Montezumas

Monday February the 20th 2006

Bridge Street Richmond, Victoria, Australia

After a week in Melbourne without my camera due to stupidly forgetting it, its time for another restaurant review! This time I didnt leave my camera at home...I did however leave it in the hotel before walking a few blocks and remembering.

I was stuck for ideas of where to go, so I thought I would venture to the new train station and see where the trains go. Melbourne has a massive new train station, it used to be called Spencer Street Station, but now that its big and new, it has to be called Southern Cross Station.

Southern Cross Station - from the outside, they put the roof up on a cold day and when it gets hot it buckles


The inside of the mighty station, its not finished yet, I doubt it will be for the commonwealth games, which is the reason its being built

After deciding on a train that would go to Richmond it was time to find the platform, you better remember the number of the platform you want before you enter the station, as the signs at the top of the escelators to each platform dont work yet...so you go back outside and come back in again, just move with the crowd of people doing the same.
Richmond is a popular area for diners, it has two main streets, Victoria Street which is almost exclusively Vietnamese and also where the train station is.
I walked past at least 25 Vietnamese restaurants, and nearly as many 'video' stores and asian grocers, but I wasnt in the mood for asian food, what I wanted was mexican!
I recalled there was a Montezumas on Bridge Street, and made my way there, found the place and went in.
The waitress seated me in a booth, which is strange, since there were many small tables and you can fit six people in a booth, but I wasnt complaining, it makes it easier to take photos, the only issue is you cant see many other people.
Pretty soon after I got a menu, and went to the bar to get a drink..a mocktail of course!

Heres the menu, and my mocktail, which was a 'fruit tingle', it wasnt great, the taco bills mocktail was way better

Seated near me are a group of 6 people already arguing with the waitress, it seems each couple has bought a 20% off voucher from some restaurant guide book, and they are now expecting 60% off the total bill. The waitress is doing her best to explain thats not how it works. The 6 idiots are arguing, the fact that they 'clarified that we would get 60% off' before ordering suggests to me they knew they wouldnt.
Eventually the waitress leaves and the 6 fools have an internal argument about how some knew it wouldnt work, and some others say they should give 60% off because its their fault if they dont put on the vouchers that you can only use 1 etc etc.....the waitress comes to take my order and I miss the rest.

I order a combo of a beef enchilada, chorizo enchilada, refried beans and rice. It had some stupid name which I forget, check the shot of the menu above for all the combo names. I also orderd a bowl of their hottest hot sauce made extra hot.

I wait for a loooong time for my food, but dont despair, a nearby table has a young couple, and what turns out to be her parents, who they are informing that they have become engaged...The father of the bride to be tries hard to hide his dissapointment, at first.
When the soon to be son in law goes to the bar to get some more drinks to celebrate, the father tells his daughter just one thing 'biggest mistake of your life' and then hes silent!
The daughter and mother dont seem to be concerned though, they are plenty excited.

Soon after my food arrives.

My dinner, looks like its already been eaten once, the small bowl is the XXXXXXXXXX hot sauce (10 X out of 10)


The hot sauce wasnt that hot, as suspected, heres an action shot of hot sauce and dinner together!

I finish my meal in about 9.63 seconds, not much happens on the other tables so I decide its time to leave. Being that this is a 'casual' restuarant with a bar, you go up to pay, something I wish was the norm everywhere.

After dinner its time for the long walk home, which takes about 90 minutes, along the way I perch my camera on various inanimate objects to take some arty shots without flash, starting with the outside of the restaurant.

Montezumas Restaurant


Bridge Street....


Bridge Street again


Flinders Street Station - this will be largely replaced by the new station pictured at the top of this review

The bill is as follows,

1 x Mocktail $5.95 - Too expensive, Taco Bills was better and cheaper
Enchilada Combo with silly name $18.95 - Average value, smallish serving size
Hottest hot of the hot sauce $2.95 - If only it were hot