PROFILED BY DE GROOTS MEDIAHungry American ex-pats craving a Mexican fix have been raving about Baja Cantina. Chef and owner, Robert Comings was one such ex-pat himself, and his longing for the California-influenced Mexican nosh from home was what inspired him to hang up his chef’s whites at the Lowenbrau and open Baja Cantina. The restaurant is a bright and airy space, relatively lacking in the array of tacky Mexican knick-knacks usually associated with a Mexican restaurant: a quick scan reveals only one brightly coloured sombrero, though a collection of Tequila bottles has pride of place along one wall.
Forget about the greasy Mexican food that you’re used to in Sydney, Baja Cantina does it home-style and from scratch which results in flavoursome, authentic dishes. The Baja chipotle prawns go down a treat with an icy beer but if you want to stick to what you know, the nachos are famously good. A slow-baked chicken and cheese enchilada, smothered in a rich cream and fire-roasted chilli sauce, cries out for a slug of sangria after every mouthful. The timale, steamed in banana leaves, are out of this world. Step on through to the back and you’ll discover that Baja Cantina possesses a huge beer garden, which cheerfully beckons you to pull up a pew and settle in with some chips, queso and a few margaritas.
Amy Looker, December 2007
