Dines Out: La Choza

Forget chilli con carne, Mexican food as we know it in this country is changing, and for the better. Much as we might love a bowl of rice, mince and beans, the team at La Choza know that the city is ready for something else and they proved it last week with a gastronomic tour of the country cooked by their very young and very talented chef.
I started the evening with a margarita, a hefty one too. It was the way to go and certainly a good foils to octopus and fresh mango ceviche. I love ceviche and this was exemplary, sharp, clean and gently fiery, the octopus as tender as chicken breast and the whole simply delicious.

Next a jalapeño stuffed with smokey pork and fried in an egg white coating before being topped with cheese and a rustic tomato sauce. Complicated maybe but certainly worth every process. It was big in every sense, size and flavour, and I could eat it again and again.

A fascinating and fun evening – delicious

Mole sauce is one of the most feted of Mexican dishes and incredibly complicated when made from scratch, which is what this was. And served with duck leg it was a fascinating combination of flavours balanced with a traditional rice dish. The leg was complex to navigate with knife and fork but once done it was succulent and very tasty indeed, and there was plenty of it too. So much so that the promise of a steak course to follow was perhaps a little daunting. This dish came with a Montelobos Mezcal lime margarita with a chilli rim, truly delicious.

The steak was beef skirt as I know, or hanger or onglet as it is often called, and it is a tasty cut, but as with all the tastier cuts less tender. But for the full flavour it is definitely worth it and the marinade of beer, lime and garlic was a vibrant addition. So too was the freshly made corn tortilla, radish and chimichirri salsa additions.

We finished with a tres leche cake which we all sat and raved about. If Mexican make trifle this must be it, a comforting mountain of sweet deliciousness that put smiles on all of our faces. This came with a shot (or two) of El Jimador reposado tequila, a stunning, in many senses, end to a fascinating and fun evening in great company.

La Choza, 36 Gloucester Rd, Brighton, BN1 4AQ.
01273 945926, lachoza.co.uk