I absolutely love Mexican food, which is why I was so excited to visit Pina Loca in Bromborough.
As someone that generally loves going out for food, I don’t usually opt for Mexican cuisine because my boyfriend isn’t a fan of spice. As much as I think he’s a bit of a wuss, it’s safe to say as soon as I get the opportunity to try out somewhere different, I do.
Pina Loca is located in Bromborough village and is absolutely oozing with charm and character. According to its website, it aims to help visitors ‘explore the world of Mexican food’ with an array of small tapas style plates.
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It was my first time visiting here, and I was really impressed with the general atmosphere. There was something really charming about Pina Loca, the intimate restaurant had a warm cosy feel to it which really complemented the amazing food on offer.
So, let’s talk about the menu. Think tapas, but Mexican, which is a really fun concept in itself. I was blown away by the menu options, which included a mixture of small plates, burritos, tacos, bowls and sides. The small plates included dishes like chicken tostada, quesadilla birria and pina chicken wings.
The burritos had a bit of a twist that I really loved, with fillings such as cod, chips and peas with garlic aioli and even a Cuban sandwich filling. For me, the tacos were the absolute highlight because they were absolutely stuffed – a messy delight.
The food
Here was our full order:
- Pina wings – crispy fried chicken wings with pineapple, chili and honey glaze, black sesame seeds and spring onion.
- Quesadilla birria – braised beef and cheese in a flour tortilla, dipped in a rich birria sauce and pan fried served with extra birria sauce for dipping.
- Patatas fritas – crushed skin on potato, deep fried cajun spice and chipotle mayonnaise.
- Carinitas taco – pulled pork slow cooked in pineapple juice, achiote paste and guajilo chili topped with grilled pineapple.
- Shrimp taco – shrimp, prawns, pico de gallo, honey, pineapple, avocado and pickled onion.
- Baja fish taco – deep fried cos, garlic and lime aioli, Mexican slaw, pickled onion.
- Pollo asado taco – chargrilled chicken, chipotle mayonnaise, sour cream and pico de gallo.
Let’s just say, our eyes were definitely bigger than our stomachs, because we really struggled to finish all of our food. My friend did warn me about how stuffed the tacos were, but I was truly blown away when I actually took a bite.
The chicken tacos were absolutely unreal and stuffed with succulent rich juicy meat, sour cream and all the trimmings. I actually struggled to close my chicken and prawn tacos because they were that full.
After I took one bite there was a lot of mess all over my plate, but that was the absolute beauty of it. A visit to Pina Loca requires you to not care about it being messy and just enjoy the food for what it is – and I certainly did that.
The quesadilla birria was oozing with cheese and had a lovely crisp to it. Although it was crispy, the braised beef was still tender and juicy and really worked well with the birria sauce.
The patatas fritas were carbs galore, with fresh steaming hot skin on potatoes with a scrumptious creamy chipotle mayonnaise. I’ve had patatas bravas before, but this was almost like a mini jacket potato and I was so here for it.
I’m a big fan of chicken wings, but I’m often left dismayed by the lack of meat on the ones I’ve had in the past. That definitely wasn’t the case with the pina wings, they were absolutely huge!
They were the perfect combination of spicy and sweet with a really nice crispy outer layer. The meat fell off the bone with ease and I could’ve easily eaten a ton more.
The verdict
I was so incredibly impressed with the variety of flavours that each dish offered. I often find with tapas that there isn’t enough to satisfy my rather greedy stomach, but I left Pina Loca feeling absolutely stuffed.
Although the tacos were messy, they really added to the authenticity of the restaurant and were so delicious. I could’ve easily picked every taco off the menu, but I might not have been able to finish them all.
Highlights for me have to be the quesadilla birria because of its sheer cheesiness and the tacos purely for the flavour. It’s safe to say I’ll definitely be visiting Pina Loca again, because I aim to try everything off the whole menu.
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