Marlo - Review

Come for the Chips, Stay for the Dip

This must be the fastest I’ve been to a new restaurant. Marlo, a new taco shop by the people behind Pip, Meat, and the Next Act. It’s a welcome addition to one of the best corners of Edmonton to visit for food and I was excited to dig in.

Upon entering it’s the cute and cozy vibe. It’s a strange corner location that was once where Pip used to be. I was happy to snag a seat at the window for the natural light photos that internet people have a hard on for. The first item I received was my Horchata. This drink was trash. It essentially tasted like 2% milk with cinnamon sprinkled on top. It wasn’t sweet and devoid of excitement as most of it was ice. It was just diluting a milk and cinnamon drink pretending to be a horchata. This drink definitely needs more work. I suggest actually making a large batch with proper ingredients and having it sit in a fridge overnight to soak up the flavour so I can taste some vanilla and rice. Do better.

The second dish to arrive was our chips and dips. This shit was amazing. After being absolutely disappointed by the horchata, the flavour of all 3 dips slapped. My favourite dip was the Frijoles, it was spicy black bean with serrano peppers and sour cream. Absolutely ate that shit up. The other 2 dips were also great. Pico was your standard tomato, onion and cilantro but the addition of serrano peppers elevated it. Chili Con Queso was queso with serrano peppers, jalapeno, tomato, onion and bell peppers. Maybe I just like serrano peppers but this dish slapped and for $17 bucks, I think it’s a steal of an appetizer as the quality of the dips was so tasty. Seriously, it was worth it to put some of the dips on the tacos as well. These are a must-buy.

After our chips, I was hyped for our main course with the tacos. I had the Al Pastor and Mushroom. The Al Pastor included smoked pork, pineapple, onion, and cilantro. The pineapple is definitely just for the gram but still a staple in any al pastor. The smoked pork flavour was fine but it felt dry the saltiness was there but lacking any fat. Most people will like this taco and the amount of pork you get is on par with its $7 price tag. 

The Mushroom taco for $8 is not worth it though. Although it had oyster mushrooms, fried queso, cilantro, onions, and pickled onions. The flavours didn’t complement each other and didn’t have enough oyster mushrooms. 

Now both of these tacos were on corn tortillas. The main draw of this restaurant is that it’s on corn tortillas. The website and menus advertise “handmade corn tortillas” and with that, while they are more authentic these ones were dry. Our tacos were falling apart and left some mess. Corn is healthier than fluor but it does just come down to preference. The option would be nice. 

Overall, I'm happy there’s a new taco spot but the quality and price for the tacos don’t make sense. Horchata needs some real fucking work as well. But in the words of Aubrey Graham “I want my chips with the dip.” Those were fuego.

Sal says: Just Try It (3.2/5)