Culinary Change in the Capital - Viva Mexico Left Bank

June 9, 2020

In this blog series we catch up three Wellington restaurants about what they did to adapt in Levels 2 and 3, whether customers are supporting local, as well as what they’re looking forward to when Visa Wellington On a Plate takes over the capital in October.

Today we're chatting to Rodrigo from Viva Mexico!

Rodrigo Quirarte, Manager - Viva Mexico Left Bank

Restaurants and eateries really had to adapt their offerings when NZ went down to Alert Levels 2 and 3. Did Viva Mexico Left Bank offer anything new or do anything different to adapt?

We were actually really excited to try out some new ideas during Level 3, so we designed a new menu; we had to make sure that our food was gonna arrive at people's homes still at the best quality possible. We always try to stick with the most authentic Mexican food, but during Level 3 we had the chance to play around with some new concepts and adapted to what we thought our customers would appreciate. We were doing the most amazing burritos, a Mexican vegan mac and cheese that would make your grandma jealous, plus some of our greatest hits, like our homemade jalapeno poppers, and fresh as hell guacamole and corn chips. We gave the menu a brand new look and designed an online ordering system that worked beautifully. It felt like we were doing a cool pop-up, and it was a really fun challenge.

How did people respond to your Level 2 and 3 offerings? Did you find people were supporting local? How is it all going now?

We were stoked to see all of our regulars come in and support us. It was a heartwarming moment to open up again and see the restaurant fill up with familiar faces. We're proud of the service we provide but we never expected to feel so much love and support from the community. It definitely cemented the idea that we are here thanks to their continuous support, and we are immensely grateful for that. We got into this business because we are compulsive feeders, we're basically old Mexican grandmas at heart and love putting a smile on people's faces when they get the tacos and margaritas they had been waiting for almost two months. It was the fuel we needed to motivate ourselves to keep going. And our tank is full.

What are you looking forward to the most about Visa Wellington On a Plate being held in October?

Visa Wellington On a Plate is always an exciting moment. Not only because it's a great help for bringing in some business during the colder months, but also because we are incredibly competitive and, even though we are a very small restaurant, we're excited to go against some of the best in the industry. We’'re still looking for that feedback, and nothing feels better than hearing someone say they've tried a few dozen burgers already and, to their surprise, the best one they tried was the one from a small taqueria tucked away in a dark alleyway. So we are pumped and ready to kick it into full gear and get that chilaquiles burger to be an absolute champion. It's uncertain what October will bring but we're hopeful Visa WOAP this year is gonna be one of the biggest ever - and you can be damn sure we'll be ready for it.