Aja M.
Yelp
Everyone talks about this hidden gem in the Wells District and my first visit was not until the Yelp Top 100 Food Crawl! After visiting, I knew I had to go back and try it for real ASAP!
I made a reservation for 4 on a Friday night and it's a good thing I did! For before the dinner rush, the place was still relatively busy with customers even seated in the patio area. The parking is a challenge but it must have been our lucky day because I was able to snag one of the three spots available right in front of the gate.
I'm not a huge fan of fusion cuisine which is probably why it took me so long to visit but surprisingly everything came together really well! We started with cocktails and ordered the Blackberry Hibiscus Margarita, the Guava Margarita, the LCE Mojito with prickly pear, and the Mambo Italiano. While all the drinks were fun and refreshing my favorite of the group was the Mambo Italiano. I was so surprised! For a bourbon based cocktail it was fruity, refreshing and not heavy at all and complimented our food.
We ordered a bunch of things to try and shared everything family style and had everything come out as it was ready. From the appetizers we got the Spanish Octopus, the Pork Belly Bao Buns, the Lamb Kafta-Bao Buns. For the main dishes we ordered the Tako Meshi, the La Condesa Carbonara, the Exotic Mushroom Al Pastor Tacos, and the Fish Tacos.
The Baos were both soft and fluffy on the outside and generously stuffed with meat. The pork belly was tender and flavorful and the lamb tasted like well seasoned kabobs. The Spanish Octopus and the Tako Meshi had to be my top dishes of the night. Visually, the Spanish Octopus was the showstopper. You have to get a bite of octopus, sausage, and potato all together! The Tako Meshi we almost didn't order since we already had an octopus dish but I'm so glad we got it because it was super flavorful with the salsa, leeks, and pork belly coming together for a very good fried rice. The fish tacos and the carbonara were both solid but the mushroom al pastor was very interesting. I'd never considered mushrooms for al pastor but the flavor paired very well with the texture of the mushrooms.
Overall, we had a great experience. The staff was friendly and food was a bit pricey but very tasty and so unique! My favorite part had to be that everything on the menu was so interesting and truly original. Glad La Condesa Eatery is part of our local restaurant scene!