A taste of Mexico | El Luchador
Rather inconspicuous in the vibrant circle 5, in a bright red building, there is a Zurich primary rock: The El Luchador. El Luchador was founded as early as 2012 and since then the Zurich gastronomic scene cannot be imagined without it. Mexican food in Zurich: There are already many who try to be a “real Mexican restaurant”, but still, serve fajitas and burritos and call themselves "authentic". You won’t find fajitas and burritos on El Luchador’s menu - and that’s what we like about it! What they serve to their guests has nothing to do with Tex-Mex food, but could just be something served in a good Taqueria of Mexico City. It’s not primarily about a super fancy interior, but rather about good food. The furnishing is very casual, in summer you can linger outside on simple wooden benches and tables.
In addition to Mexican street style classics such as Tacos al Pastor, Quesadillas or Carnitas, there is a special menu every week, which brings out the culinary tradition and richness of Mexico.
When we looked through the menu, we asked ourselves: Have you ever eaten this before? That’s exactly what we love. A restaurant with dishes that we had never tasted before. However, as a starter, we always like to order a classic, so we went for Guacamole con nachos. If the simple starter does not convince us, we usually know what to expect. Not so in El Luchador; we actually wanted to lay in the Guac - so good! 100% Guac approved. We also got two margaritas, the best in town, as they say.
Moreover, we ordered the Aguachile - a dish we never heard of before. To be fair we don’t eat Mexican food that often but guess that will change now after we tried this gem. Aguachile is a fish and shrimps mixture marinated in lime chili sauce with cucumber, avocado and onions. Not only did it look super appealing with the stunning colors, but it was equally delicious.
As the main course, we chose Taco del Res and Quesadillas des Res (both with beef). We have a weakness for good meat (especially beef) and the quality of the beef definitely convinced us. Visually, the tacos and quesadillas are not particularly spectacular - but they don't have to be. The taste is amazing! Besides the tacos, they serve their popular house sauces (Pico de Gallo, Salsa Ranchera, Salsa Roja and onion-coriander). Tacos in your hands, ready, go!
After we were actually already perfectly happy, we were asked if we wanted to try cactus. Cactus? Yes, we definitely wanted to try it. We were allowed to get our hands dirty again and try the Taco de nopal. The cactus was pickled beforehand and tasted sweet and sour at the same time. Something like pickled peppers. We like!
As the grand finale, we tried two different “Inicio” tequilas. A dream for those who like really good, gourmet tequila. ¡Vaya!
At El Luchador the food is freshly prepared every day, even the nachos. That’s what makes them extra special. Everything tastes fresh and some flavor combinations are certainly unknown to a Zurich citizen - for sure.
Traveling to Mexico and trying authentic street food is currently impossible - but a visit to El Luchador makes it possible and brings Mexico City straight to you. It doesn't always have to be fancy. The best is often in simple things. Honest food, casual atmosphere, great people. What else could you ask for?
Prices:
Starters: from CHF 5.90 to CHF 21.90 Tacos: from CHF 10.90 to CHF 13.90 Quesadillas: from CHF 10.90 to CHF 14.90
Desserts: from CHF 7.90
Address:
El Luchador Konradstrasse 69 8005 Zürich Phone: +41 44 271 72 00 Reservation: https://connect.shore.com/bookings/el-luchador-zurich/services?locale=de-CH&origin=standalone Website: www.elluchador.ch
