Calita, Bondi

Calling seafood and taco lovers! Calita is a small 26 seater Mexican marisqueria (aka a seafood restaurant) on busy Campbell Parade in Bondi. There are cocktails, a Mezcal bar and a small menu that focuses on the Baja region in Mexico.

Calita means tiny beach in Spanish - ironic given that it faces the rather big beach of Bondi. It's a glorious 30°C/86°F day when we made our way to Bondi. It was me, Queen Viv and Miss America eating at Calita and I had requested an outdoor table. There's a gentle breeze, sunshine and the smell of salt air. Classic Bondi.

When I suggested Calita Miss America said, "I'm not a huge fan of Mexican food." Upon further prompting it turns out that he isn't a fan of Tex Mex food which is quite different from the food on offer here so I feel like there's a chance he might enjoy this food. Service is very friendly and personable and our waitress recommends a few things to us. The owners and chefs are Liber Osorio from Mexican and Pablo Galindo Vargas from Chile.

Miss America bypasses the Jalapeno and Mango Margarita goes for a classic Margarita. It's so lip-smackingly good that he keeps ordering these the whole night. Queen Viv likes bubbles so it is Prosecco for her while I go for the non alcoholic Horchata, a milky, lightly sweetened rice milk drink with hints of cinnamon.

Our conversation jumps topics from Adam Driver Cat, Four Seasons Total Landscaping and how good it would be if there was a Seinfeld 2020. All of this is punctuated by bites of the food. The first plate to come out is everyone's favourite of the night. It's blue swimmer crab tostados with a habanero mojo sauce and mango relish on top. We love the crunch of the chip and the generous portioning of the crab on top and it's spicy and sweet at the same time. I could easily eat half a dozen more.

The Al Pastor ceviche has sashimi grade fish with slices of grilled pineapple and crispy canchitas or corn kernels. It's fresh and very tasty. Also at this point Miss America has completely reversed his stance on Mexican food and proclaims his love for it.

The Governor's taco is their specialty taco it is filled with XO prawns, Oaxacan cheese and salsa poblano using poblano chillies, tomato, onion and garlic. It's nice although the XO prawns are completely overtaken in flavour and texture by the rest of the filling.

Whereas the Vuele a la Vida is all about the prawns. Described to us as a Bloody Mary crossed with a prawn cocktail this is very generously portioned with lots of perfectly cooked prawns and a lightly spicy clamato juice and tomatoes. On the side are saladita crackers upon which you spoon the prawns.

Our favourite taco is the soft shell crab taco on a blue corn tortilla. The crab is dipped in a squid ink batter and deep fried and served with red cabbage slaw, pico de gallo and avocado with lime on the side. I really like the texture of this blue corn tortilla and I would order these again in a flash.

Unfortunately we've lost track of time (the divergent conversation will do that!) so there isn't enough time to enjoy the dessert, a delightful sounding pineapple and tequila sorbet.

So tell me Dear Reader, is there a cuisine that you thought you didn't like but then changed your mind about?

This meal was independently paid for.

Calita

Shop 1/266 Campbell Parade, Bondi Beach NSW 2026 Monday to Thursday 3–10pm Friday & Saturday 11am–10pm Sunday 11am–9pm Phone: (02) 7227 6262 calita-mexican.com.au/