MEZCLA Taco & Tequila Bar - 43 Craig Rd

We came for lunch recently. The restaurant is in an old shophouse, so the layout is unsurprisingly long and narrow, but they make it work reasonably well. The menu is on the placemat and available via QR code. I’m not a fan of QR codes, but insofar as it’s optional, that’s fine. Plus, the photos available on the web version are useful. The basic concept is Japanese-Mexican fusion tacos. Some combinations work better than others but none that we had were bad. I would note that one order is for one taco, and they’re relatively small. They also all contain a base of rice, which we didn’t like. As for toppings, we found the carnitas too fatty and chewy, basically not carnitas. You’re better off just thinking of it as a pork taco. The crab was nice. The unagi was nice. But the rice… It’s a taco, not a roll. We also tried their “unicorn” (i.e., uni + corn) antojitos. Not bad but our reaction was like that of other reviewers who noted that the uni is a waste because the whole thing gets overpowered by the cheese. We tried the tuna nacho platter, which I would recommend as tasty and good value. Finally, we tried the gyoza, which I do not recommend. They’re thick and deep fried, looking more like mini empanadas and tasting bland. Again, the carnitas filling isn’t what you’d expect for carnitas. It’s chunky and not tender. Many other items were unavailable. They do have one dessert item that we passed on. Drinks wise, they make pretty good margaritas and we tried a few of the three margarita samplers for a range of flavors. Some work better than others but none were bad and they were reasonably strong. They also have non-alcoholic drinks, including Mexican sodas. The service was friendly and good. The staff were excellent, taking the time to explain things, topping up water without ever having to ask, clearing plates, checking in, etc. Very professional. This brings me to the elephant in the room: the value proposition. Tacos are as much as $32 a piece. The almost reflexive retort to that is that the price is driven by the quality of the ingredients, but such explanations presume ignorance of what restaurants pay for that stuff. Plus, they’re tacos. You don’t need, for example, wagyu beef in a taco. It’s a taco and wagyu is mostly a marketing gimmick anyway. Thus, the overall problem is that by the time you’ve eaten enough to fill yourself, you’ve had an expensive meal and I don’t think one can disregard the opportunity cost. If I’m okay to spend that much, there are far better places to go. Finally, there are what I would call receipt shenanigans. You get handed a bill that has a donation of $1 per person to the Singapore Cancer Society on it. While a worthy cause, it has no place being on a restaurant invoice. The staff do, of course, point it out and ask if you’re okay with it or want to remove it, but it shouldn’t be there in the first place and it puts customers in an awkward position. Second, they charge 20 cents a piece for the Zappy wet towels that are provided when you sit down. This is a practice I normally only expect to encounter at scammy Chinese restaurants and is totally inappropriate, all the more so in a taco restaurant where you’re expected to eat with your hands. Yes, it’s only twenty cents, but guess what - it’s a cost of doing business. Absorb it. Seriously. Overall, while the food was generally okay, the drinks good, and the service very good, I cannot recommend eating here. If you want Asian fusion Mexican, there are better options.

The concept looked great and I was really excited to try Mezcla. Great atmosphere, drinks, and friendly staff. The food though, was disappointing. Most of the Mexican themed tacos were lukewarm and flavours were a miss for me. Everything looked great visually, but did not deliver on the rich bold flavours & spices that you’d expect from tacos.

Good ambience, food portion was small, prolly not very value for money. Tuna nacho platter was pretty tasteless except for the toppings in the middle. Had 1-1 margaritas which was pretty worth! Taco was not bad, interesting fusion

Great vibrant ambience with neon lights. We loved the tacos and cerviche. I don't see why everyone is commenting on the price being too expensive. I found it extremely reasonable, given the flavours were amazing. The Churros were the best I have ever tried. The biggest dappointment was the drinks, they came in mini martini glasses. At 9pm, the server informed us that they were having 1for1 drinks daily till closing. Overall, we had a fantastic time dining and were also thinking of coming back to try the rest of their ? tacos.

Could not understand the hype of this place. The food is good but I wouldn’t say it stands out to a lot of places in singapore. The food portions are small and expensive yet there is a self ordering system with terrible service. Ambience was also too loud, too crowded and lack of space. If you’re not seated on the sofa side, you would have these tiny uncomfortable stools. The restaurant was too narrow in general. We had to call for the bill about 3 times and that was the only human interaction we had at this establishment. There was also a 1 hour 15mins dining time. To pay such premium price then rushed out, I’d recommend to take your money elsewhere. For the price we paid, would love to have better service, comfortable dining experience and less loud music. Good to go for a try, but won’t return.

Tasty tho pricey but very good. Quality ingredients used; you can taste the freshness or the raw fish. Only issue I had was that we were seated late and yet we were rushed to clear the table for the next group, however when we walked out, no one was waiting and there were empty ??‍♀️

Great experience trying out tacos with a Mexican meets Japanese flavors. Wagyu was amazing. The taste of other flavours weren’t too outstanding though. I would appreciated bigger portions. One of the most expensive tacos Ive had in a while, so make the experience count by bringing a date or friends you want to impress!

It was recommended by my friend. Overall it was good. Some tacos were good, some tacos were normal, pulled pork was a little dried. But they tuna nachos platter was extremely good for me. Thanks for the recommendation from the staff. Loved the combination. The sauce they put on the table was good especially the yuzu tomatoes, mixed with ghost pepper bring out the kick and flavour. Pricing wise is considered a little high but I can understand.