If you haven’t heard of KADA, you might be missing out. From cafes to casual dining spots, this spot beside Maxwell MRT is home to various options – one of them being Lavi Tapas, the sister restaurant of well-known Lavi Tacos.
Here, the tapas joint reinvents classic Mexican dishes in tapas form while providing a twist.
Lavi Tapas Review
The space isn’t the largest, with only 20 indoor seats and an alfresco area that seats 16 to 18 pax max. A bar’s also located within the alfresco area for those who would like a tipple, or two.
Their menu is split into 4 main sections:
- Tapas
- Tacos
- Big Plates, great to share between 2 pax
- Happy Ending, aka Desserts
You can expect items like curried dhal croquettes served with aged parmesan and salsa roja, Korean carne asada tacos with kimchi pico de gallo, and a Fire-Roasted Lamb Rack made with chuan chuan spices.
Food at Lavi Tapas
The staff highly recommended the Tomato Stracciatella ($23), which, of course, has a Mexican twist.
The almost perfect-looking tomato is served with guacamole, arugula, and salsa verde. Inside, it is stuffed with hand-stretched stracciatella cheese.
As someone who doesn’t enjoy tomatoes, I gobbled this down like it was nothing. The tomato itself was really sweet and not in an artificial manner. We learnt that it was brined in a secret concoction that the chef doesn’t want to reveal.
The slices of sourdough were perfectly grilled, and believe me when I say I used it to ensure I left no trace of the dish.
While I expected the Parmesan Churros ($12) to be a savoury dish, its presentation made me think twice. It looked like your typical sweet churros with a side of whipped cream. However, this was parmesan espuma, and the churros were coated with paprika and cheese.
Texture-wise, I enjoyed how a bite into the crispy exterior revealed a fluffy texture inside. My dining companion said the dough reminded him slightly of potatoes.
The Gambas ($28) features huge Argentinian prawns grilled to perfection in a sauce that combines jalapeno garlic butter, kombu, mango pico de gallo and prawn oil. I appreciated the slices of bread because you need to soak up all that sauce!
Chicken & Mole Tacos
For the tacos, Lavi Tapas highly recommends the classic Birria ($19 for 1pc), which is what they’re known for – 72-hour sous vide short rib with melted cheese. However, we opted for the Chicken & Mole ($20 for 2pcs), as it came with a satay mole.
The chicken inside this was juicy and tender, and the combination of satay mole, pineapple pico de gallo and salsa roja really works. It showcases local flavours without overpowering the overall dish. A very nice balance of local and Mexican flavours!
72H Birria Sticky Beef Ribs
Since we skipped the Birria Tacos, we opted for their sticky beef ribs to share. To be honest, we found the price for this portion of ribs slightly on the higher side.
I have nothing else to complain about this dish, because everything is what you’d want the ribs to be. It’s fork tender, it falls off the bone, and even the house cornbread was perfect.
As their menu promised, the Cornmisu ($12) was a happy ending to the meal. It’s their take on tiramisu, using mezcal instead of Kahlua and layers of creamy corn mascarpone.
The mezcal isn’t too overpowering, and everything is balanced out so well. There’s even a nice dusting of corn tortilla on top, which adds a nice savoury touch to the dessert.
Tapas Restaurant in Tanjong Pagar
The prices are generally okay at Lavi Tapas. If you’d like to try their sticky beef ribs without breaking the bank, we suggest going for the Birria Taco, and opting for alternative big plates.
Definitely come with a friend or two so you get to try more menu items!
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Lavi Tapas
5 Kadayanallur Street, #01-09, Singapore 069183
Sun-Thurs, 12-3pm, 6-10:30pm
Fri-Sat, 12-3pm,6pm-12am
This article is based on a media-tasting, but all opinions expressed about the food are entirely our own.
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