El Mariachi

Last Wednesday, I went out with some friends. Who doesn't love being social? Especially around this time of year. The clothes, the make up, the early Christmas presents and the cheeky meals that are 'practise for the 25th'. Being 15, it's not like we could all go out on the lash, get drunk out of our minds and wake up on Thursday with awful hangovers, only remembering vague details about which guy we went home with. We've still got three years of teen-hood before the joyous time when we're actually allowed to do it, instead of living with the philosophy that those laws are pointless and there for no reason.

Back on topic, as a group of 10 people, it seemed pointless for all of us to go home just to come back to the same town our school is in, and so around 6 of us went back to my friends house. We did the normal thing and got ready together, trying on eachother's heels, comparing outfits and taking cheeky little selfies with everyone, just like every teen does these days. All glammed up, most of my friends completely overdressed for the circumstance in 6-inch heels and low-cut tops, we headed off to the restaurant.

El Mariachi is a Mexican restaurant in Tonbridge. It is less than a 5 minute walk away  from the station and tucked away down an inconspicuous side road. Despite the subtle location and the fact we went on a weekday, the cosy little restaurant was packed solid. The light-hearted chatter between customers, accompanied by the loud music, décor and smell of barbecue all contributed brilliantly to the friendly and persuasively Mexican atmosphere of the building.

The service was brilliant, as soon as we arrived, we were given menus and asked about drinks, and the waiter/esses where willing to answer any questions we had about the large variety of different virgin cocktails they had on offer. The only issue we had was with ordering, whether it was because the staff were inexperienced, or because the music was slightly too loud to communicate properly over the top of it, we ended up with an extra drink, which wasn't really that big a problem, considering the staff were very gracious about it and ended up giving it to us for free anyway.

The food was delicious. You couldn't fault it. It was filling, rich in flavour and reasonably priced. We all had a set meal from their Christmas Menu, and so it was around £20 for a 3-course-meal, which is incredibly reasonable considering the standard of the food we were served.

The restaurant only had one option on the set dessert menu, which was a deliciously rich chocolate fudge cake. The cake was moist, the icing was thick, and most importantly, the entire thing was incredibly chocolatey. I can't complain. 

The restaurant was brilliant. The music was suitable and catchy, to the point you almost wanted to get up and dance, apart from the fact we were all too full to move! The interior decoration was intriguing. Every wall had a different floor-to-ceiling painting on it that each depicted a different Mexican theme. The service was good, the waiters particularly attractive, and orders were completed and served incredibly quickly, despite the popularity of the restaurant. The food and drink was just flawless, rich in flavour, texture and quantity. I definitely got my moneys worth that evening. I would recommend El Mariachi to anyone. It's a restaurant that is suitable to anyone and everyone, families, parties or single diners.