Tequila Daisy, Barangaroo

Tequila Daisy is a buzzy Mexican restaurant located along the foreshore at Barangaroo. It has what we all need these days: an extensive range of margaritas, tequilas and mezcals. There are also Mexican inspired plates from a range of tacos as well as tostadas, ceviche and heavier meat dishes designed to be paired with tortillas.

We had planned our visit to Tequila Daisy for a Saturday night although the chilly, windy weather makes the waterfront location a bit less than ideal. Nevertheless it's busy this evening at Tequila Daisy. The crowd skews younger than expected and the space and vibe actually looks like it could at home in Bondi Beach rather than Barangaroo. The couple behind Tequila Daisy are Hamish Ingham and Bec Lines who formerly owned and operated Banksii at the same location. A few weeks before I had tried some of the Tequila Daisy takeaway dishes and wanted to try more.

I'm the first to arrive as Mr NQN has dropped me off and he, Monica and Marco go off to try and find parking. When they arrive poor Monica is slightly alarmed at the crowd as this is the busiest restaurant that we've been to since lockdown lifted. Service is friendly and when Mr NQN tries to sneak in through the front they ask him politely to check in and show his vaccine certificate. For rule lover Mr NQN this is slightly mortifying to get caught breaking a rule.

We all need a drink. There is a bar area but the main restaurant is located on the terrace. The cocktail list is tempting with a page devoted to margaritas and an extensive list of tequilas and mezcals. Mr NQN and Marco go for a couple of the margaritas. Mr NQN has the lychee, chamomile and lime with Cazadores Blanco margarita. Marco has the Coconut Margarita with elderflower, coconut and Cazadores Blanco. There are two mocktails which we like the sound of but one of them isn't available so Monica and I decide on the Tulum Dreaming with Lyre’s White Cane Spirit, Elderflower, Lime, Coconut syrup which we both absolutely adore. It hits all of the sweet, sour and salty points.

I've never met a tostada I didn't like and this crispy tostada is topped with raw kingfish, cucumber and habanero salsa. It's salty and delicious and I could easily eat a platter of these with cocktails.

There are five fillings for the tacos but we go with the fish with iceberg lettuce, chipotle mayo, cucumber and coriander. The fish is battered and crisp and we all like the pickle flavour in the chipotle mayonnaise and like the tostadas we could happily eat more of these.

Another favourite are the beef cheek empanadas which are plump, burnished pastries with a good amount of soft beef cheek filling that has a slight sweetness to it. These are paired with a black bean sour cream and Guindilla peppers.

Monica's only request was the ceviche and we all enjoy the ocean trout ceviche with a balance of freshness from grapefruit and pickled cucumber and creaminess of avocado. All it needs is a bit of the salsa on the table to season it and bring out the flavour.

After a break as the restaurant gets busier, we are onto the main event. There are five types of mains, mostly barbecued or grilled meats from spatchcock, steak or snapper and they're designed to be shared. If you do want the Mexican chilli crab you do have to pre-order that although we had tried that takeaway (spoiler: it's really good) so we decided to try something else. We went with the lamb barbacoa with chilli, lime creme fraiche and corn tortillas. The lamb is super soft and is a delicious filling for the tacos with the green chilli hot sauce and a side of the Mexican tartare which is made with mayonnaise, chimichurri, preserved lemon and chilli. There are only 6 tortillas but enough meat for 10 tacos but you can ask for more tortillas which are complimentary when ordering the lamb. However I recommend checking your bill though as we erroneously charged $24 for extra tortillas (they should be 4 for $6 so it was a double mistake) although the waiter took it off the bill when we queried it.

Interestingly there are only two sides: sweet potato fries and corn. The corn comes as five cobettes so they're good for sharing. These are rolled in paprika butter and shaved manchego cheese and is sweet, juicy and salty and goes well with the lamb tortillas.

It's getting very chilly and late so we decide to share one dessert: the chocolate piñata. This is a dark chocolate dessert with chocolate cake, chocolate dulce de leche, raspberry sorbet and a chocolate sphere that you crack open to reveal crunchy chocolate balls. You want to get a bit of every element so that the sweetness of balanced with the tartness of the sorbet and the dark chocolate.

So tell me Dear Reader, do you check your bill every time before paying? Do you plan your meals out according to the weather?

This meal was independently paid for.

Tequila Daisy

Shop 11/33 Barangaroo Ave, Barangaroo NSW 2000

Monday to Saturday 12–3pm, 5–11pm

Sunday 12–5pm

https://www.tequiladaisy.com.au/