Lucha Libre

This is a cool place — nice atmosphere, friendly service and great cocktails. The Guadalajaran street food menu looked exciting however I was kinda disappointed with my food (possibly due to my choice of dishes).
We shared a cup of chips and guac whilst waiting for our dishes. The guac was zesty and there was plenty of it but I would’ve preferred it to have been chunkier and less mushy. The veggie tamale cake bites with spinach and butternut squash was a nice dish but a little sweet for my taste. I also had the halloumi and pineapple burrito, which I wasn’t hugely keen on — again the sweetness put me off. However, I tried some of my friend’s sweetcorn fritters with green tomatillo dipping sauce and wow they were delicious so who knows, it’s possible that with different choices I might have enjoyed it more!

I went out for a early dinner with my girlfriend and I was gladly impress with this place. Nice and cozy atmosphere, music wasn’t too loud, just enough to listen it and chat quietly.
Staff were really helpful and we got served relatively fast.
As far as I am concerned, food was nice and tasty, portions acceptable.
Money-​wise affordable.
I would certainly improve the desserts menu, although there are a fairly good variety, they lack of gluten free option.
I would strongly recommend this place for a must-​go restaurant.

This is fast becoming one of my favourite pre-​FACT haunts! The food is always delicious, the service speedy and friendly and the style and ambience is absolutely great in my opinion.
The last time I visited there was a 40 minute wait for a table. Rather than leave and look for somewhere else (which my friend and I were tempted to do as we were STARVING!) I suggested that we try out the bar downstairs, Maya. Although this wouldn’t have been my choice on a nice, balmy summer evening, it was just perfect on a chilly winter night; cosy, dark and warm. The wines on offer were pretty good too (we went for a very nice Argentinian Malbec).
Because the atmosphere downstairs was so pleasant the 40 minute wait flew by and before we knew it we were back upstairs and at our table. My friend has a serious wheat allergy but that’s not a problem here as many things on this fun street food style menu are corn based or with rice accompaniments. The tray of mixed tacos we ordered was perfect. Luckily I don’t mind not looking ladylike 100% of the time as they’re pretty difficult to eat delicately — but delicious!
I just wish I did’t get full up so easily as I’ve never got round to having a dessert here… maybe next time!
I would thoroughly recommend Lucha Libre to anyone… it’s particularly good for for large groups and parties. Arriba!

Lucha Libre has made a pronounced impact on Liverpool’s culinary scene in its short existence, with its simple-​but-​effective approach of high-​quality Mexican street food with a lively, buoyant atmosphere.
The selection of music they play is fantastic, and serves as an integral part of the enjoyable atmosphere. It would have been easy to just plump for traditional pan-​central american music, but the mêlée of modern indie rock sounds suits Lucha’s relaxed, informal atmosphere much better.
There is a wonderful array of cocktails on offer, and it’s hard to go wrong with their food menu, too — whether you go for a taco, burrito, seafood, or vegetarian option, you will likely experience a carnival of flavour with just the right level of spice. The level of service is highly impressive, too. The waiting staff are very much on the ball, and are among the friendliest and most attentive of any restaurant in town.
A minor criticism is that they could have more choice in terms of dessert, but that really is a minor drawback in the grand scheme of things. The only other bad thing to say about the place would be how hard it can be to get a table, but of course that’s to be expected when you become such a raging success, and it’s a very good problem to have.
Even if Mexican isn’t usually your scene, you should give this place a go at least once. I can guarantee you will not be disappointed.

I’d been wanting to visit Lucha Libre since the first day it opened as I’m a huge fan of Mexican food and this place looked like it had the right vibe I was after. I finally got to go for a birthday meal this year and it was even better than I was anticipating.
The place is very visually striking. Mexican posters are plastered over the walls of the dimly lit room, which was very busy but not horribly packed.
The food is just what I was after — it’s a slightly fancier take on Mexican street food. This is perfect for me as it’s not too posh yet not cheap and nasty either.
The menu is variations on what you expect — tacos, quesadillas, burritos, etc but they’re all so much nicer than almost anywhere else. With the tacos, for example, you can choose between Pil Bil (Slow cooked pork marinated in orange juice & achiote, served with pickled red onions), Al Pastor (24 hour marinated pork belly in cola, achiote & citrus juices, served with an apple salsa, fresh coriander & red onion, Prawn and Mango (Juicy prawns, minted guacamole, chunky mango salsa, red chilli & coriander) and many more… even the local dish, Scouse! Yes, I lifted those descriptions from their website.
As you can see, this is a step above most places serving this type of food and it was all absolutely delicious. Get the Taco Tray for a taste of a bit of everything.
The food is rather spicy, which makes a nice change as a lot of places don’t deliver on this front. It’s not stupidly hot though, to the point where you can’t taste the food. There’s nothing worse than that to me and Lucha Libre are smart to steer clear.
The drinks menu is equally as interesting with lots and lots of authentic drinks and more to boot. A lot of these drinks have the addition of salt to the rim, as you might expect… but some have not just salt but Chili Salt, Orange Salt, Vanilla Salt. The list could go on. Some personal favourites of mine were the Tepachelada (El Jimador tequila, fresh lime juice, pineapple syrup, San Miguel
Fresca beer served with chilli salt rim) and the Classic Margarita.
Sticking with drinks for a second (because the selection here is utterly fantastic) they do a large range of tequilas and something even better… Mezcal. I had been looking for Mezcal for some time in Liverpool and was delighted to find it here — they even had five or six to choose from. Absolutely delicious, the one I chose had a nice, smoky, flavour. I suggest you always get a Mezcal during your visit here.
The staff were really nice and helpful, absolutely no complaints there.
Overall, this is easily one of the finest restaurants in Liverpool. I’ll be coming here again and again and again, without a doubt. It’s an essential.

For some time now, I’ve been lamenting the middling standards in the Mancunian food scene. Not low, not excellent… just the dictionary definition of ‘meh’. Every time I eat at one of Living Ventures’ seemingly 300 restaurants, I’m left with an overwhelming sense of I-​could-​have-​made-​that-​at-​home. The formerly diverse NQ seems to have been monopolised by 2 or 3 very intelligent and enterprising companies; however this makes things there feel very samey (not that the hipsters seem to mind). And the prices? They’re enough to drive you to the chains — at least they’re relatively consistent and have those 2-​for-​1 vouchers going for them. (Don’t even get me started on our horrific Annie’s Sunday roast experience.)
Years ago, I vented my spleen on the upsetting lack of Mexicuisine in the North West. I’d long given up. The closest I could get was an admittedly excellent burrito from Pancho’s in the Arndale Food Market, but that’s more a grab-​and-​go lunch kind of situation.
Knowing I was visiting my mum in L’pool (somewhere I very much enjoy cheating on MCR with), I curiously checked the Almost Famous Twitter to see how things were progressing with their opening in that-​there-​other-​city. Through some stroke of luck, I happened upon Lucha Libre’s own feed, sizzling with the promise of Mex street food. I was intrigued. I’ve never had a fish taco outside of SF, and there they were, taunting me from the menu But there was more. I can safely say I’ve never looked at a restaurant’s menu and wanted to order every single dish. LL’s menu did just that. My husband had a glance and I’m pretty sure he used Liz Lemon’s famous phrase, ‘I want to go to there’. Or I did. Who’s counting.
The 3 of us entered the crisply air-​conditioned space from the arid summer street and felt instantly relieved. We were greeted by a friendly and quite frankly gorgeous server who noticed our joy at the air-​con and gleefully told us it had recently been fixed, making for a much more comfortable experience in this uncharacteristic hot summer. She gave us free reign to sit anywhere we wanted, asked if we’d been there before (we were all Lucha virgins) and talked us through the menu and portion sizes.
My husband’s an efficient soul in these situations. My mum and I could have been there ooh-​ing and ahh-​ing for hours, but he happily picked 2 sharer plates and discussed the option of switching out a few dishes for others, meaning we didn’t double up on anything and got to try as much as possible. This was very exciting as it meant we’d be getting everything from crispy fish to belly pork, slow cooked chicken and pulled pork in our tacos and the likes of chorizo, potato and chicken in our quesidillas as well as tostada turrets of chicken and fresh tomatoes and onions… I hadn’t been quite this excited about a meal in a long time.
Our server, Rosie, was so accommodating, enthused and friendly, and she let us know that we were welcome to pack up our food to go if we didn’t quite manage it all (of course she’d seen this happen before). And then it arrived.
If you’ve experienced the difference between Tex Mex and authentic Mexican like I did in SF, you’ll know that while Tex Mex is comforting, delicious and indulgent, authentic Mex is a whole different ball game. It’s fresh, it’s zingy, it’s flavoursome and it’s nowhere near as liberal in its use of cheese or cream. I often liken it to the crisp tang of Vietnamese food, just obviously on a very different taste spectrum. This was the real deal. And can I be honest? It put the food I had in SF to shame. Readers, I wouldn’t say this lightly but it put *most* of the food I’ve ever eaten to shame.
Within a few mouthfuls our food soared its way to the top of the chart of any meals out the three of us have had in our lives. I promise you, I’m not exaggerating. Every flavour was tangible, every texture was glorious — I couldn’t fault a single thing. While we waxed lyrical to Rosie (who attended to us and made sure all was okay), we begged for them to come to MCR, please, pretty please. The news she had for us almost induced table-​wide squeals.
They are coming to MCR. They’re part of the new breath of life injected into the area around the Great Northern Warehouse by All Star Lanes, AF, Brewdog, Trof and the like, making your potential AMC cinema experience another night out entirely. I nearly jumped out of my seat. (By now you’ve probably seen the exciting wooden wrap around their new venue.) Rosie said she was so excited by the new opening, she felt goosebumps as she was telling us about it. I don’t know about you, but that to me is a sign that the people involved with this company love what they do. Excellent value, beautiful food and one of the friendliest experiences we could have hoped for… I’m only sorry we didn’t partake in cocktails, but believe me, I shall not be hesitating when they open in MCR.

Going over restaurants I have been to recently that I have not reviewed I was reminded of my trip to Liverpool. I looked up Lucha Libre and was stunned to see the shortage of reviews but pleased to see the high rating it had got.
This place was a standout during my trip to Liverpool. The best restaurant we visited by a distance and if it was in Glasgow I reckon it would have 20 plus 4 and 5 star reviews on Unilocal by now.
It is a Mexican street food joint that does it almost tapas style and bring the dishes out as they are ready. We did not book so had a 30 min wait on a Friday night, which ain’t to bad for a popular place IMO. They have a cool bar downstairs which is almost like an under ground cave. Dimly lit and serving nice beers and full of cool people. The staff come and get you when your table is ready and take you upstairs to a room with walls covered with Mexican comic book drawings.
The service is really quick and the staff are friendly. We went for a mx of loads of options to share and all were very god, my particular favourite was the jalapeño poppers which were immense. So good I got two portions.
If your in Liverpool this is the place to eat. Easy 5 stars.

I reached the Promised Land last week and my God, it was good! For months and months I’ve wanted to check out Lucha Libre and with being in Liverpool for work, saw my opportunity to take it with both hands (and mouth)
So the first thing you should know is that it’s an ultra cool and funky cantina style restaurant with numerous booths and tables, a little bar and some of the most attentive and friendly staff I’ve come across (thanks for charging my phone behind the bar for me!!)
Meeting 15 work colleagues later on for drinks downstairs, 3 of us had our management meet upstairs where we had an hour to really get into the menu and try as many things as we could. I’ve spent a lot of time in California and Texas (sadly not south of the border yet) but it was definitely on the way to getting the tastes right than anything I’ve come across in my love of Mexican food in the UK before.
Major shout-​outs have to go to the chorizo and potato quesadilla, the miniature soft flour tacos and our vegan friend thought the La Luna Negra salad was an excellent choice. The homemade guacamole with bacon jam was superb and if I had a bucket of that with a box of their nachos then I could have a very very happy afternoon!
With it being street food, you can make the night as expensive as you want with little dishes costing a few quid, up to Burritos leaving you with change from a tenner. A good selection of Mexican and south American beers but would be great if they stocked some California craft beer like Sierra Nevada as quite a few on our party wanted something more like ‘ale’ and drinking lager all night does get a bit boring.
Little did I know that they also have a large downstairs bar, with great ‘day of the dead’ décor and large prison cell booths that you can sit in that fit around 10.
I found the Promised Land and it lived up to everything I thought it would do. I’m also just so excited that they’re opening up in Manchester in October — this could be dangerous guys

I wish Lucha Libre was in my hometown of Los Angeles! High quality, creative and incredibly tasty Mexican fare — loads of vegetarian and gluten-​free options. Fantastic service! We had jalapeño fish cakes, veggie (grilled hallumi and pineapple salsa) tacos, chicken tostadas — and they were willing to amend items to suit our preferences. I’d go back in a second if I wasn’t so delightfully stuffed!!!

Entering Lucha Libre I immediately approved of my surroundings, ambient music, classic posters and a seperate bar for those waiting. Lucha Libre serves Mexican food that is traditional and has a pleasing variety of options. The menu consists of several smaller options and a selection of burritos, fajitas, enchiladas etc and gives you more of an option to pick a few bits and try different things or choose a few dishes as sharers for the table. The perk of Lucha Libre for me was that there are three shelves near the door packed with extremely hot chilli sauces that any of the patrons can help themselves to. Polite service, reasonably short wait for food and a relaxed atmosphere makes Lucha Libre a lovely meal for the romantics or groups of friends.