EAT: THE BLACK TORO, WINDSOR
I’m no stranger to the tasty Modern Mexican delights of The Black Toro, having visited the OG Glen Waverley location back in 2013. In fact so enjoyable was this experience that I recapped said adventure with this little snippet on the blog:
I always feel a sense of satisfaction when I get to tick off a restaurant from my to-visit list, but particularly so in this instance because the place was so out of the way for me and because our dining experience was very enjoyable. And that’s the cue for the disappointment of living so far away to sink in! So whether you’re a 'local’ or someone like me who needs to travel quite a distance to visit Glen Waverley, The Black Toro is highly recommended.
Fortunately for me, The Black Toro has now opened a second location in Windsor, which is much, MUCH closer than Glen Waverley. And the food remains every bit as good as I recall from memory; our taste buds were reacquainted with some of the classics from the GW branch but also encountered several tasty newbies during our feed-me dining experience.
The bar was set high early on with the immense flavours captured in both the smoky, charred wood grilled corn and velvety smooth jalapeño croquettes with a gorgeous crumbing that left the taste buds craving for more. Our selection of tostadas featured silky fresh seafood piled high onto a crispy tortilla base; the Kingfish ceviche incredibly vibrant and refreshing with a hint of Asia in its cabbage, mint and fried shallot accompaniments. The tuna was also super fresh, but its flavour profile somewhat lacking by comparison. The wagyu beef sliders were superbly executed - despite its adorably cute size risking overcooking, the wagyu patty was super juicy. The pork cochinita taco was yet another excellent dish; tender and succulent pulled pork with much oomph in its flavouring thanks to a gorgeous sweet barbecue glaze and quite a punch of spice in the accompanying hot sauce (hot, hot, hot!). We soon hit the wall and couldn’t manage more than a few bites of the Barramundi a la talla, a grilled baby barramundi with a herbaceous green sauce, some sort of red pepper? sauce and fresh fennel and herbs. Green was the way to go; the aromatic flavours of the green sauce and/or the fresh fennel+herbs pairing beautifully with the barramundi and without overwhelming its delicate taste. If you have room for it, the fish was served with some tortilla wraps for a fish taco concoction. There was definitely (and unfortunately) no room for dessert, no matter how amazing they sounded. Churros taco… get in mah belly! Needless to say, a return visit is most definitely in the cards… so much more doable now with the Windsor location, which is also just down the road from work, huzzah!
Jalapeno & cheese croquette - with lime crema.
Wood grilled corn - with chipotle cream, queso fresco and lime.
Soy marinated tuna tostada - with avocado, salsa macha and radish.
Kingfish ceviche tostada - with lime cured kingfish, guacamole and toasted peanut slaw.
Wagyu beef slider - with spiced wagyu beef, cheese, pickles, miso onions and ketchup.
Pork cochinita taco - barbeque pork, pickled onion and hot sauce on a corn tortilla.
Barramundi a la talla - grilled baby barramundi, red & green sauce, fennel & herbs.
The Black Toro
104 Chapel St,
Windsor, Victoria, 3181.
+61 3 9521 3858
Disclosure: I dined as a guest of The Black Toro. All opinions expressed in this post are based entirely on my experience and observations made during the time of my visit.