El Camino Cantina brought the Tex-Mex experience to Byron Bay at midday on Thursday 25 April, when it opened for business in the new retail, dining and entertainment precinct, Mercato on Byron.
A four-day launch weekend until Sunday 28 April features all-day $2 tacos and happy hour from 4pm to 6pm each day. El Camino’s famous margaritas are served frozen or on the rocks, and in a rainbow of flavours: classic, strawberry, mango and tropical Red Bull. Guests can indulge in complimentary, refillable baskets of tortilla chips and salsas, served from converted Chevvy trunks, as they buckle in for a festive, music-fuelled Tex-Mex ride. El Camino Cantina will donate $1 from every full-price margarita sold over the four-day launch weekend to the Byron Bay Community Benefit Fund, with the donation supporting the Community Showers Project and the provision of hot showers and related services to the homeless.
Located on Level 1 of Mercato on Bryon, El Camino Cantina has created 40 full-time and casual positions and has supported the local economy by engaging around 30 professionals and tradespeople on the project. The creator of the El Camino Cantina concept, Texan and Rockpool Dining Group Chief Executive Officer Thomas Pash, said there was an exciting food scene in and around Byron Bay, to which El Camino Cantina would contribute a value-driven, dining experience. “We are humbled to be opening in the iconic destination of Byron Bay with its exciting and burgeoning food scene,” Pash said. “We’re committed to working with the local community via our charitable endeavours and are proud to offer excellent career development opportunities, including training programs that prepare employees to lead our restaurant and kitchen teams, both locally and interstate.”
El Camino Cantina is unashamedly Tex-Mex, which is short for Texan-Mexican and distinct from true Mexican cuisine. Humming with trademark, cool tunes and colourful sombreros, the eclectic cantina accommodates 250 diners, including 130 seated on a spacious balcony overlooking Jonson Street, where customers can enjoy Byron’s balmy ambience. A value-packed, crowd-pleasing menu caters to vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free diners. Tortillas are house-made daily and complimentary, bottomless chips and salsas are available all day. Signature dishes include a selection of soft-shell tacos stuffed with seven flavour combinations, including mushrooms with chipotle coleslaw, yoghurt and scallions, and beer-battered barramundi doused with green mango salsa and jalapeno aioli. All tacos can be upgraded to Cadillac versions with the addition of Mexican rice and refried beans on the side. Nachos are served with chilli con carne or vegetarian chilli, and a loaded version is topped with melted cheese, black beans, chilli con carne, smoked barbecue brisket, pico de gallo, sour cream and guacamole. Sizzling, chargrilled fajitas come with a choice of six fillings, including confit portobello, and hickory-smoked barbecue brisket, which is slow-braised in smoke-mix and hickory marinade for six hours.
El Camino is perfect for budget-friendly, week-day meal deals, casual, beachy sundowner sessions with frozen margaritas and shared dishes, sombrero group celebrations with set menus and chilled weekend brunches.
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