Fonda Mexican
Disclosure: I dined courtesy of Fonda.
There’s a new Fonda in town, sister restaurant to the very popular one in Richmond. I was invited to lunch there recently to try out some of the new dishes.
Lunch was hosted by co-owner Tim McDonald, and we ended up having an interesting conversation about the niche that Fonda fits into – casual, inexpensive, quick, but still good quality food. We chatted about how you could go across the road to a fast food “Mexican” chain OR go to Fonda and spend just a few dollars more and eat in a nicer space for better quality food.
The building, which Tim advised was the reason for opening a second location (“it was too good to pass up”) is gorgeous – large areas of white painted brick, black accents, large windows to the street that let in lots of natural light, and funky furniture.
We started with some refreshing aguas frescas, which literally translates to “fresh waters”.
There are three aguas frescas on the menu – they are light non-alcoholic drinks made with a blend of sugar, water and a combination of fruits, cereals, flower or seeds. And as the menu states, they’re “designed to save you from getting spiced out of town”.
The three flavours are all $6, and there’s horchata (made with rice water, cinnamon, vanilla and evaporated milk), Pineapple (with young ginger and milk), plus Jamaica (made from Hibiscus flowers and fresh basil).
They were all good, but I absolutely loved the pineapple one in particular – it was super refreshing with a slight ginger kick.
One of the new items on the menu is the Aztec soup ($5), a thin soup filled with shredded chicken and topped with parsley, tortilla crisps and a squirt of fresh lime juice.
A new ensalada (salad) is the Roasted Japala Pumpkin ($14), which contained organic chickpeas, green lentils, curd, sprouts, parsley and quinoa. Such a nice mix of textures, and a combination of sweetness, nuttiness and tanginess. I really enjoyed it.
This is one of the new quesadillas and it’s totally on trend: pulled pork ($14) with shreds of smoked chipotle spiced pork, tomato, quesco fresco and fresh lime in a toasted tortilla.
Inside the quesdilla. Porky cheese alert!
And finally we had Mexican Flan ($6) for dessert – made with fresh vanilla, Shultz organic milk, and topped with praline made with salted pepitas. I thought it was pretty good with a nice flavour and texture, and I liked the crunchy praline on top.
Fonda Windsor is a completely beautiful space with very reasonably priced food. I’m pretty sure they’ll do very well in that spot.
For more on lunch, check out My second helping.
Fonda Mexican
144 Chapel St
Windsor
Phone: 03 9521 2660
Web: fondamexican.com.au
Keren
May 11, 2013 @ 11:43 am
Oh wow this looks stunning … and I love that it’s light and airy (my one complaint with Mamasita was how claustrophobic and loud it was). Definitely looks and sounds much better than fast food “Mexican” and well worth crossing the road for π
Agnes
June 4, 2013 @ 9:33 pm
It is SO beautiful inside. They really did a good job.
Hannah
May 11, 2013 @ 12:38 pm
Zomg! Horchata! Delicious soup! SALTED PUMPKIN SEEDS! I would do all of this, yep.
Agnes
June 4, 2013 @ 9:34 pm
You would. They even do kangaroo burritos.
Hannah
June 5, 2013 @ 12:24 am
MAN I WOULD.
Ashley
May 11, 2013 @ 3:09 pm
Been wanting to check out the new Fonda, the space looks so inviting and loving the look of that salad!
Agnes
June 4, 2013 @ 9:35 pm
The salad was surprisingly good. It should just be salad, but the combination was really tasty.
msihua
May 11, 2013 @ 7:14 pm
Oh wait a pretty little thing it looks! Food looks good. Shall check it out one day!
Agnes
June 4, 2013 @ 9:36 pm
Another 30 minute speed Fonda date? Hah.
Daisy@Nevertoosweet
May 13, 2013 @ 9:44 am
I’m so lame! I have been saying ‘I need to go to Fonda, I must go to Fonda’ and now they’ve opened up in Winsor and I still haven’t been will definitely need to go soon ~
Agnes
June 4, 2013 @ 9:36 pm
What are you doing? Just go. π
Iron Chef Shellie
May 14, 2013 @ 10:43 am
Their fish tacos are the bomb dot com!
Agnes
June 4, 2013 @ 9:36 pm
Hah surprisingly I didn’t like the fish taco that much (don’t hate me). I should try it again.