Comalera is serving some of London's most exciting Mexican food - Review - London - The Infatuation

"Comalera, an exciting, dinky stall in Walthamstow, serves Mexican dishes that can be tough to find together on a menu in London: buttery esquites, comforting comida corrida, and nopales-topped sope. And that menu, which will draw you like a suadero siren call to Crate St James Street, tastes as good as it sounds. photo credit: Koray Firat photo credit: Koray Firat photo credit: Koray Firat Pause Unmute Crate St James Street is Boxpark-lite. Which is to say, there’s a lot of corrugated, black metal, hard benches, and groups of friends using polystyrene food boxes as handwarmers. It’s not the most scenic place to eat, and you might have to dodge a scooter-wielding child as you juggle a haul of tasty taco paisa, but grab one of Comalera’s blankets and a locally brewed Pillars pilsner from The Untraditional Pub and you’ll be just fine. Besides, with chilaquiles this good—it’s our go-to—we can put up with benches that squeak in protest every time we move. Food Rundown Esquites Buttery, creamy, and cheesy, this dish is the archnemesis of those with lactose intolerances. The hominy corn—fat, white kernels, still chewy, and with a nutty taste—sit in a silky sauce speckled with cheese and chilli powder. It’s tasty, but we would’ve liked even more chilli powder and we used an extra squeeze of lime to balance out all the richness too. PlayMute video credit: Emily Hai Chilaquiles A breakfast dish Hall Of Famer. The salsa verde is doing a lot of the heavy lifting: it’s bright and fresh, with a big whack of chilli. The tortilla chips stay crunchy despite a heavy dousing of sauce and the egg is nicely jammy. It’s delicious and one of the best things to order. Our only gripe was that we’d have liked more onions. photo credit: Koray Firat Flautas The crunch of these flautas is a rallying cry for dentists everywhere to be on high alert. The fried corn tortilla rolls are satisfyingly crunchy, with no greasiness, and the potato a la mexicana filling has a comforting level of heat. We like the crisp, shredded lettuce on top too. PlayMute video credit: Emily Hai Taco Paisa These mixed tacos are served in two tortillas, which is just as well because they’re loaded with juicy longaniza pork, tender beef, coriander, onion, and salsa. They’re generous and tasty, but the flavour of the beef gets a little lost. photo credit: Koray Firat Sope This pinched tortilla with pretty, crimped edges holds a mountain of toppings. There are creamy refried beans, nopales, sour cream, and cheese. It’s good, but each flavour is very mild and restrained, and this leaves us perfectly satisfied rather than wowed. PlayMute video credit: Emily Hai Comida Corrida This generous hunk of chicken comes covered in a thick, rust-coloured mole that’s a comforting mix of peanuts, cinnamon, and cumin. It’s warming, creamy, and will do the job of an electric blanket if there isn’t one to hand. photo credit: Emily Hai" - Sinéad Cranna