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20th December 2016
12:10am GMT
Tasty, no-nonsense Mexican from a truck in a graffitied garage.
Though it’s not in the most heavily trafficked of neighbourhoods, K Chido is easy enough to find. It’s on Chancery Street in Dublin 7, right on the Luas Red Line and just behind the Four Courts.
When I’m there on the bank holiday Monday, two middle-aged American women, a big group of young people and their ukulele (I wish I was kidding), and two hipster dudes and their dog. It’s basically the exact crowd you’d expect to be sitting on pallets in a graffiti-covered garage eating nachos someone just made in a hot pink truck.
They’re open 8-5 on weekdays and 11-5 on Saturdays and Sundays for brunch.
Though you can take your food to go, K Chido is a nice little place to sit and eat in, as well. The truck/kitchen is parked on one side of the garage, and a row of four or five big, shareable tables and benches line the other. The whole front of the restaurant is open so the sun and the breeze can pour in. Reggaeton from a stereo in the corner and the Luas rattling by every few minutes provide a fun soundtrack, as long as you don’t value conversation too highly.
Simple Mexican street food – a couple varieties each of tacos, burritos, quesadillas, nachos, and tortas. They add a few “Huevos on the Weekend” to their weekend brunch menu. (Someone orders one while I’m there, and it looks delicious.)
In the midst of Dublin’s burrito obsession, K Chido reminds you that there’s way more to Mexican food than a list of fillings stuffed into a tortilla tube. I got an order of Nachos Chicos, their meatless nacho option, and a chorizo quesadilla. This was a simple little lunch, but it was darn tasty.
The quesadilla was served with a small helping of rocket and spinach and a portion of refried beans, the whole thing topped with a generous drizzle of guacamole and sour cream. The quesadilla itself contained melted cheese and chorizo. That’s it.
When I say this was simple, I’m not kidding – you could easily make this quesadilla yourself at home. The sauces and sides kept it interesting, giving you just enough variety that each bite of this little quesadilla could be different from the last.
I’d heard rave reviews about the nachos before coming to K Chido, and I wasn’t disappointed; they showed, as the quesadilla had, that K Chido’s brilliance is in its pairing of foods.
For only €2.50, these nachos come with cheese, refried beans, salsa, sour cream, guacamole, and a smattering of red onion and jalapenos. This is simple stuff, but, as you dive in, you quickly realise it’s much more than the nachos with cheese the menu makes you think you ordered. The only flaw is that they’re served in a tiny container, making it hard to spread the toppings around and make your favourites reach all the chips.
I ordered two dishes that didn’t have much to them on paper, and I was pleased to find them much more interesting on the plate and the palate than their names made them sound.
My two dishes left me totally full, and the two together with a bottled water only added up to €9. Prices in this place are almost scandalously low.
Go now, before they realise people would pay €10 for those nachos they’re serving up for less than a bus fare.