St Kilda’s Radio Mexico is moving into Northcote.
“I’ve been looking for a site on the north side for probably two years,” says owner Adele Arkell. She lived in Northcote a few years ago, and though the south-side pulled her back, one spot near the Northcote Social Club left a lasting impression.
“It’s an old warehouse I’ve had my eye on for 10 years,” she says. But now she’s got her hands on it, it’s pretty much unrecognisable. The interior has been made over with Mexican-inspired greenery by the folks at Loose Leaf, and the walls are a riot of tessellated colours. “It’s like walking into a big Mexican blanket,” Arkell says.
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SIGN UPThe 60-seat space is smaller than the one in St Kilda, though things will generally run the same way. Breakfast will fire up two weeks after opening with baked eggs, tequila-cured salmon; pork belly and chilaquiles – tortilla chips tossed with salsa and topped with a fried egg.
Dinner will deliver favourites perfected in St Kilda, including fish, chicken, pork and lamb tacos; char-grilled corn on the cob; and a variety of salsas. Tequila, mezcal and rum will also feature strongly, with a goat’s-milk caramel shake for dessert.
A smaller menu is planned for a third outlet, Radio Mexico Vagabundo at the Hank Marvin market in St Kilda East.
“Since Radio opened, people have been saying, ‘You have to do a taco truck,’” Arkell says. “But as a restaurateur, I’m not comfortable with a roving offering. We like to be reliably available.”
Radio Mexico Norte will open at the end of this month. Radio Mexico Vagabundo will open at Hank Marvin in November.
Radio Mexico Norte
2A Mitchell Street, Northcote
Radio Mexico Vagabundo
204 Dandenong Road, St Kilda East
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