Belfast embraces a taste of Mexico
Belfast’s first authentic Mexican taqueria – or taco shop – has opened its doors as a pop-up above the Mourne Seafood Bar on Bank Street, Belfast.
Chef, Adam Lynas (35) and his Mexican partner, Eliza Vignolle, are behind La Taqueria which has the support of Mourne Seafood’s chef and owner, Andy Rae.
Speaking to LCN recently, Adam – who has worked in Roscoff and Shu – indicated that he intends to run the pop-up at least until Christmas, at which point he will assess his next move:
“Business has been great so far,” he revealed. “We had a fantastic opening weekend and had to turn around 100 customers away on the Saturday night because we were so busy, it was non-stop.”
Inside the tasteful 50-seater restaurant, there isn’t a cactus or a sombrero in sight. Instead, the interior is decked out in soft Mexican pastel shades of blue, pink and orange. A full bar service is also available, with an emphasis on Mexican tequila and a full cocktail menu.
“I was confident from the outset that people were going to like what we had to offer,” added Adam. “There’s really nothing like this in Belfast. There’s great Mexican food with the likes of Boojum, but these are authentic Mexican tacos and no-one else has anything like them here.”
Adam met his girlfriend during eight years that he spent living and working in Montreal. She comes originally from Monterrey and the pair have travelled extensively in Mexico. In fact, Adam has been there a total of 17 times!
Adam met Andy Rae during his days working at the former Roscoff restaurant in Belfast and when he was considering the Mexican venture, he called his old colleague for some advice:
“He jumped at the idea of the pop-up, he loves the food and the vibe, and he suggested going into it together,” said Adam. “He’s been a brilliant help to me and we couldn’t have done this without him.”
As for the future, Adam says he is focused on trying some new dishes and finding out what his customers like:
“Everything so far is going well, we’ve had great feedback, and we’re keen to keep going in the right direction,” he added.
Our picture above shows La Taqueria’s Adam and Eliza in their new pop-up venue.
More pictures below…
