Do you remember how many hours they told you?

Been there (photo), done that? If you didn’t go for lunch, you probably waited outside 7-Eleven for 20 minutes before being told to come back in 2-3 hours (ie. go watch a movie, or visit a few bars before thinking about getting a call).

The Epicure had an article on how popular Melbourne restaurants are getting harder to get in. What do you think? This was my comment:

TV shows, internet and newspapers are all making celebrity chefs and now celebrity restaurants. I acknowledge that one cannot know how good a restaurant is until someone else has been (review, friends, word of mouth) but there is a disproportionate hype in the restaurants featured on, eg, Masterchef and Epicure. Fixable? not really. The hype is just a side effect of our desire and ability to eat better. Chose wisely. Use multiple review sites and opinions. Sure rock up to a bar or no bookings restaurant if you are two. But for a group of friends, book a restaurant.

Out of the no-reservations restaurants in Melbourne Mamasita is perhaps the most difficult to get dinner currently. It’s popularity and infamous queues have been the topic of discussion and some angry posts. I went a month ago not knowing what to expect. Was it worth the wait? No, but I had good company for the drinks and conversation that spanned 3 hours. Good food? Pretty good. Since Mexican food is not common in Melbourne, the restaurant has hit a niche market by combining the unique food with a bar/casual dining area that Melbourne boasts about. My favorite was the  choice of 4 tostada plate. It’s a small sized corn chip base with various toppings. The best one came with a slowly cooked sweetcorn and black beans.

Tostada plate of 4

The surprise of the night was the corn simple grilled, topped with a queso (or cheese), chipotle (smoke dried jalapeño) and a squirt of lime. Simple but really spoiled by the fact that you cannot get this as ‘street food’ in Melbourne.

This 'street style' corn is delicious but ruined by the fact that you need to wait for hours

So overall the food is enjoyable and not often found in Melbourne. But they really should turn the music down to sub-night-club level. How long should you bother waiting for? 25 min max. Maybe the time worth waiting for should be the new rating system for restaurants.