Mezcalita review: Bengaluru’s brightest Mexican restaurant overwhelms, overstimulates, overjoys and that’s the whole point

Bengaluru’s Mezcalita refuses to be boring. It pairs a vibrant, mural-filled setting with Mexican food made from imported ingredients. Here's everything I had.

It is Thursday, 8 pm. You are on 12th Main Road in Bengaluru's Indiranagar, caught in the particular standstill that defines this neighbourhood. An auto-rickshaw cuts you off. You have already trekked a full hour across town in peak traffic, long enough for your ‘Bonita’ playlist to loop twice, long enough to have memorised a menu you have not yet ordered from. And then you remember: you chose this. Because tacos (and churros). Because Mezcalita.

I stepped into Mezcalita Cantina y Tequila Bar expecting a quiet weekday taco night. Instead, I walked into a sensory surge of marigolds, Spanish rhythms, neon glow and collective energy so infectious it felt like a celebration had crash-landed in namma Bengaluru. It overstimulated. It overwhelmed. It overjoyed. And frankly, it was exactly what I needed.

Mezcalita Cantina y Tequila Bar in Indiranagar, Bengaluru — the pink neon facade outside, and the colourful two-storey dining room inside.

A two-storey love letter to la buena vida

The room was unapologetically maximalist. Hand-crafted papel picado banners danced overhead in purple, orange, green and yellow alongside hanging pom-poms. Massive iron chandeliers dripping with cascading orange floral garlands and butterflies illuminated tables packed with diners of all ages. Multigenerational families shared plates. Groups of friends clinked cocktail glasses. Techies let their hair down. People of all ages, families and friends, were there to just have a good time. That was the point.

Inseparable: culture, food, art

In Mexico, a cantina is more than a place to eat: it is where a meal turns into a fiesta, and strangers become friends, Mezcalita founder and chef Rizwan Amlani shared in a post-visit interview with HT Lifestyle. “When we started, Mexican food in India meant tacos, maybe nachos, and not much else. We wanted a lot more, so the mission was simple: forget the cliches and bring all of México to India. We began with the food, the drinks and the art, and then added that unmistakable love of living well, la buena vida. You eat with your eyes first, so the murals and the music do as much of the work as the plate,” he said.

Colourful pom-poms hang over the mezzanine seating at Mezcalita, above a dining room with a large sugar-skull and hummingbird mural.

Senkoe's walls do the talking

Every wall tells a story, courtesy of renowned Mexican street artist Senkoe. His sprawling murals blend pre-Hispanic mythology, Mexican folklore, dreamlike creatures and native flora into a contemporary street-art tapestry. The brief was never to recreate Mexico like a postcard, Rizwan explained: “Senkoe is a Mexican muralista. I wanted him to interpret it in his own hand, so the walls carry real stories rather than a theme. That is why you stop noticing which city you are in: your eyes have their fill before the food arrives.”

Even a trip to the bathroom was an event, plastered with posters of retro film prints — and a small, very earnest sign asking people not to throw used toilet paper in the commode, but to use the trash bin instead. It read, “Amigos! Please no tissue in el baño. Gracias, use el basurero!”

Día de Muertos, but make it personal

I happened to visit during their dedicated Dia de Muertos festival special, running from October 15 to November 2, which anchored my entire experience. An impressive life-sized skeletal figure greeted guests just above the front entrance sign, while entrance arches were adorned with woven straw baskets framing detailed sugar skulls (calaveras), bright orange marigolds, and colourful artificial butterflies.

Inside, custom-printed Dia de Muertos menu cards depicted iconic La Catrina artwork with festive candle accents. At one point, our warm, friendly server turned up holding a traditional Mexican hat, or sombrero, derived from the Spanish word sombra (shade). Half the dining room was already donning them. Naturally, I popped one on too.

Día de Muertos decor at Mezcalita — sugar-skull plaques and marigolds at the entrance, and flower-covered chandeliers with colourful pom-poms inside.

Forget standard bar menus with generic Margaritas

Mezcalita’s cocktail program is designed as a narrative journey through the 10 production stages of artisanal tequila and mezcal, featuring a bar menu packed with 45 tequilas, 5 mezcals, 8 signature cocktails, and 7 zero-proof concoctions.

“Most people in India meet tequila as a shot, and very few know that every bottle starts as an agave heart that goes through ten stages before it reaches the glass,” Rizwan shared, adding, “So the cocktail menu follows that journey, from harvesting to blending, with a drink for each stage. The murals bring the culture onto the walls, and the drinks bring it into the glass.”

‘Oaxaca calling’ is the grand finale. A sophisticated mix of artisanal mezcal and aged tequila in one glass, smoky, complex, earthy and perfectly balanced. 'Verde fizz' is bright, refreshing and beautifully herbaceous. ‘Zero proof picante’ is proof that mocktails do not have to be sweet afterthoughts.

Why Bengaluru, why now

While Mumbai holds three locations, Bengaluru marks Mezcalita’s first footprint outside its home turf. It opened in 2025. Rizwan said: “From Churchgate to Bandra and Indiranagar, we have always chosen neighbourhoods with a strong sense of culture, and Indiranagar has that. Bengaluru was the natural first city outside Mumbai: curious without being pretentious, a city that wants the real thing, served honestly, no ceremony. That is exactly what a cantina is.”

He highlighted that unlike places that rely on Tex-Mex shortcuts, Mezcalita imports dried Mexican chillies, corn and tostada discs directly from heritage farms. ‘We know a guy who knows a guy’, as the menu playfully notes. Everything else, from hand-pressed masa tortillas to 24-hour braised meats and scratch-made telera bread, is crafted daily in-house.

An overhead spread at Mezcalita — tacos, tortilla chips, dips, salsas and small plates.

Vegetarian? You're in luck

If you are vegetarian, you are in luck. Mexico has always eaten plant-rich foods — beans, squash, corn and chillies — and Mezcalita treats its veg offerings as superstars rather than afterthought side dishes, Rizwan highlighted. He said: “Vegetarian food was never a section on our menu. The jackfruit taco is a signature for a reason.”

If you are a vegetarian, order the avocado bowl, tempura cauliflower taco, and cinnamon churros without a second thought. They are non-negotiable. The menu features 61 dishes across 12 sections, with 48 excluding sides and the kids’ menu. That breaks down as guacamoles, nachos, quesadillas, tacos, burritos, bowls, tortas, desserts and more snacks and mains.

The Mexican feast

I started with guacamole de Mezcalita, made fresh and served with crisp, hand-cut tortilla chips: a masterclass in tableside freshness. Nachos con Chile arrived stacked with salsa, jalapeños, sour cream and molten Mexican cheeses. Forget lukewarm bar nachos piled with processed jarred cheese. These are the real thing, built to be shared.

Deadly spicy habanero pops were golden-fried on the outside and exploded with authentic Mexican habanero heat. They were fiery, crunchy, bite-sized bombs, the kind of snack that makes you reach for your drink, and immediately reach for another. Secret cheese mix was a sizzling skillet of melted, gooey Mexican cheese served with fresh salsas. Dip your chips, spoon it over tacos, or eat it straight off the fork. No judgment. Tempura cauliflower taco, served on fresh hand-pressed tortillas, achieved that elusive golden crunch while staying juicy inside.

Next time I go, I know exactly what to expect and what to order. Guacamole to start, cauliflower taco and avocado bowl for the table, secret cheese mix for pure joy, and cinnamon churros to finish.

The author was hosted by Mezcalita Cantina y Tequila Bar upon editorial invitation.