Guzman y Gomez, Newtown

At last. Decent Mexican food in Sydney.



Guzman y Gomez is named after the inspiring Mexican friends of co-founders Rafael Nazario and Steven Marks, who themselves met by chance encounter in Australia. They spotted the dearth of genuine Mexican food in our takeaway landscape (the type without the greasy mince, exessive corn chips and congealed plastic cheese gratings) and set about rectifying the situation immediately. Thank goodness they did.



It's a clever all-encompassing package they have here. First there's the funky logo and the hip-sounding name. On the street, the eye-catching canary yellow signage is particularly effective on Newtown's congested King Street. And inside there's an efficient looking service counter with menu board.

Reassuringly, there's also an army of staff in the kitchen, armed with spatulas and tongs, who are cooking on the grill and ladling up beans to order.


Three tacos and rice $10.90

I order three tacos and rice, and after a brief wait my receipt number is called and I collect my tray. The tacos are prepared in a traditional style, using soft tortillas--no need for precocious children offering advice on taco shells here.

There are eleven different taco fillings (including steak and onions, fish baja style, fish zacatecas and two vegetarian options: peppers and onions, and tofu zacatecas) but I end up with chicken, pork and prawns.


Chicken guerrero taco
Grilled skinless chicken breast combined with Guajilli chilli,
garlic and freshly ground cumin


Pork adobado taco
Grilled lean pork marinated with Ancho chillies, garlic and tomato


Prawns in yellow mole taco
Grilled prawns marinated in GyG's yellow mole:
chilli, garlic, tumeric and spices

They're all very good. Each taco comes with a salsa of your choosing, and although I choose the hottest (tomatillo salsa), I relent for the mild roasted tomato salsa with the prawns, at my server's friendly advice.

There's a generous serve of meat in all of them, and the Monterrey black beans are a surprising highlight, smooth glossy beans that are sweet and almost creamy, after a long simmer in a mixture of sofrito, herbs and spices.


Habanero chilli sauce
Of course one can never have enough chilli, and in addition to the complimentary jalapenos I help myself to from the counter, I can neither resist the authentic Mexican habanero sauce--helpfully lablelled as xxxtra hot sauce for those doubting it's potency (it's very good).



The foil packaging is a little tricky to handle, but sauce dribbles and occasional spillage is part of the fun, and soon eased with a quick wipe of a serviette.


Rice with sofrito
The container of rice also has a slight kick to it with its addition of sofrito, made from roasted green peppers, garlic, onions and coriander.

Burritos ($9.90) and quesadillas (two for $7.30) are also available, and the GYG Famous Chilli (beef and pork cooked with tomatoes and spices, $8.00) must've been so good it was sold out when I visited. And for those who must have corn chips, they have guacamole and chips, or chips with salsa, using Mexican totopos tortilla chips.



Guzman y Gomez
175 King Street, Newtown, Sydney
Tel: +61 (02) 9517 1533

Opening hours:
Monday to Saturday 11am-11pm
Sunday 11am-10pm