Nestled in the familiar courtyard of Asiad Village is the newly launched Tex-Mex restaurant, Arriba – Mexican Grill & Tequileria. The DSSC team secretly dined at what is India’s first Tequileria – where you’d find not only a stellar collection of Tequila and great cocktails but dishes infused with the spirit. What followed next was a complete fiesta!
The outdoor space is beautifully done up, but given Mr. Weather throwing a hissy fit, we went inside through the rustic, squeaky door to some good ol’ air conditioning. A relaxed vibe coupled with comfy seating, soft lighting and Aztec décor lent to an earthy and kitschy feel.
Executive Chef Noah Barnes, the culinary champ from TheHungryMonkey and Tabula Beach 2.0 loves experimenting with global flavours and has come up with an extensive menu to tingle your senses and ring in a good weekend. You can tell that a lot of thought & creativity has gone into the food served here.
Chile Lime Mango Margarita @ Arriba
The keen tipplers that we are, we dived straight into their cocktail menu, which is an extensive list of margaritas, (did we mention that they have 7 options for salts?) tequila based shots & cocktails as well as the regular fare of beers and spirits. They’re not taking the title of tequileria lightly! We tried the Chile Lime Mango Margarita (Loved), Basil Agave Margarita (Liked), and Mexican Affaire (Going back for more). The smoky, cinnamon-ey tequila blended well with the agave and green apple.
We started off with the Tequila infused Shrimp & Calamari Ceviche which was treated well. You could tell it’s fresh, but personally, we would have enjoyed a little more punch and zing. Our next indulgence was the Habanero Smoked Pork Skewers which was marvelous! Crisp on the outside and succulent inside, the pork was jam packed with flavour from the smoked habanero and honey.
Next up where the Jalapeno Spiced Fish Tortas which are basically sliders and you get three per plate at Arriba. The snapper was cooked well and the inclusion of Black beans and sour cream was super. We loved finding the jalapenos hidden inside the bun. The flavour combination worked wonders for us. So much so that Tortas are going to be a permanent feature on our future orders here.
Half-way through our meal, our server offered us jalapeno-infused tequila shots. The jalapeno flavour packed quite a punch; potent but went down smoothly. Another round, did someone say?
The Arriba Molcajate @ Arriba
The Arriba Molcajete with Chorizo & Pork Belly was the crowning glory of the supper. It’s a stone bowl full of the perfectly cooked meats, mushrooms, peppers, jalapenos, cheese. You get to have some DIY fun with its various accompaniments placed in little shot glasses – tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream, coriander and more cheese. Though our order was a little pork and seafood heavy, Arriba has numerous vegetarian and chicken options as well. Whatever might be your food preference, you’re bound to find a fave here.
We were really looking forward to the Churros, but were a tad bit disappointed. They tasted eggy and aren’t the best we’ve had in this lifetime. Silver lining to this course? The Chili Chocolate dip on the side was fabulous. We’re going to try the Tequila Lime Cheesecake with avocado cream next time round.
The service is friendly and efficient – our glass was never empty! They helped us around with the menu and sorted out all our questions about it.
Location: The Village Restaurant Complex, Asiad Village, August Kranti Marg, Khel Gaon Marg, New Delhi
Moolah for two: Rs.5000/-
Stevie’s Top Tip: Go hungry and with a big bunch!
DSSC reviews are anonymous (duh) and all bills are paid by us (double duh).
