Jo Peñás

If you thought that to experience traditional Mexican food meant having to suffer the indignity of your girlfriend being accosted by a sweaty, moustachioed, sombrero-wearer, slurring "ay leetle tequeela for di laydee", think again fool. For everybody knows that Jo Peñá’s sits opposite the Komuna cinema…don’t they? They must do because the place is either usually packed with diners tucking into elaborate-looking dishes, or with the young and upwardly mobile drinking bottled beer into the early hours. So if you haven’t been here then you’ve obviously been naval-gazing, but for those of you who have valid excuses for not having had the ‘Mexican experience’ in Ljubljana, we shall begin.

The interior of Jo’s looks very, well, Mexican really and although it’s so popular there never seems to be a shortage of tables for the adventurous diner, with the wide space being put to full use both upstairs and down. The busy waiters arrive and immediately you sit down, launch into fluent English at the drop of a hat, and drinks and English menus are swiftly procured to your dark-wood table as you soak up the busy atmosphere.

Deep-fried turkey breast strips coated in corn-flakes, chips and dips and potato halves are some of the ‘entradas’ on offer and are well priced between SIT 500 and SIT 1000. Two soups and five meaty salads also grace the first few pages of the menu, however reminded of what Mark Twain said about "the trouble with Mexican food is that 5 or 6 days later you’re hungry again", we flicked directly to the main courses. These consist largely of flour tortillas filled with grilled strips of meat, (marinated and of your choosing), fresh mushrooms, onions and peppers, and are served with guacamole, sour cream, Mexican rice and kidney beans. Variations include the ‘Chimichanga’ with Californian meat and cocoa sauce, and an eye-watering ‘hot three-chilli sauce’. Tempted as I was by the sizzling version, called ‘Fajitas’,(SIT 2300), I went for a turkey and cheese based affair called ‘Quesada de pavo’, as my guest plumped for the sweet-corn included ‘Asado de pavo’. Average price of a main course? SIT 1700.

So who was Senor Peñá anyway? Well among the many jokes in the menu, (Q: What’s the difference between mashed potatoes and pea soup? A: Anyone can mash potatoes…ha ha), lies the answer. Seems he was the first baseball player of Mexican origin to play in the US baseball league in 1937 – cool. We didn’t have to wait long before our meals arrived in all their cocktail-like glory on large, oval plates. Beautifully presented, hot and cold, spicy and mild, marinated, grilled, baked, wrapped and garnished and complimented by the small bowls of rice and Mexican bean sauce. The meat was tender and fresh, as were the vegetables, and though both dishes were marginally onion-heavy, they were beautifully prepared, and delicious.

‘What they say about variety being the spice of life certainly holds true at times like this’, I mused, trying to avoid eye-contact with the desert menu of pineapple drizzled with coconut milk and apple crisp. Great atmosphere, efficient, friendly service and well-located with delicious food for modest prices makes Jo Peñá’s a must for any variety-seeker hankering for the Mexican experience.

Jo Peñá's is located at Cankarjeva 6, Ljubljana. Tel: 421-5800. Open Mon-Thur 16:00-24:00, Fri-Sat 16:00-01:00.

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