Don’t miss the 31-ingredient family-inspired sauce at this Mexican spot in Newtown

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A Mexican mole usually has a good story. The most famous version of this ceremonial sauce has been kept alive, like sourdough starter, for over a decade by Enrique Olvera at his Pujol restaurant in Mexico City. The mole verde at Olotl in Newtown has a rich history, too. Restaurant co-owner Blanca Perera uses a recipe from her Mexican grandmother, who is nearly 100. Perera archived the instructions during her uni days in Mexico City, in a binder that’s now 34 years old and bulges with other family recipes.

Mole verde has been a menu fixture since Perera started Olotl as a pop-up with mother Blanca Mejia in mid-2023. They first served it at Glebe’s Tramsheds, then upstairs at Newtown’s Campos Coffee and now you can order it at Olotl’s permanent home, which opened last month on Newtown’s King Street. On the family table though, mole verde was rare: Perera’s grandmother only cooked it once or twice a year. It was so labour-intensive, the special dish was reserved for Mejia’s birthday.

If the degree of difficulty wasn’t already high, Perera has expanded her grandmother’s creation into a 31-ingredient recipe: adding macadamias to the many nuts (pecans, almonds, pine) that are roasted and blended for the sauce, while staying true to the mole’s source code. Anise seeds, cinnamon, chillies and sultanas offer extra character, and toasted tortillas are blitzed through to give the sauce more consistency. As it reduces for eight hours, the liquid requires constant stirring to prevent it becoming a pot-ruining disaster. The sauce typically flavours a chicken taco, but like many Olotl dishes, it’s also available in vegetarian form.

I’ve tasted it in a tortilla with shreds of shiitake mushrooms: it’s earthy, rustic and the most understated dish on Olotl’s menu, which plays with the nuances of Mexican cuisine. Yes, you’ll find chipotle and jalapenos on the ingredients list, but Olotl isn’t here to capsize you with chilli. It uses peppers in a thoughtful way, rather than a weaponised dare that requires warning systems.

Salsa verde in the mushroom taco, for instance, achieves brilliant lift-off from the zingy vibrancy of jalapenos, lime and coriander, while beef birria has a five-chilli buzz that coexists happily with spices, garlic and onion – all deserve equal billing when delivering the brisket-stuffed taco’s savoury punch.

The bestselling birria has undergone identity changes since Olotl first served it at Tramsheds. There’s slow-cooked beef instead of pungent goat, and the melted cheese and dipping broth that typically accessorise this Insta-famous taco are gone. They found health-conscious locals preferred it with black beans (even though her teenage son Alexander campaigned for the cheesy version that ruled social media).

You might be served by Alexander or his teenage friends at Olotl: it’s in keeping with this family-run canteen’s super-accessible nature. I remember him from the Campos Coffee pop-up, proudly championing the made-from-scratch tortillas. After being prepped with Perera’s hands, her mother turns the corn-based dough three times on the hot plate. Sometimes they change colour, depending on the kernels used (vivid blue, perhaps, or neutral white). I still recall the freshness and depth of each tortilla from my first Olotl visit.

While the casual set-up (tacos served on paper liners, staff spooning salsas and ingredients from an open counter) makes the menu accessible, it doesn’t convey how much effort goes in. Nopales tacos are filled with cactus paddles that have been dethorned, hand-chopped into tiny squares and cooked with carefully minced and wonderfully caramelised onions. Topped with cherry tomato wedges, they’re a recommended order.

Then there are the specials. Tamales require so much work that Olotl only offers 14 serves each Saturday and Sunday. It’s worth arriving early to sink your teeth into the soft, doughy steamed-corn parcels. I still think about the enchiladas special I had one weekend: tortillas slathered with a herbaceous poblano chilli sauce I kept scooping until there was nothing left to spoon.

Sure, I have retro fondness for my after-school trips to Ashfield Mall for hard-shell tacos in the 1990s, but in recent years, chefs with Mexican heritage have vitally reshaped Sydney’s understanding of the cuisine (I think of Alejandro Huerta’s ceremonial tacos and Joe Valero’s salsa macha from restaurants they’ve since left; Rosa Cienfuegos’ tamales at Tamaleria & Mexican Deli and Juan Carlos Negrete Lopez’s sopes at Maiz). To this, I’m glad Olotl has vividly expanded our understanding of what’s possible with salsa, corn and chilli by generously sharing that well-worn recipe binder with Sydney.

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