Formally known as Clerk's Bar, the new Mexican bar and eatery Diablo Loco opened up only a few weeks ago on South Clerk street, Edinburgh. The budding business has steadily grown in popularity, and when the SpoonU Edinburgh team arrived it was a busy Thursday night.
Ambitiously combining a contemporary-slash-industrial theme with modern Mexican decor, what this establishment lacks in size it makes up for in character. After choosing your drink from the sheet-brass menu, order your margaritas under a neon sign for the soup of the day: "tequila".
Their menu is a solid lineup of traditional Latin American dishes, including Baja fish tacos and chipotle glazed pork belly, while the drinks menu offers such delights as Pineapple & Cardamon margaritas and the El Craig Davide shot. If you're looking for a relaxed, mild dinner, steer well clear of this place.
Below are our team's opinions of this new restaurant, and why you should definitely swing by.
Phoebe Baker:
Arriving at Diablo Loco, I was impressed by the piñatas attached to the ceiling and the floral decoration surrounding the bar - they’ve clearly made a real effort on the Mexican fiesta theme.
As my main, I chose the chargrilled tuna steak with chimchurri, roast sweet peppers, corn salsa, smashed avocado at the price of £12.50. The flavour combination was brilliant - I really enjoyed the sharp chimchurri sauce paired with the smokey tuna. However, the tuna was cooked through and I found it to be a little on the tough/dry side, being an advocate for medium rare when it comes to all things steak. The lack of carbs didn’t bother me, as the tuna was generous in size and very filling. All in all, the tuna steak is a brilliant option, especially for gluten free folks, as long as you like your meat well done.
My favourite part of the meal was the Baja fish tacos with pea mole, cabbage, pickled jalapeno & lime mayo. The lime mayo had a really good kick to it and cut through the battered fish, which was perfectly flakey.
Overall I could definitely be tempted back to Diablo Loco with the promise of a plateful of fish tacos, and I might just have to round the meal off by sampling the ice-cream waffle taco I was eyeing up.
Alexandra Clark:
As someone who is gluten intolerant I was pleased to see there were a few options on the menu to choose from. In the end, I decided on the Naked Burrito which came with caramelised sweet potato, pulled chilli jackfruit, corn salsa, fiery slaw, green rice, pomegranate and avocado.
These ingredients came together to provide a wonderfully vibrant place of food. This was the first time I had tried jackfruit and it was so delicious. The sweetness from the potato and the spiciness from the jackfruit paired very well together.
Although for my personal preference I would have like the sweet potato to be more caramelised. I enjoyed all this food with a mango margarita which was made just right with the tequila not being too strong so I could still enjoy the sweetness of the mango.
Matt Volpe:
I am weak with spice, I admit it. There you have it, the truth is out. So naturally I'm weary when it comes to Mexican or Indian restaurants.
However, the spiciness in my chicken enchilada was well balanced, and complemented the fresh, tart bite of the slaw to give a full-bodied and tangy flavour. On the other hand, the chipotle's purported smokiness was a little too subtle, but this wasn't too much of an issue.
My portion was very generous, and I definitely felt I was getting my money's worth. While the rice was a slightly undercooked, the salsa verde and nacho cheese served as excellent partners to the tender chicken.
I also went for the Baja fish tacos, which were a delight. Soft, flaky fish, coupled with smooth lime mayo and more fresh slaw made for an excellent bite-sized appetiser. Unfortunately, the downside was that these tacos were a little too bite-sized. £6 can go stretch further when buying tacos in places such as Topolabamba, however Diablo Loco delivers in quality what it doesn't in quantity.
After navigating the extensive drinks menu, I settled on a bottle of Day of the Dead: Pay the Ferryman porter ale, whose dulcet toffee and chocolate tones paired excellently with the umami flavours of the chicken and the jalapeño's kick.
The restaurant's retro neon signs and pop-art Mexican murals provide a unique, attractive atmosphere. The food alone is outstanding, and while there are a few teething problems, I would strongly recommend stopping by.