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Review content:
Colibri Mexican Bistro brings authentic tastes from central Mexico and delivers them in a deliciously classical way, but with nice modern touches. It advertises itself has having the most comprehensive tequila collection in the Bay Area. With 350 tequilas to choose from, ranging to $85 a pour ultra-premium anejo tequilas, my guess is that claim is probably true. The interior is a pleasant take on Old Mexico, with dark wood banquettes, wrought iron fixtures, and earthy colors of ochre and sand on the walls.
I was there on a Monday night, 8 pm. The place was busy and fully occupied, but not crowded, and the noise level was quite tolerable, even with live music. The musicians played appealing Mexican or Spanish music without once crossing into silly mariachi territory (no "La Cucaracha").
I ordered a tasting flight of the featured monthly tequila, Jimador. The flight, for $20, gave me a one ounce pour of blanco, reposado, and anejo styles from the maker, along with a small glass of a spicy tomato juice and some lime wedges. Freshly made, warm corn tortillas arrived with three sauces: a spicy chile salsa roja, a medium-heat fresh tomatillo salsa verde, and a sweet mango salsa. All were delicious with the tortillas. Moving from spicy to sweet with the suble earthy sweetness of the tortillas was a nice set of starting flavors to go with the tequilas.
I ordered an antojito, Tostadas Tinga, which was three small crisp corn tortillas mounded with a spicy shredded chicken, a little queso fundido and a bite of avocado. All of the flavors were well balanced, and the creaminess of the cheese and avocado kept the spicy chile sauce with the chicken from being too much. This was best with the blanco tequila and lime. The distinct agave tastes mingled very well with the chile.
For my main course, I ordered Pechugas Rellena de Huitlacoche and Nopales Asados. Huiltlacoche, or "cprn truffle" is a fungus that grows on ears of corn and is considered a delicacy from Aztec times to now. Fresh huitlacoche is very hard to find outside of Mexico, although frozen and canned forms are available. It has a slightly sweet, earthy flavor that is unlike any other mushroom I've tasted. The huitlacoche was stuffed inside a properly seasoned and cooked chicken breast, with just the right level of brown, slightly crispy exterior and flavorful, juicy meat. It was accompanied by a timbale of sauteed zucchini, fresh corn, and herbs, also tasty. The Nopales Asados was sauteed cactus paddles, thinly sliced portobello mushrooms, garlic, fresh oregano, and olive oil. The fresh oregano nicely complemented the vegetal taste of the cactus. This course was nicely complemented by the reposado. The smoother, more complex, slightly woody notes of the reposado played well with the earthy, meaty, slightly salty tastes of the chicken and huitlacoche.
I finished my meal with Caballeros Pobres (literally "poor cowboys"), which is a Yucatan bread pudding, served with a brown sugar ("piloncillo") and cinnamon honey sauce and vanilla ice cream. Colibri bakes the bread pudding and then slightly fries the slices, making for a wonderfully warm, surprisingly light dessert, that was just-right sweet, even with the vanilla ice cream. I accompanied the dessert with the last of the anejo tequila, whose complex, mellow, agave and oaky notes stood up to, but did not contradict, the flavors of the Caballeros Pobres.
Service throughout was attentive but not obtrusive. Food was delivered hot, without excessive waiting, but the entire meal felt properly unhurried.
A wonderful experience all around.
Pros: Food, decor, tequila collection, atmosphere
Cons: None
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