Bienevenidos (welcome) to Topolabamba, the newest eatery to open on Union Street in Aberdeen.
The Mexican restaurant’s unusual name is taken from a port called Topolobampo, on the Gulf of California in north-western Mexico.
I had heard good things about Topolambamba from friends in Edinburgh who had just visited its new offering there, as well as its flagship restaurant in Glasgow.
Its website boasts authentic Mexican street food with tequila-themed cocktails, and its people even travel around Latin American to bring that authentic taste as well as importing some of their special spices.
So after a quick round-up of the amigos it was time to indulge in some tasty spicy dishes and cocktails on a Saturday evening. The restaurant is eye-catching, standing out from the crowd with a colourful frontage painted a bright teal blue with glowing lights enticing passers by.
As we walked in the atmosphere was buzzing. Practically every table was filled with couples or groups of friends enjoying food or sampling an array of Mexican beers and cocktails. You don’t have to have food either, you can just pop in for a cocktail as there are tables set aside at the front of the restaurant for this.
As our table wasn’t quite ready, we headed to the bar which has a huge selection of mouth-watering cocktails to choose from, including frozen margaritas and tequila cocktails as well as Mexcian beers, spirits and liquers. The diner is a fair size, with wooden furniture, leather seating, an eclectic mix of funky tiles and dimmed coloured lighting. After settling at our table with our mango and strawberry frozen margaritas, we got our first glimpse of what food was on offer.
Our menus resembled table mats, an A3 size sheet of paper at each place setting boasting a tapas style mix of native Mexican dishes. There was at least five choices of tacos, tostadas, taquitos and quesadillas all filled with different combinations of beef, chorizo, crumbly cheese and char-roasted vegetables. Thankfully there is also a brief explanation as I can never quite remember the difference between a tostada and a quesadilla!
There is also a spice grading: one pepper for mild (of which there are very few) right up to three peppers for very hot, which I wouldn’t touch with a barge pole!
The menu also contains a classics section including Mexican fish of the day, Habanero chicken wings and even a cheese fondue with garlicky roast peppers and chorizo. Finally, there’s a bad-boy section: slightly larger dishes that can be mixed with any of the tapas and comprises an impressive array of stuffed chimichangas and burritos.
It was quite a task choosing, especially as we all wanted to share, but all liked different things. The waitress recommended choosing three to four dishes each, but we just went for two each and some salt and chilli pepper fries on the side.
There’s handy pencils on the table so you can mark off your choices on the paper menu; this proved invaluable as I was given the crucial job of “orderer” for the entire table.
Within no time at all, dish after dish appeared on the table. The waiting staff appeared to be incredibly busy, so there was no small talk as they laid down each dish and pronounced its name so quick that we all had to prod around it to discover what was inside. But the food was extremely tasty and pleasing to the eye, all served on plates in the same striking blue colour as the décor.
Crispy fried tortilla with homemade chorizo topped with crumbly cheese; Mexican beef and pork meatballs in a rich cascabel cream sauce; and chicken tinga, a large soft tortilla filled with moist shredded chicken and a spicy tomato sauce was polished off in no time; and the dishes kept coming.
Rapidly running out of room at our table, we juggled glasses and water bottles around to make room for my favourites of the night: a chicken and salsa chimichanga – a large flour tortilla filled with beans and rice, seasoned with a hefty kick of spice – and also the (thankfully) milder king prawns grilled in chilli butter with a wonderful light citrus tequila and lime dip.
We were glad we didn’t over-order, so bear that in mind if you are visiting, and also beware of the spice; even the salt chilli pepper fries had me reaching for the sour cream, but I am a bit of a lightweight when it comes to handling the heat.
We passed on desserts (despite spotting churros on the menu) for another cocktail, this time some tequila sunrises, a refreshing summer drink, wishing we were enjoying it on a warm sunny beach in some far-flung tropical beach rather than Union Street in Aberdeen.
Judging by how busy our Saturday evening was at Topolabamba, it looks like it is going to be a popular new eatery in Aberdeen, offering something just a little different. I like the choices that they offer between small tapas dishes or a large meal, suitable for all budgets and appetites. Add in to this stylish décor with mouth-watering cocktails and you have a recipe for a great night out.
Muchas gracias for opening in the Granite City.