Chabela

M michael B 196 reviews · Local Guide 23 August 2026

Chabela just raised the bar for Mexican in Melbourne. The elotes? Unreal. Some of the best corn I’ve ever had — sweet, juicy and coated in a sauce so good you’ll be scraping the plate. Then come the tacos. Order as many as you can handle. The carnitas are straight-up phenomenal — rich, tender, and packed with flavour. The mushroom taco was a surprise standout too, earthy and perfectly seasoned. Every single one we tried hit different and hit hard. I preferred the tacos over the huaraches. The thicker base is tasty, but it slightly steals the spotlight from those incredible fillings. Stick to the tacos if you want the purest experience. And the cocktails? On point. The margarita I had was easily one of the best I’ve tasted in a while — bright, balanced, and dangerously drinkable. Fresh, flavourful, and full of soul. Chabela is a must.

C Christopher Wu 1,006 reviews · Local Guide 20 July 2026

Chabela was recommended to me by a lot of people as one of Melbourne’s trending Mexican spots, so I finally gave it a whirl. The first thing I noticed walking in was that these weren’t your average tacos. They make their tortillas using blue corn, and they also serve something called a huarache, which I’d never tried before. We started with two tostadas to share—one chicken and one prawn. My favourite was the chicken, while my cousin preferred the prawn. For me, the prawn was served a little too cold, whereas the chicken sat closer to room temperature and was seasoned with chipotle. Chipotle isn’t usually my favourite flavour profile, but I still preferred it over the prawn. The tostada itself was great—light, crispy and reminded me of eating a really good corn chip or nacho. Next came the tacos and huaraches. We ordered the ribeye, lamb, suadero (beef), and pork belly. The pork belly was my favourite filling of the night. I had it in a huarache, which is basically a long, boat-shaped tortilla. It held all the meat and sauces really well, but I had absolutely no idea how I was supposed to eat it without making a mess. The lamb was probably my second favourite in terms of flavour, although it was very oily. Whether that came from the meat itself or the salsa, I’m not too sure, but it was swimming a little. I had that one as a taco, and it was at that point I realised I definitely preferred the tacos over the huaraches. The taco had a bit more bite and texture, whereas the huarache was much softer. The suadero taco was also solid. The ribeye, despite being one of the most recommended items, was actually my least favourite. It wasn’t bad by any means—in fact, I still thought it was better than the ribeye taco I had at Sin Nombre—but I felt the thick huarache base overpowered the steak a bit. The ribeye itself had good flavour, but it never really became the hero of the dish. They also give you a green salsa and a chilli salsa. For me, adding the chilli was almost mandatory as it lifted the flavour of everything. For the main, we shared the Enfrijoladas de Cochinita Pibil, which was almost like a couple of skinny burritos covered in a rich black bean sauce. It was something different and I didn’t mind it. It wasn’t packed with huge flavours, but it was comforting and nice to try. My cousin, on the other hand, thought it was the weakest dish of the night. Overall, I thought Chabela was a solid Mexican restaurant. The blue corn tortillas are definitely something different, although I personally still prefer traditional flour tortillas. I also found myself favouring the tacos over the huaraches, simply because they were easier to eat and had a better texture. Pricing was around $8 per taco and $13 per huarache. Between a couple of huaraches, a few tacos and sharing the main, I was still a little hungry by the end of the meal. The bill came to somewhere around $150–200 for the group. Service was excellent throughout the night, especially the guy running front of house, who looked after everyone really well.

K Kimberly Evans 7 reviews · Local Guide 7 July 2026

If you're looking for authentic Mexican food, Chabela has it! The elotes were delicious and the cactus & mushroom tacos, and both were packed with flavour. Friendly, hospitable staff and a warm atmosphere made the experience even better. A great local spot I'll definitely be back to.10/10 🇲🇽🌵

E Elyse H 17 reviews · Local Guide 14 June 2026

The food at Chabela is sensational. We had the huaraches, enchiladas, tostadas and elotes. Strong recommend on all these dishes. Staff were excellent; friendly and have great recommendations. Definitely worth the trip to Thornbury even if it's not local to you.

H Hayley P 42 reviews · Local Guide 5 June 2026

Loved it. Fast and friendly service. Drinks arrived quickly. Food took a little longer however it was worth the wait. So so SO tasty! I live bayside and I would come back, the food was that good. Such a great vibe here! The dessert was insanely good! Definitely advise making a booking if you’re coming because it was busy and full when we arrived (we had a booking and were seated straight away). If you’re vegan you should probably find somewhere else though, there were a few veg options but nothing vegan from what I could see.