La Tortilleria

La Tortilleria is a small operation with big ambitions: to create the most authentic tortillas in town. Nestled amongst the warehouses of Stubbs Street in Kensington, La Tortilleria is pumping out real tortillas and and is one of the few places in Melbourne doing so.

With Mexican-born Gerardo Lopez and his Australian friend Diana Hull at the helm, it stands out as a quiet beacon of authentic Mexican food.

When the tortilla machine is fired up, people watch as the lime-soaked grains become the dough, which is then crushed on a stone grinder and goes into the pressing machine, later emerging as a perfect tortilla.

Lopez describes the eatery as a “real, Mexican concept” and nothing too fancy. There are colourful and cosy rooms at the back, where diners can sit and enjoy tacos that don’t fall apart in their hands. There are also quesadillas and sopes, as well as some of the best guacamole on this side of the Pacific.

But at the end of the day, La Tortilleria is all about the tortilla, and they’re available in stacks (fresh or vacuum-packed) and by the half-kilo or kilo.