Rafa's AZ Style Mexican

Glasgow

AT LAST, we have food in front of us on this rickety table beside a wall, up a somewhat tired and grubby cul-de-sac, that is in itself off a bijou alley, arty brick, splashy colours and hanging baskets and on through a narrow lane. All of this completely hidden from plain sight somewhere behind Glasgow’s boo-yah and currently thriving Finnieston Strip.

Polyester lids flip in a light wind, paper napkins soar skywards, all hands fly on deck as we peer upon an Arizona-inspired fish taco. Sliced radish, chopped herbs, a wedge of lime, diced onion, a corn taco made itself with the good stuff and lying there, invitingly, fish in Tecate beer batter.

Not even an actual twister could move the hefty burritos, the pollo asada, a San Diego, being unpeeled from their tinfoil to reveal buttery textures and crispy, seared tortilla.

Thirty minutes-plus we have waited out here as the sun turned to cloud and the temperature dropped to chilly. It’s not far beyond 6pm yet we watch as customer after customer triumphantly rounds that corner only to be summarily turned away.

So many orders tonight, the staff will sigh repeatedly and wearily from behind a half-door and beneath a splash of colour saying Rafa’s and promising: carnitas, pescado, tacos, burritos.

Get up to that stable door with a card machine stuck awkwardly to it and look past bags of onions and tins of oil and are there now just two people manning the fort.

“Aw, we’ve tried before and we’re always unlucky,” say one cheery couple as they reach the end of their quest only to be sent packing.

It’s odd: It’s early Wednesday evening, there’s really no queue, save three orders waiting on stairs behind us, but no food seems to be leaving for takeaway or even collection and inside I detected little sign of urgency.

At one point, I’ll remember that on the way in I passed a chalkboard shouting ice cold drinks and crazily head back over to order four jarritos; Mexican, cola and lime, pineapple and mandarin while we wait.

Are they cold, I’ll ask noticing the chill counter seems open. Um yeah, will come the unconvincing reply.

How cold, I’ll press. Well, the fridge isn’t actually working. Room temperature perhaps then? A nod of affirmation. We compromise by putting them in a freezer while the food is prepared, which, of course, will give them plenty of time to cool. But when I collect, uh-oh, only three bottles have actually gone in there. Sigh.

Yet – and here’s the weird bit – because it’s now a different serving person doors will be opened, objects moved, cupboards flipped and – ay caramba! – there’s another fridge. With more bottles.

Uh? Did I say weird? All of this I can assure you does not seem to amount to a hill of refried beans as far as the other waiting customers are concerned.

In fact, in this age of internet tick-tack, secret restaurants, enthusiastic amateurs and the quest for the holy grail of food authenticity, turning an evening out into Indiana Jones and The Last Carnitas actually seems to make places more attractive.

And the food? Er, it’s not all the same temperature when it arrives. Suggesting that production line may be out of sync. But the tortillas are, without exception, nicely made, having that crumbly texture and rich flavour that we only get when we order the good flours online from Mexgrocer.

The flank steak, or carne asado, is carmelised to sweetness, the texture borderline juicy and packed with the tang of lime, the crunch of onion, the sourness of cream and warmly hugged by tortilla.

I can kind of see what the fuss is about. There’s a white freshness to the fish in that beer batter, and even a sprawling burrito, rice spilling gently as the soft cover is torn, has considerable chicken flavour.

Obviously, considerable care has gone into planning these Mexican street foods. It now needs to go into serving them.

Rafa's AZ Style Mexican

1103 Argyle Street

Hidden Lane

Glasgow

07586 275691

Menu: Tacos made right. Inspired by the owner’s home state of Arizona: pollo, barbacoa, fish and specials, burritos too, Mexican soft drinks. 4/5

Service: Pleasant but achingly slow, quickly overwhelmed. Hit and a miss as to whether they will be actually serving – one for the enthusiasts. 2/5

Price: Tacos £3.25. Burritos hovering around the tenner mark. It’s quality stuff so good value. 4/5

Atmosphere: It’s not clear from the internet but there is no internal seating due to Covid. We sat outside at the only table and it was fine. 3/5

Food: It took its time but when it arrived it was clear that considerable care and attention had gone into planning the food; the carnito asada was very good, the tortilla was the real deal. 8/10

21/30