Super Taco
Shop 8/26 Crossley St, Melbourne

Press PLAY to hear her full review

There’s a new hero in Melbourne’s taco scene. Super Taco, by Georgie Larkins, is a hole-in-the-wall taqueria that opened on Crossley St, near Pellegrini’s, in July.

It’s one of the many new taquerias that have opened in our city in the last 12 months.

See Dingo Ate My Taco, Taqueria Sin Nombre and Chabela for reference.

But unlike the others, you won’t have to wait that long to wrap your laughing gear around some food. Larkins was inspired by her time in New York City, where she lived off a diet of street food tacos.

The Melbourne native is now recreating that experience in her hometown, complete with $8 tacos, Mexican beer and slushie mezcalita cocktails. Head chef Jose Angel Delgado Juarez makes all the tacos and salsas from scratch, daily.

The tortillas are made with white corn masa, take five to six hours to prep each morning ahead of service. You can taste the difference between these and store bought wraps– perfectly pliable and soft, and corny where it counts.

Choose from four flavours: the cauliflower ($8), fried flathead ($9), skirt steak ($10) and the signature al pastor ($8) served via trompo which is a giant vertical spit capped with a whole pineapple which soaks into the meat with every turn.

This is by far the standout — charred, humming with a red chilli kick and pops of sweet pineapple.

The flathead was my other favourite: two sizeable fillets lightly battered and fried, with shaved cabbage, radishes and poblano crema (sour cream). The skirt steak, cooked medium, has some resistance with chew and char, freshened up with a lively red salsa, and optional red onions and coriander for freshness. Though it needs guac for lubrication.

The best problem you’ll have at Super Taco is the generosity of the fillings. It’s almost impossible to wrap your tortilla, or mouth, around the mountain of meat, inside each taco.

On this visit Larkins moves the line along quickly, with the turnover of tables and benches also fast.

Disclaimer: This place is designed for grab-and-go. It only seats up to 8 people inside, with standing room only inside the teeny space. Don’t come here expecting a full restaurant experience.

If you’re lucky, you may snare a table out the front, followed by a crate or windowsill. Leaning against a wall is a last resort. But that’s what I love about Super Taco: it doesn’t need any bells, whistles or hype to get people in the door.

It’s less frills, more fun and seriously good eating, and that’s pretty super to me.