Vatos Urban Tacos Singapore - New KoMex Restaurant

The Korean wave continues to sweep across Singapore and has now reached South Beach. The hip Mexican fusion restaurant from Seoul, Vatos Urban Tacos, has just opened an outlet in the South Beach Quarter. It offers a variety of tacos, burritos, quesadillas as well a good range of craft beers and magaritas. The idea for Vatos Urban Tacos apparanetly sprang from the bellies of three Korean-Americans who had lived in California and Texas and wanted to start a Mexican restaurant in Seoul. Their Korean Mexican fusion restaurant with unique dishes like Kimchi Carnitas Fries, Galbi Tacos and Spicy Chicken Quesadillas quickly became wildly popular in Korea. The early indications are that Vatos Urban Tacos Singapore will catch fire as well.

Vatos Urban Tacos Singapore is located on the ground level of the historic armoury building now known as South Beach Quarter in the new South Beach complex.

The bar dominates the place and the main dining area is between the bar and the open kitchen. The interior design style is chic industrial. The table legs are fashioned from water pipes and attached faucets are cleverly designed to become hooks for the ladies’ handbags.

Here are random sections from the menu of Vatos Urban Tacos Singapore.

We went to the South Beach on a weekend. It was peaceful and tranquil during lunch time. Almost everyone there seemed to be heading to Vatos Urban Tacos for lunch.

We were cheerfully welcomed at Vatos. The staff were friendly, helpful and knowledgeable about the items on the menu. Iced water and complimentary nachos with salsa dip were served.

We ordered the Mango Prawn Quesadilla ($22) and the Babacoa Pork Tacos ($10 for 2 pieces). We also ordered the Guava Jarritos ($6 per bottle) because it sounded exotic. Service charge and GST were added on top of the menu prices.

As we were seated between the bar and the open kitchen, we could see the food and drinks being prepared. The drinks arrived very quickly and the food came shortly after.

The Mango Prawn Quesadilla came presented like half a sliced up pizza. The flour tortila was coated with cheese and grilled to give a light crisp outer layer. It was topped with sour cream, avocado slices and fresh mango salsa. The tortila pockets were filled with cheese and prawns. The textures and flavours of the different ingredients combined well. The Mango Prawn Quesadilla was delicious and very enjoyable. It a dish at Vatos we would readily recommend.

The 2 pieces of Babacoa Pork Tacos looked attractive. The mix of braised sweet & spicy pork shoulder, cilantro and chopped onions sat on the tortilla skins. Vatos hot sauce added colour and spice to the dish. The pulled pork had a nice smokey flavour. We learnt that babacoa is a form of cooking involving meat being slow-cooked over an open fire. On the whole, the tacos were not bad but the clear winner for the day was the quesadilla.

We tried the Jarritos out of curiosity. It was basically fruit flavour soda. Next time we will probably go for something more exciting and stronger – like Makgeolitas, an interesting KoMex concoction of Korean makgeolli and Mexican magaritas.

Vatos Urban Tacos Singapore is a casual diner and bar which is easy to like. The setting is atmospheric and the menu offers both the familiar and interesting fusion creations. It is a nice place to go to whether you are alone, a couple or a big group. Mix and match and sharing of food is the norm at Vatos Urban Tacos. Nice food, interesting menu, good friendly service and pleasant comfortable space. It is a good addition to the Singapore food scene. We would raise a glass of Makgeolita to this new KoMex restaurant in Singapore.