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Thursday, February 18, 2010

ola tacos

Awhile back, one of my readers, Rona, suggested Ola Tacos to me.

It is a tiny bar with several tables and a counter near Shinsaibashi.

After we were seated we waited several minutes, and were able to order drinks and then it took some more time before our food came.

While we were waiting for our food, we intricately checked out their book shelf next to our table.

Check out this calculator that was on their book shelf, it was HUGE! and it worked too! (Can you tell we were trying to figure out what to do while we waited for our orders??)

The first dish to come out was camarones al mojo de ajo, garlic seasoned shrimps still in their shell.

It was delicious very nicely seasoned with just a touch of spice, and very nice with a splash of lime....850 yen (about US$8.50)

Next came the tacos that we ordered...lengua (pork tongue) and chorizo (spicy beef with potato)...2 of the same topping for 550 yen (about US$5.50)

I really wanted to try the al pastor tacos since I've seen them on many blogs, but they were out.

I think they make their own tortillas, they were about 4 or 6 inches in diameter. Kind of tiny by US standards, but actually just right to try.

I thought the lengua was on the mushy side. We both liked the chorizo taco. We also loved the fresh salsa.

We had to wait a long time for the nachos...950 yen (about US$9.50), these were delicious, the chips were still crispy and we drizzled some of their hot sauce on it.

Since Satoshi was still hungry, we also ordered some totopos, chips with guacamole....550 yen (about US$5.50).

Satoshi had 2 beers and a frozen mango margarita and I had 2 frozen lime margaritas.

Except for the really SLOW service, we liked the food.

They knew they were really slow and gave us a little discount...total 6350 yen (about US$63.50).

We hadn't been out to eat in Shinsaibashi in awhile, but enjoyed it. (Thanks for the tip Rona Y!)

Ola Tacos (UPDATE: 2016 they moved locations)
1-17-15 Higashi Shinsaibashi Marukiyo (or Marusei) Building 6F
Chuo, Osaka
Phone: 06.6251.2082
Closed Mondays

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18 comments:

  1. KirkK1:15 AM, February 18, 2010

    Hey Kat - Were the tortillas corn or flour? If they were corn, then the size of the tacos sounds right for "street tacos".... though sixty buck for tacos, nachos, and a couple of cerveza sounds kinda steep.... but what the heck, you enjoyed it!

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  2. jalna1:55 AM, February 18, 2010

    Wow, you guys wen grind, hah! Hahahaha. Looks like fine-dining Mexican food.

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  3. K and S8:13 AM, February 18, 2010

    I think they were corn Kirk. Yup, those prices are about what we pay to get good Mexican food around here which is why I love to see your posts on those taco trucks :)

    Thanks Jalna, I think if those nachos didn't take as long as they did, Satoshi may have ordered it again!

    Take care you two.
    Kat

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  4. Anonymous8:15 AM, February 18, 2010

    I was just going to mention "street tacos" too. When you next visit Hawaii, you might want to check out "Tacos Rios" on Kapahulu Ave., where Waiola Shave Ice was (don't worry, Waiola just re-located, they didn't close). A couple of reviews also mentioned the lengua tacos are also available there. Your blog makes me want to drink a margarita, now!

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  5. K and S8:24 AM, February 18, 2010

    Thanks for the heads up Anon! Will make note of this for the next time I'm home :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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  6. Anonymous9:45 PM, February 18, 2010

    food sounded good. i'm glad they gave you a discount.

    paz ;-)

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  7. K and S9:45 PM, February 18, 2010

    Thanks Paz, yes, the discount was nice :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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  8. Admin10:35 PM, February 18, 2010

    Looks really good, Kat. I think they put a lot of effort (it shows) in preparing orders + they are under staffed maybe that's why they have slow service?

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  9. Deb10:54 PM, February 18, 2010

    yum! we had mexican twice in the last week and you have me craving it again!!!

    margaritas, warm chips, quac, fresh salsa with lots of cilantro = the perfect happy hour!

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  10. K and S11:53 PM, February 18, 2010

    I think you may be right Mikuru :)

    I am actually craving carne asada right now too Deb :p

    Take care you two.
    Kat

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  11. Deb in Hawaii7:17 PM, February 19, 2010

    Looks like a great dinner. I think I may need some fish tacos and guacamole this weekend since you have made hungry for Mexican food. ;-)

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  12. K and S7:27 PM, February 19, 2010

    Debinhawaii, I was influenced by your veal, I probably will cook some Italian with Rowena's pasta this weekend :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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  13. Rona Y9:43 PM, February 19, 2010

    I'm glad you enjoyed it! I've never had a problem with waiting there, but I can imagine service might be slow sometimes. I think there's really only one cook. Did you talk to the owners at all? I think they do the cooking (I know the guy makes the tortillas from behind the bar sometimes, so you can watch!). They're really friendly, and super nice! Actually, all the staff I've ever met there are really friendly and nice, as are the customers! (a lot of Mexicans seem to congregate there on weekends)

    Another Mexican place I've always wanted to try is Que Rico. It's beyond all the Osaka Eki Dai 1, 2, 3 buildings, but I always get lost when I'm in that area, so I can't say exactly where it is. Oops. It's definitely more convenient for you than Shinsaibashi, though I wouldn't really say the location is convenient. I think it's walkable from Umeda Station, but it's a long walk.

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  14. K and S10:18 PM, February 19, 2010

    Rona,
    Thanks again for telling us about this place. That night, there was only one guy cooking, a girl behind the counter and another girl taking orders. I think they really had a skeleton crew that night. Also, thanks for telling me about this shop in Umeda, I'll google around for it. Hopefully I'll be able to find it to check out :)

    Take care and thank you again!
    Kat

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  15. K and S10:25 PM, February 19, 2010

    Hey Rona, I found the website...
    here, pretty sure it is this one :)

    Thanks again, will check it out.
    Kat

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  16. Rowena4:42 AM, February 20, 2010

    You guys are disciplined. When I have to wait, I end up ordering more drinks...then afterwards try to keep from stumbling out the door.

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  17. Rona Y8:17 AM, February 20, 2010

    Yes, that one! I didn't realize they had so many, though. http://www.querico.jp/002mexicano/ is the one in the Osaka Station area.

    There's another small Mexican place very close to Juso Station, but I haven't heard much about it. Just that it's owned by a woman from Mexico and her daughter (I think). http://www.geocities.jp/tacos_el_nopal/index.htm Tacos El Nopal. I browsed at the menu, and they don't seem to have as interesting options--Al Pastor is standard at any Mexican restaurant, imo, and they just have "pork", "chicken", etc. But it might be good!

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  18. K and S8:20 AM, February 20, 2010

    I really wanted to try Ola's Al Pastor tacos, but they were out that night :(

    I've heard about that one in Juso also Rona, it is just that that area is so...scary to me.

    Let me know if you try it :)

    Take care.
    Kat

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