Images: About Media Group
In the courtyard of a century-old church in McLaren Vale, the fire’s been lit. Taco Jose’s, the highly anticipated Mexican offshoot from the team behind Joe’s at Sabella, opened its doors over the weekend, bringing $20 taco trios, mezcal slushies, and a new kind of divine service to the Vale.
“McLaren Vale showed up in full force for opening weekend to enjoy the tequila, tunes and tacos. We only had one request across the whole weekend for no coriander,” shares co-owner Timmy Forster, who runs the spot with partner Lilli Willoughby.
Taco Jose’s comes with more than just food to sink your teeth into. When Forster announced that his tacos would come without cheese, it sparked debate. “No cheese? What’s the point?” wrote one Glam Adelaide reader. Others called it brave. But after living and working in Mexico City for a year, Forster insists it’s actually authentic.
“It’s Mexico style – no cheese, no flour – I don’t even think I saw a flour tortilla in Mexico. Just corn, open fire, and wood-grilled meats and veg,” he told Glam Adelaide last month.
Taco Jose’s is small, in-and-out, and focused on flavour. The 40-seat kiosk sits behind the church in what was once a soup kitchen, now transformed into a smoky, fire-fuelled taqueria. It’s breezy, inviting, and the perfect backdrop to a summer taco session. The centrepiece is a parrilla grill, a crank-handled beast that rises and lowers over glowing coals. From it comes brisket, chicken, and blackened vegetables, like a whole cauliflower hung above the flames until it’s sweet and charred.
The menu is deliberately tight. Rice and beans, a ‘not-a-nacho’ dish made with blue corn chips and spice, and a rotating vegetable feature. Forster makes all the salsas in-house, cooked directly over the grill, in constant rotation, and available to purchase. There’s also a chilli shrine, a nod to the sacred setting and to Forster and Willoughby’s shared love of chilli -and it’s already being put to good use.
“We had a few brave souls [opening weekend] tackling our Donkey Tears hot sauce, and there were no casualties. They took it like champions,” Forster says.
The drinks are equally focused. Mezcal and margarita slushies draw from Forster’s own stash of small-batch spirits imported through Mex Trade, a friend’s business that sources directly from Mexico.
Cheese or not, Taco Jose’s captures something closer to the streets of Mexico City than most Adelaide diners are used to. And with notoriously hard-to-please Advertiser critic Simon Wilkinson already tipping his hat to Forster’s cooking at Joe’s at Sabella, if you’re on the fence – yes way, Jose.
“We’re taking amazing wood-grilled proteins, beautiful sauces, everything made in-house and local – and giving people a real understanding of authentic Mexican food,” Forster explains.
“We have some interesting things on the horizon at Taco Jose which will pop up over the next few months. We can’t wait to bring more great vibes to Taco Jose over summer.”
What: Taco Jose’s
When: Friday 4pm-late, Saturday 12pm-late, Sunday 12pm-5pm
Where: 133 Main Road, McLaren Vale
For more info, click here.
@taco.jose.taco
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