In search of tacos in Amsterdam, part 8: Señor Mostachio

It’s been a while since I went in search of tacos… According to this website, it was July 2016 when I went to Taqueria Tacobar – such a bad experience it’s no wonder I’ve not eaten many tacos since. But for the last three weeks, I’ve been living in Oud-Zuid at a friend’s place and the Honey Badger and I happened to spot a taco joint right across the canal. Well, it would’ve been rude not to try it, don’t you think? Plus, it happened to be my birthday so a few margaritas seemed to be in order…

Señor Mostachio is a low-key, cheerful little spot that’s sort of sandwiched between de Pijp and Oud-Zuid; its walls are adorned with street art (although I’m not sure you can call it street art if it’s indoors?) and the proprietor is a friendly American chap who’s clearly proud of his place. The menu has everything you’d expect from a Mexican restaurant: margaritas, Mexican beers, nachos, tacos and so forth. We kicked off with a couple of frozen margaritas that had a hefty hit of tequila but could’ve used a bit more zing from the lime.

While waiting for our food we nibbled on some chips and salsa – the chips were homemade, as (presumably) was the salsa, but again it was missing a bit of oomph. The nachos, however, were a distinct hit: they came loaded with shredded chicken, cheese, jalapeños and pico de gallo, while sides of guacamole, sour cream and salsa were served with them. They were generous and flavoursome and great to share – just as a plate of nachos should be.

After that, we ordered two tacos each and tried as many of the different fillings between us as we could. My least favourite was the fried cactus, which just tasted like deep-fried batter (I still couldn’t tell you what a cactus tastes like – perhaps not a lot). The best was the slow-cooked beef, which was full of meaty, sweet flavour and was succulently moist. BBQ pork and pulled chicken rather blended into one for me (perhaps too many margaritas by this point?), and the fish and shrimp tacos were tasty but not as good as the beef. I’ll be going back for that alone…

I’ve no real idea what dinner came to as the Honey Badger paid (it being my birthday). However, a quick bit of arithmetic based on the menu suggests you’ll pay around €27 for two tacos, a couple of drinks, and half a portion of the “Nachos Mostachio” (assuming you’re sharing those). Bring good company and an appetite and you can’t go too far wrong.