Mariella Mexicantina

Mariella Mexicantina is a lively cantina that wants you to feel like you’re drinking a Margarita beachside in Tulum. But the breeze from nearby Peregian Beach is easy to settle for, especially alongside share-friendly Mexican street food, lo-fi wines, Fairtrade tequila and mezcal, and all-around good times.

It’s the second solo venture by Nathan Ramsay, who also co-owns the popular Somedays Pizza in Noosa Heads. Ramsay has been immersed in hospitality for as long as he can remember – his parents ran and lived behind a pub when he was five. He worked across hospitality, fashion and design before channelling his experience into this vibey Mexican spot.

Mariella’s food menu is both fun and finessed, and you can eat most of it with your hands. Your share-friendly meal might start with corn totopos (tortilla chips) alongside house-made salsas. Next, move on to patatas bravas with chipotle crema; tuna tostada rubbed with Oaxacan chilli oil; and elotes (grilled Mexican street corn), cooked on the woodfired parrilla and sliced up for easy sharing.

Yet the star of the show is the house-made corn tortillas. You can order them topped with Mooloolaba prawns, chargrilled chilli mushrooms or the popular eight-hour braised Wagyu birria (slow-cooked beef).

Drinks-wise, the list goes hard on Fairtrade tequila and mezcal, and you shouldn’t skip Tommy’s Margarita – a crowd-favourite for which every ingredient (except the lime juice) is sourced from Mexico.

Ramsay made use of his background in interior design for the fit-out and called in furniture and jewellery designer Lee Brennan for the rustic bar door and tables. The space takes inspiration from Mexican cantinas and Robert Rodriguez films like El Mariachi and Desperado, with prickly cacti, earthy sandstone and hues of dusty pink throughout.