Heads started swivelling when news broke that Michelin-trained chef Manuel Diaz had opened Nativo, an authentic taqueria in Pyrmont.

There are now many decent Mexican joints in Sydney, but anyone who has travelled extensively in the country will still crave the real deal. The fact the street food-inspired fare here is refracted through a Michelin-trained chef’s lens, makes Nativo a must-try.

Even without the inside tip from Manuel, to order the cochinita pibil and beef birria, you can put together a feast at Nativo that will transport you back to your favourite taco truck in Puerto Escondido.

The restaurant is managed by Manuel and his wife, Diana Farrera, both of whom hail from Oaxaca.The pair met at university in Puebla, where he was studying culinary arts and she was studying hospitality management. Highlights of Manuel’s CV include working in some of the best restaurants in Mexico City, as well as Michelin-starred restaurant La Chevre d’Or in France.

He was also group executive chef at Milpa Collective Group (Sonora, Carbon, Casa Merida and Santa Catarina) and executive chef at Sydney’s Bar Patron.

The idea behind Nativo, which spills out into an airy courtyard with just 14 al fresco seats, was for Manuel to step away from the pressure of his busy executive chef role and spend more time with his wife.

The humble little eatery feels so homey and intimate that part of the experience becomes chatting about the menu to the couple, who oversee the ordering.
Manuel says he designed the menu to celebrate both native Mexican and Australian flavours and cook food that honours his ancestors.

The lunchtime crowd on a Saturday is a mix of families from the neighbourhood, a young Canadian couple, a large group of friends visiting from Queensland and meandering tourists wandering in from the nearby light rail station.

The menu at Nativo changes with the seasons and is broken up into a section for tacos and antojitos (little cravings), which are flavourful renditions of Oaxacan specialities.

Everything is made in-house. Beef birria is often found served from giant clay pots on the side of the road in Mexico. And the Nativo rendition will transport you straight back there. It’s been slow-cooked for 12 hours, and arrives with a melting mound of Oaxaca cheese and kick from a kunzea (a native Australian ingredient) salsa verde.

Manuel also recommends ordering a side of the spicy, saltbush morita salsa, which packs a potent punch.

The pulled pork is basted in eight different spices and slow-cooked in a rich tomato-ey broth before being arranged on a small fried tortilla with avocado and pretty curls of pink pickled onion.

Tasmanian octopus is served on a tostada deep fried to crispy perfection and topped with refried beans, and more of those perfect pickled onions. Lunch here is a seven-serviette affair.

Nativo is not licensed. But you can get some bebidas (drinks) and jarritos (little jugs) of guava and mango juice.

Although the tiles on the long counter are more Moroccan than Mexican, there is a big, bold pop of Barbiecore pink in the neon ‘Taqueria’ sign presiding over the space, which also does a roaring trade in takeaway.

Nativo is more festive than fancy, evocative of the streets of Oaxaca, which are similarly colourful and casual. All that’s missing is the mariachi band.

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