Restaurant Review: Seventh heaven with 777 party kit
777 Mexican Restaurant's party kit: casual food that hits the spot for quality
- 777 Mexican Restaurant, 16 South Great Georges Street, Dublin 2.
- Tel: 01-4255052. 777.ie, Instagram: @777Dublin.
- 777 Taquito Party Kit (2-3 people) for €64, including delivery nationwide plus a 70cl bottle of pre-mixed Margarita (€49).
- Delivery nationwide is once per week, with orders placed by 10am Wednesday delivered on Thursday or Friday before 7pm.
- Dublin Delivery available Fridays for orders placed before Thursday 5pm.
- Order via: 777.clickandcollection.com
It is nearly 150 days since I last visited a restaurant — and it feels like so very much longer. Outdoor dining commences on Bank Holiday Monday, June 7, and on that very date, I will be sitting in 777’s gorgeous new outdoor dining space behind their restaurant on South Great George’s Street.
So why 777 as my first outing? Well, I wanted a casual fun place with high-quality food and a great atmosphere that serves proper cocktails — that’s 777. In anticipation of this first dine-out experience of 2021 I ordered their Taquito Party Kit and some obligatory pre-mixed Margarita and I am struggling to contain myself.
It wasn’t just that the Taquito kit was tasty in the extreme, it was the memory those flavours brought back to me of previous visits to 777, and while my own family is fun, our kitchen cannot quite compete with 777 for atmosphere.
Like the best kits I’ve tried so far the 777 kit involves very little cooking or prep work. As suggested in the one-page instruction sheet we began with Margarita. The 70cl bottle arrived cold as part of the party kit a couple of hours earlier and had been placed in the fridge along with some coupe glasses.
At dinnertime a couple of hours later we first cranked up Rodrigo Y Gabriella on the kitchen boombox and then the dampened rims of each glass were pressed into crunchy flavoured salt mix followed by a large slosh of Margarita mix — all seemed well with the world after the first sip (gulp is perhaps more descriptive).
A well made gin & tonic, martini or negroni can all have a similar effect on my psyche but a Margarita does it best of all. There is something magical in the chemistry of blending tequila, Triple Sec and lime juice aided by a dusting of salt on the rim of the glass to sharpen the appetite — the Margarita might be the perfect cocktail.
Assembling the food from the kit couldn’t have been easier. A simmering pot of water heated the three main bags of toppings (Corizo, Mushrooms and Chicken) while we arranged the various dips and toppings, sipped Margarita, and munched on light crisp tortilla chips dunked into rich Guacamole and drizzled with Salsa Verde and spicier Salsa Tipica.
Corn tortillas were warmed briefly in a frying pan and assembled to our liking with the mix of toppings and garnishes. We largely followed the recipes but felt free to add in extra flavours when we felt appropriate.
First up was some rich lightly spicy Chorizo-Pork topped with sour cream, Habenero Chilli pepper and some onion and Coriander. Heaven in two mouthfuls — if the Margarita is the perfect cocktail, the Taco is the perfect finger food.
Next were crispy Tinga Tostado discs topped with spicy Chicken plus earthy Black Bean Purée and more creamy Guacamole - thankfully we had managed not to devour all the guac with the Taco chips. Next the Setas Taquitos — soft corn tortillas topped with Portabello Mushrooms, smoky Chipotle Pesto and more Crema — perhaps the least successful but tasty all the same.
By now we had used up all the soft tortillas, tostados and chips but still had plenty of meat, mushrooms and toppings. Myself and the Engineer were sated but the 6’1” rugby player needed more — thankfully the store cupboard contained a pack of corn tortilla from Picado Mexican Pantry on Richmond St., Dublin 2 (picadomexican.com) and Tortilla chips from the wonderful Blanco-Niño in Tipperary (blanco-nino.com) — I particularly recommend the Blue Corn version and the Chilli & Lime.
Dessert of 777 Bread & Butter Pudding was warmed in the oven and managed that rare feat of tasting sweet and rich while remaining light and fluffy without a hint of stodge.
So if you are craving proper Mexican food then 777’s Taquito kit is warmly recommended — the joy of finger food, the heady tang of good Margarita, the spices to wake the senses, the contrasts of flavours and textures from crispy to mushy to spiky and crunchy — it was joyful.
