Bar happens to do Mexican food.
When Barrio Comida departed us in November 2024, it felt like years of progress towards any kind of Mexican-ish scene in Newcastle was lost. Nothing has come close. The number of restaurants doing vaguely better than Chiquito has increased, for sure. But Barrio was far and away the best interpretation of Mexican food we’ve had here, and one of the best restaurants in the North East, full stop.
Huge boots to fill, and I don’t think anyone will do so anytime soon. What’s left? I’m keen to give the Good Times Tacos truck another go as really the only taqueria left that’s even trying.
It’s off the back of this that I had to give Motel Mexicana a try. Sometimes, you just need a taco fix. Motel Mexicana, well it’s a bar really. That happens to do food. Which is Mexican. Ish. Tex-Mex? It lists Nigel Holliday as a director because obviously, all the best restaurants are run by club promoters.
Every single chump with a foodstagram posted their #gifted Motel Mexicana fries here since it opened. I looked for some choice quotes about the food, but literally none of them had any opinion to be found whatsoever really. I suppose that’s the way that #ad goes these days. So, not exactly hopeful going into this.
I’ll keep it brief.
Motel Mexicana is a bar that happens to serve tacos. Our margarita and mezcal Negroni could just about get away with being called ‘mid’ despite costing nine and eleven quid respectively. Come on Thursday for 2-4-1. Service, you’d call laissez-faire.
It doesn’t pretend to be nixtamilsing its own corn, make its own mole over several days, or, well anything interesting really. Instead offering ‘Mouth Watering Food’, almost everything has cheddar cheese, and a fresh avocado is not to be seen. In search of elotes, tamales, or ceviche? Not here.
It’s just all a bit bland. People like Mexican food because it wallops you around the chops with heat, and spice, and acid and citrus, and blackened chillis. Motel Mexicana all feels a bit ‘packet of Old El Paso’. Where’s the chiles de arbol? Where’s the El Yucateco? Where’s the Tajin? I have an overwhelming sense of ‘I can do better at home’.
There’s some flavour to be found — the carnitas just about taste of pork with some crunchy bits of chicharrone. The chili with beans is probably my favourite here, with some depth of flavour. Normally you’ll pay £5.50ea for a taco! Steep, especially compared to others on the market. Tacos at Los Tacos #1 in prime NYC cost less. If you’re desperate to try, come on Taco Tuesday for £2.50ea tacos. We tried everything, and barbacoa comes with mozzarella(?), nachos are meh, and chicken is as boring as you can treat the protein. Can barely distinguish one bite from another.
Tried a ‘Pollo Latino Chicken’ quesadilla which is as cheesy as you want, but christ it’s one-dimensional. It, and everything here needs better — or indeed any — salsa. In terms of heat level, we’re at about ‘Liz Truss’. While nachos are at least made from corn, tortillas aren’t, bit of a mixed bag with some pliable and smooth, and others hard and brittle. They do the job. 🤷🏻♂️
Wanted to like it about as much as JD Vance, but it’s passable. No more than that. And I wonder if passable is enough these days, when on a Tuesday evening in March, we walked past a ton of restaurants in Newcastle that weren’t even bothering to open to a quiet trade, and the few we saw open were shockingly empty. The only triumphantly ‘we’re full, sorry’ was The French Quarter, without even a seat at the bar available. Tres bien.
I won’t be in any hurry to return to Motel Mexicana. But it’s no disaster. That said, the enormous void left by the loss of Barrio Comida in the North East feels like a hole that won’t ever be filled by anything half as bold. You don’t know what you’ve got, as they say, until it’s gone.
Contact: motelmexicana.co.uk
Address: 36-38 Mosley St, NE1 1DF
Cost: Bill for two £61 with two cocktails
Offers: Taco Tuesdays £2.50 tacos, 241 cocktails on Thursdays ~£9
Try also: Chucho’s, Birria Bella
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