Luchadores are Mexian wrestlers performing Lucha Libre and also the name givers for a Mexican restaurant in the center of Zurich. Saidly, this luchador didn’t knock me off my feet – not at all. Or in other words, the food just didn’t impress me much, neither did the location. But let’s start from the beginning: After my Argentinian diet (steak and ice cream) in the last quarter of 2016, I had to satisfy my umami cravings and preferred Asian food for a while. Then, after I was so awed by the Cartel Crazy Burrito Shack, I read about el Luchador, close to the main station (same area as Wesley’s Kitchen) and decided to give it a try. Influenced by my two months in Argentina, I didn’t think of making a reservation at this place, which turned out to be a mistake. They even had taken reservations for the small bar counter! Anyway, we were lucky enough (or so we thought) that there were still two bar stools available. The menu is kept short – which I like – and basically consists of tacos. As a starter we ordered crema de frijoles, which is a black bean dip and comes with tortilla chips. I know this dip from a good friend that grew up in Guatemala and was excited to find it here. The dip was solid made, but I just had expected more.
Then, for the main dish, I ordered tacos with beef and cheese, my friend opted for the chicken tacos. And that’s where the real disappointment started:
The tacos really just were filled with literally some cubes of beef and cheese – nothing else. No spices or veggies or salad or just anything to make them just a bit special and less boring. Sure, they served garnishes aside; a spicy sauce and some cucumber cubes. However, the tacos were still just bland. Maybe I am influenced too much with “tex-mex” food from the U.S., but these tacos were the most boring food I had in a long time. In addition, for approx. CHF 12 they were pretty expensive. For a guy, one portion would never have been enough. We were so unimpressed with the food that we didn’t want to order more. The other thing that bothered me was that the soft drinks were served per glass, i.e. from large bottles and still cost CHF 4.50 – too expensive in my opinion.
I had expected a casual place with a cool vibe and maybe some homesick Mexicans/Latinos enjoying tasty tacos. What I found was an overly hyped place with bland food, rather high prices, hipsters and “reserved” plates everywhere I looked. Next time that I crave some Mexican food, I’ll go to the Cartel Crazy Burrito Shack again – lesson learned.
El Luchador
Konradstrasse 69, 8004 Zurich
Opening Hours: Mon-Thurs 5pm-midnight, Fri-Sat 5pm-1am, closed Sunday.
Reseration recommended, online reservation possible.
