers and olives. The gentle heat of the spices crept in at the back of each mouthful, nudging us to take sips of our horchata (S$5) — a comforting, icy glass of almond milk mixed with other grains and nuts.

The restaurant offers three levels of spiciness when you order your food — the first being the safest for anyone averse to the heat of chilli, the second as hot as a potent sambal and the third fiery enough to make your head throb. (The horchata also comes in handy if you are brave enough to ask for the third level.) We tried all three and stuck to the middle ground.

As is his style, Sandri has brought some modern touches to the food by way of the sous vide machine. He uses it to cook octopus to the tenderness of meaty mushrooms and puts them in a burrito with squid (S$18). While the varying textures of creamy avocados, crisp green apples, chewy broiled bacon and tender squid worked very well together, the burrito needed an extra dimension of flavour — perhaps a hit of saltiness would have really rounded it off.

We also tried the charcoal-grilled Australian rib eye (S$28) that came on a bed of grape and green apple salad topped with salsa verde and lots of dill. Now, beef and all those fruity flavours are an unconventional pairing; and the freshness of the fruit and herbs totally overpowered the natural depth and sweetness of the meat.

Next time, we’ll stick to the tacos. ANNETTE TAN

Lower East Side Taqueria

Where: 19 East Coast Road

Telephone: 9824 4009

Opening hours:

Monday to Friday: noon to 11pm

Saturday and Sunday: 10am to 11pm