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It’s bang on 12 o’clock on a Friday arvo and we’re the first customers to enter the newly-opened Comedor, a modern Mexican restaurant in Sydney’s Newtown. And after one visit we find out it’s big – in space and flavour; it’s bright – with natural light and clever ideas; and it’s beautiful – in its interiors and its inspired menu.
Comedor means ‘dining room’ in Spanish, so it’s fitting that this restaurant, housed in a 100-year-old warehouse, has been beautifully transformed to welcome everyone to its communal tables. Our eyes are drawn to the lofty cathedral ceiling with exposed beams as we are seated by friendly waitstaff. A drink to start? Yes, please! The drinks menu features agave-based spirits like mezcal and tequila, wines and beers (cerveza). I order the Raicilla Fresca, a refreshing cocktail made with Raicilla Estancia tequila, strawberry and cucumber that tastes like summer, while my partner sips on a Negra Modelo (a dark Mexican lager).
We sit back and watch the restaurant reach capacity in next to no time. Patrons are a mix of returning customers who are warmly welcomed and locals seeking something more than the stock standard Tex-Mex fare Sydneysiders have grown accustomed to. While we’re at the timber banquette seating, others are perched on stools at the bar. Everyone’s privy to the action as it unfolds in the open kitchen and bar. We spy maestro head chef Alejandro Huerta (of Noma and Pujol fame) deep in conversation with sous chef Alex Heery; our expectations are high.
Comedor is big – in space and flavour; it’s bright – with natural light and clever ideas; and it’s beautiful – in its interiors and its inspired menu.
Our waitress lets us know of their lunch special. Comida corrida (literally ‘food rush’) is a Mexican tradition where the working class breaks for lunch to eat a budget-friendly, fixed-price meal. It needs to be quick, hearty and cheap. At an unbelievable $35 per head, Comedor’s comida corrida (try saying that fast ten times!) ticks all the boxes. Their lunch special changes weekly, depending on what’s available in the pantry. What’s more, unlike most restaurants, your entire table need not order this special; some can opt in, while others can order à la carte, allowing diners to sample a bit of everything. How good is that?!
When we visit, the lunch special for the week is mushroom empanadas as the entrée. They are served piping hot and are so moreish; a perfect start to our meal. The main is slow-cooked pork with a habanero sauce for a chilli hit on the side, and lightly pickled onions that cut through the unctuous pork. We keep coming back for more – the balance of texture and flavour is spot on. Dessert is light-as-air freshly baked madeleines that have a light dusting of cinnamon. The chocolate sauce that accompanies it is so smooth and creamy, we could lick the bowl. We can’t believe the incredible value for money that Comedor’s lunch special offers, and I couldn't recommend it more.
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When it comes to the à la carte menu, the entrées sound downright delicious. First up: scallop with a corn miso vinaigrette. The wattleseed and saltbush are a thoughtful nod to native Australian ingredients. Presented in a shell, the scallop is cooked to perfection and the sauce begs you to slurp it all up – which we happily oblige. Next is the tiger prawn taco, which is an eat-with-your-hands kinda dish. A good squeeze of lime on the char-grilled prawn brings out the flavour of the clam and morita sauce while the nasturtium leaf adds freshness. Pull off the prawn head (don’t forget to suck out the juicy bits!), roll up the corn tortilla and gobble it up.
For mains, we go for the mole coloradito. Most mole (say it with us: “MOH-lay"; it simply means sauce) recipes include chillies, nuts, spices and chocolate. Yes, chocolate. Trust us, it adds a subtle sweetness to the dish. In Comedor’s version, chef Huerta pays homage to his grandma’s recipe. It’s vegetarian, uses 25 ingredients including Mexican chocolate, and is wonderfully earthy. Zucchini, its flowers, and yellow squash are lightly charred and placed on a bed of the sauce with toasted sesame seeds as a garnish. We’re glad our waitress advised us to order extra tortillas to mop it all up. As a serving of the fried chicken wafts past us, we wish we had ordered it, but our stomachs are protesting – although there’s always room for (our second) dessert.
The chocoflan calls to us: chocolate cake, dulce de leche and a light custard covered by a delicate chocolate disc. However, the strong cinnamon flavour is a tad overpowering. The persimmon and manchego tart, on the other hand, is pretty as it is tasty. Delicate ribbons of persimmon sit on a baked tart, the manchego cheese adding depth of flavour and offsetting the sweet fruit. It’s the perfect end to a perfect meal and, to paraphrase Arnie ‘The Terminator’ Schwarzenegger, we’ll be back.
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