Sin Vida

I truly thought M&A was dying with the closure of Flaming Olive and the disappearing crowds from Papa Jacks, Mighty Mighty and the almost always empty Nikuya--apparently not as this new place was game enough to open on the back of the closed down Italian restaurant.

We were on our way there to try Gorditas when the skeleton (very unanatomically correct) and gaudily dressed caught our eye, oh hard to miss the mass of graffiti-- they really are playing on the sugar skulls theme.

Don't set your hopes too high-- this place isn't Mamasita's in Melbourne nor do I think it's trying to be. This isn't fine dining by any standards--think westernised mexican food with menus full of tacos, nachos etc all the typical stuff.

We thought we'd be adventurous and go outside the usual tacos and nacho cliches. Maybe we should have stuck with those as seafood marina cooked in tomato sauce (yes thats all that Zarzuela de Mariscos is was not impressive with the tinned tomato taste and half the mussels scrawny or unopened.

Zazuela de Marscos--seafood marinara with tinned tomato

 So you can't go wrong with steak right? Only if its the chewy and full of sinew--you got no hope, even if you add a fried egg on top. What's with the halved roma tomatoes in this place? It really was just half a tomato...

Sin Vida Steao--Steak and Eggs --with Mexican mystery sauce

 To be fair the corn (even with its very messy tail) was tasty and chicken wings had enough spice. And yes definitely order the sangria to wash things down. Don't rely on the Calavera (beef bone soup) for that--- it's just concentrated beef stock.

Elote--Char grilled corn 

Chicken Wings

White Sangria

So what's the verdict for Sin Vida? I wish it well, but the food itself isn't going to help it survive.