New West
El Santo has been on my radar since I moved to New West a couple years ago. But to be frank, when I looked at the menu online, nothing made me want to actually visit the place.
Merilynn has made many attempts to get me there, having been herself three or four times. I have successfully resisted in the past but tonight I finally succumbed to her pressures.
Their website states that it is a “Hint of Mexican in the Heart of New West” and “serves modern twists on traditional Mexican flavours.”
Well, let’s start with the decor. It’s pleasant enough, but there’s nothing Mexican about it, other than the gargantuan wrestling mask on the wall. Tonight is Friday and it is pretty busy. Which means pretty loud. Not My Greek Restaurant loud though.
Cocktails to start. The bar is very well stocked. A very impressive selection of tequilas and mezcals are on offer. We were informed that they had just redone their cocktail menu but to be honest I really wasn’t impressed with anything on that list, so I ended up just going with a simple margarita.
The margarita itself was very good. However, the very small size and the very large price tag made it disappointing. The picture above doesn’t do it justice but that’s a pretty tiny glass. For fourteen bucks!
Merilynn had the Los Angeles.
Tequila, grapefruit and agave. This cocktail missed the mark. We didn’t want to spit it back into the glass but we weren’t exactly thrilled about drinking it.
For our appetizer we went with the ceviché.
Cod, red onion, jalapeno and tomato in citrus juices. Very nice dish. Perhaps I prefer red snapper to cod but either way this was delicious. Served with fresh homemade tortilla chips that were amazing.
Moving onto mains, I decided on chile relleno.
Now if you’re at all familiar with this dish you will be like me when you see this and go WTF?
I guess this is the modern twist on Mexican food as stated on the menu?
Okay this dish does contain all the “expected” ingredients you will find in chile relleno. This reconstructed version does have Panela cheese, Poblano peppers and rice. Perhaps this twist is just a little too modern for our liking.
I did like the salsa ranchera but the ratio of cheese to everything else in the dish was just too high. The first couple bites were ok but in the end this one was a complete bomb for both of us.
I did have a chance to talk to the staff about it when we had finished our meal. I was interested to know whether this dish was received well by most people. She did say that most people really like it but there are those who are more used to traditional Mexican chile relleno that are disappointed by it.
Merilynn had Risotto con Callo de Hacha. That’s risotto with scallops.
This dish has a cascabel chili adobo sauce which I ended up quite liking, regardless of the fact Merilynn thought it tasted a little bit like the tomato sauce in a can of alphaghetti. (She wasn’t wrong though. Not sure what that says about my tastebuds.) The rice was cooked very well, it had a bit of a chew. And they use carnaroli, which does happen to be my preferred risotto rice. I think I would prefer shrimp with this, however the dish was still good with the scallops.
We ended up skipping dessert. I really can’t stand churros.
Overall, I was pretty disappointed with the food. But I must say the service was outstanding even with it being a very busy Friday night. Service was prompt. Our food came out of the kitchen quickly. And they were good enough not to charge us for the Chile Relleno. Kudos to the entire staffing team for an excellent service.
I think there’s a pretty good chance that I’ll be back. I wouldn’t mind trying their cornbread eggs benedict for brunch one day. And if you follow my blog you’ll know I am on a quest for New West’s best breakfast. We will see where El Santo ends up on that list.
I think I need to dive into that large selection of tequilas one day too…
Food 5/10
Ambiance 7/10 Maybe we will go on a quieter night next time.
Service 10/10
Value 7/10 Prices are a bit high on just about everything.
Overall 7/10
Side note; I have had the opportunity to try the salsa trio and the pork belly as takeout. I was not fond of either but not fair to include in a proper review as it was take out.