Restaurant review: Tortuga Mexican Bar & Kitchen

Uninspired burritos aside, the lively Tortuga Mexican Bar & Kitchen in Dubai offers a mouth-watering and multi-sensory menu.

Tortuga is a lively Mexican restaurant in Dubai. Courtesy Tortuga

I’ve had my eye on Tortuga Mexican Bar & Kitchen at Mina A’Salam Hotel in Dubai since it opened in January, and I finally had the chance to visit last week.

Tortuga overlooks the wharf at the hotel and is a cheerful, uplifting space. The rich, vibrant decor – complete with sombreros and Mexican vihuelas (guitars) on the wall – is a fresh escape from typical, trendy eateries in Dubai. Substantial, metal chandeliers suspended from high ceilings hang over wooden tables surrounded by white brick walls. The wait staff was dressed in typical Mexican garb and there were Mexican paintings and artefacts on every wall. It bordered on kitschy, but I loved the fun, lively atmosphere. Mexican music filled the room and for a moment, I forgot I was in the Middle East.

Mexican food should take you on a multi-sensory adventure, exciting your senses with colourful, flavourful food that might give you both crispy and creamy textures in one bite; and a taste of chocolate sauce and spicy chilli in the next. My waiter Marcus, from Cancun, had several tips on what to order.

I was thrilled to find five different kinds of ceviche on the menu, each from a different region of Mexico. Marcus suggested the Yucateco ceviche, with tuna, red onion, coriander and habanero chillies. It was a good suggestion. The tuna was fresh and each bite was both spicy and smooth. Unlike Peruvian ceviche that typically comes in a light, citrus marinade, this marinade was thick, orange and sitting in (maybe too much) chilli oil. And yet, I wouldn’t change a thing.

The second appetiser was presented on a small, sizzling fajita pan. The sautéed shrimp, cremini mushrooms and guajillo chilli was fresh, but felt slightly boring after the ceviche – I wanted more spice than the guajillo chillies offered.

The three fish tacos I ordered as a main were topped with chipotle chilli mayonnaise and pink, pickled onions. The fried fish was fresh, meaty and crispy. These were simple, but done well and I’d order them again. So far, Tortuga was proving its worth.

Then came the burrito, a dish with influence from both northern Mexico and southern Texas. It’s popular throughout the Americas and, though they all taste a little different, you know what you’re getting when you order one. So I was surprised when I saw this one. It was generously packed with pulled chicken, cheese and coleslaw, but the tortilla shell holding it together was a pressed panini. Part of the beauty of a good burrito is the soft tortilla shell that just barely keeps a mountain of ingredients intact. This shell was grilled, hard and had little resemblance to the Tex-Mex burrito I’d come to know and love. To make matters worse, I found the ingredients inside bland and dry.

While wondering why anyone would ruin a burrito with a ­panini press, I was presented with a classic Mexican dessert – ­churros. These thin pieces of crunchy dough were still warm from the fryer. Crispy on the outside, soft in the centre, they were enough to stop my whining about that burrito. The chocolate sauce they came with was velvety and rich, but these churros were so good, they didn’t need the sauce.

Marcus told me that half the staff at Tortuga, including the chef, is from Mexico and that leaves me eager to come back and sample the rest of the menu. The burrito aside, Tortuga is a fun spot for some real Mexican food and a great place for a lively night out with friends.

• Tortuga Mexican Bar & Kitchen is in Mina A’Salam Hotel at Madinat Jumeirah, Dubai. A meal for two costs Dh400. For reservations, call 04 366 6730. All reviews are conducted incognito and paid for by The National