Boquita – Wellington’s Plant-Based Mexican Maverick

I’ve been walking up and down the Kent Terrace laneway for months on end, only ever soaking up the sights of car dealership after car dealership – until one day, and petite little precinct popped up out of nowhere which instantly caught my attention. When I approached this new establishment, the smells instantly warmed up my body and made me crave whatever was cookin’ up inside there. Being the nosy parker, I am, I had a glance through the window to see what could possibly be creating such a serendipitous smell, and that’s when I found Boquita.

From that moment onwards, I would risk looking like an Olympic power walker marching down Kent Terrace just get another sneak peek into Boquita to see what marvelous Mexican meals they were concocting. This restaurant quickly became known as the pioneer of Mexican cuisine within Wellington central, with their parent restaurant, La Boca Loca, equally taking the outer suburbs of Miramar and beyond by storm. After near-criminally stalking their Insta feed, I decided that enough was enough – I needed to ditch the supermarket shop and instead blow my paycheck on a proper authentic feast. So, a few weekends ago, that’s what I did. And it was mind-blowing.

Me and the boyf. Arrived at Boquita with our tummies empty and my wallet ready to drop some fat cash on tacos. This place is pretty snug and always heaving with hungry peeps, so we had a little wait on our hands for seats and food – but believe me when I say the wait was totally worth it. So now that we’ve set the scene for the night, let’s talk taco.

To kick off our feast and tease our appetites, we ordered their daily special which was a Mexican take on thick and crunchy loaded fries, with 2 variations of creamy hummus and a dollop of refried beans taking the place of your average T-sauce. This was the perfect little starter to snack on whilst we were hungrily waiting for the main event – but it also teased our tummies as the combination of flavours in those little fried patatas were immense, and they disappeared in minutes, leaving us even thirstier for tacos. After what felt like hours (we literally didn’t eat all day just to appreciate the meal more and eat double our weight in tacos) – the plates hit our tables, revealing 3 of the most beautiful tacos I’ve ever seen. After ravishing the plate with our eyes, we tucked on in.

I started off with their spicy scrambled tofu taco, whose fiery heat warmed my body in the right places and got my taste-buds craving more. The next I devoured was their chipotle tempeh taco, whose combination of flavours danced the salsa on my tongue and took the meaning of taste to a new level. I was filling up at this point, but I had one more to go and I wasn’t about to go and commit a food felony – so I ignored the slight overeating tummy cramps and hit that last taco, which was a beautiful combo of rich refried beans and lentils that was perfectly complimented by the fresh slaw and tangy tomatoes. If you asked what my fav taco was, I couldn’t tell you. Each one brought a different and foreign flavour to my palette and took me on a new flavour journey that I never wanted to end.

This place exceeded all expectations I had for it, and I can’t thank the owners and chefs enough for bringing us something so authentic, communal, and special to the Wellingtons Mexican food scene. Sitting and dining in this place felt like you were eating at somebody’s house, the long sharing tables and open kitchen creates a vibrant social atmosphere where strangers became firm friends over the course of meal. If Boquita is the start of Wellington’s new food scene, Imma need to get a bigger scale because this place absolute smashed it! I can’t award anything lower than a 10/10 for this place, but I know they definitely deserve higher. Everything was perfect, and it goes to show that even the humblest of places that don’t stay with the grain or follow those nasty food fads, really do make waves in the food scene and provide us with innovative dishes that quickly become all-time favorites.

If you’re reading this and haven’t yet been to Boquita – what are you waiting for?? Whether you have cash in the bank or deep in the reds, the extra splashing out to get a taste of the food here is worth every penny.

The Ass Of The World – Well, Sorta…

I never thought I would have ever said this. But I’ve been to the ass of the earth. And I liked it.

Okay, let’s give some insight, because to some people that sounds pretty gross, and well If it’s your thing then you might want to find a different blog to read. El Culo Del Mundo is one of Wellington’s newest food hubs located right next to The Chippery on Roxborough Street, and basically, its name translates to ‘the ass of the earth’ – I don’t know if this was planned or not, but either way, it cracks me up (YES PUN).

So, knowing that the name meant ass, I had to see if their fare also translated to ass. I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. We decided to hit this joint on a sunny Sunday afternoon, carelessly leaving the kids me and my boyfriend were babysitting to fend and cook for themselves (probably bad in hindsight, but they survived) and met up with some good mates to test-drive this new whip.

Vegans and plant-based protestors – you can rejoice. Because this place is getting on the old protein replacement band-wagon. How you say? Crickets. These little critters have stirred up a storm in the food industry recently, with their super high protein properties, and FINALLY a restaurant in Wellington is serving them up with spice. Naturally, we tried this right away, and hand-on-heart, I was nervous. But as soon as I popped that crunchy cricket in my mouth, the fear went and the flavor kicked in – absolutely delicious, and even better served on a nacho chip with a little guac.

Next, we glazed over their mains to see what else would tickle our fancy. Bougie-as dishes like ox tongue tacos, bone marrow tortillas, and tiger prawns jumped out at us – however for the menu that we got served, we felt like the veggie options were a little lacking. Maybe rejoice a bit less vegan friends. However, for what they lacked in veggie options, they sure made up for in flavor. Those tiger prawns – AMAZING. The creamy guac and home-made salted nachos – INSPIRED. The ox tongue taco – MELT IN THE MOUTH. So, you could say their food was pretty dope.

So all in all, a pretty cool place that serves up some fine ass fare has just opened up a stone’s throw away from Courtenay place, and is a great addition to the Wellington food and drink scene. The only criticisms I got for this place are as listed (clears throat); Have more veggie options, have the same menu online as in the restaurant (I wanted to try the cauliflower, but couldn’t order it!) AND increase the portion size or lower the price of meals, because if you’re running on a low tank and need a feed, you deffo gotta order multiple meals to satisfy the hunger – I paid $15 for 3 tiger prawns.

Apart from that, I’m gonna give this place a 7.5/10 on the ol’ CCL (cafecrawlerlucy) scale. Great people, tasty noms, and a good selection of beers and drinks. A few little criticisms here and there, but hey, for a place that’s JUST opened its doors – I reckon it’s doing pretty good!

Beasty Boi’s At Burger Liquor

Hello once again friends! I’m back with a burger-licious blog post that is guaranteed to get you tummies rumbling and your legs running to the nearest burger joint – that burger joint being Burger Liquor of course.

Now, it’s not my first time at this rodeo – do you think I would have lived in Wellington for three years and NOT gone to this city famous burger dwelling?? Although, if you follow my Instagram (@cafecrawlerlucy – shameless plug), you’ll know I’m actually super bad at going to some of the long-time foodie hotspots… anyway, moving on!

So, here’s a little backstory: My family friends had just travelled 2 hours driving and 4 hours on the ferry – and knowing the ferry food – they were STARVING when they got here. I wanted to show them something iconic, something very Wellington, and something that would fill that food shaped hole in their stomachs. Instantly, Burger Liquor came to mind. I’ve never had a bad burger there, I’ve always been treated super well there, and I’ve always gone home with a smile on my face and a food baby in my belly. This time was no different.

Picture 8 ridiculously loud and semi-tipsy Englishmen around a too-small-but-will-work table, and that’s pretty much exactly what we were like. First, we started off with some of their locally sourced brews, including Parrot Dog, Whistling Sisters, and Garage Project – which really hit the spot for my traveler guests (you can imagine after a ferry ride, a cold beer is next to winning the lottery). Next – after a lot of uhmmming and ahhhing – we ordered our burgers. I love how you can create your own signature burger here, and you can make it as meaty or as plant-based as you pleased – leaving nobody out of the flavour game!

I’ve had their burgers quite a few times now and wanted to see if their tacos were any better than their bun-defeated burgers. I have to say, they didn’t look like much, but the flavours of that fish taco were pretty darn good! The tacos weren’t Wellington’s best tacos (obviously with it being a burger place) and could’ve used a big more filling (maybe some fresh slaw or something?) but other than that, they were delish! Some of their other standout burgers was the pulled jackfruit & veggie patty luxe deluxe with mushroom bacon (for you vegans vixens out there), the Bernie mac (for you not-so-vegan vixens) – and of course I gotta shout out their classic ‘The Standard’ – as far as burgers go, this one is definitely above-standard (geddit?). Oh, how could I forget – their FRIES. Whether curly or straight, them fries are the king of potatoes.

Summing up, a pretty flipping good feed was had at this wicked Willis Street joint – and I can guarantee that if you go there, you’re going to have exactly the same amazing food journey. For everything that I experienced that night, I’m gonna give Burger Liquor an 8.5/10. If the tacos were a little fuller and maybe were handmade tortillas – it would’ve bumped you up onto the god tier. Butt hey, with everything else in the world, there’s ALWAYS room for improvement – even with 3 Michelin star restaurants! Stay awesome Burger Liquor – I’ll be back very soon!