El Capo, Manchester

Ah El Capo, my old friend. You tease me with your bursting burritos and fries piled high with all sorts of delicious glop! The mixture of melted cheese, slow cooked meats, spicy sauces and hot as hell chillies rocks my socks. It's like you can reach right into my heart and give it a squeeze. It's either love, or a heart attack waiting to happen.

They've done a bit of menu titivation recently, so I've been dying to try it out. I went on a random Wednesday night with some friends, and it was packed. I'm going to show you why. But I warn you, scroll down at your own risk. If you're hungry, forget it. We ordered lots of bits to share between us, so it was a bit like a big Mexican picnic!

Mamacita's empanadas - home made chilli wrapped in shortcrust pastry: These are like spicy little pasties packed with chilli (you can take the girl out of Horwich...). An essential item for any picnic.

Wings - green tomatillo and smoked chipotle: It was Wednesday, which is 'Wing it Wednesday'! That means wings for 50p each. You heard. Fifty English pence. That's insane! If you're a wing fan, get yo ass to El Capo. I'm not generally a fan of wings because they're normally a bit fatty and dripping in some harsh as hell sauce. El Capo's are plump and full of flavour, but do get all over your face as with any wings!

Patatas bravas: My first experience with patatas bravas was in some well dodgy tapas place in Bolton. They were hard as rocks with this naff tomato sauce poured on them. Sod that! These are like a fragrant roastie; crisp edges with a sauce I could cover myself in. I like them.

Prawnstar - fried prawns in garlic and chilli: Life long prawn hater, fully loving the little pink fellas these days! They had this wonderful sharpness mixed with a delicate warmth from the chillies.

Chipotle panga tacos - white fish in a herb and spice batter: More fish that I absolutely adored. This wasn't just a case of 'trying it', I loved them. Good call from my pal Tasha here, add a bit of the El Capo slaw to these. It turns them from tasty to spectacular. Mouth is watering.

Fries with smoked chipotle sauce: The perfect accompaniments to all this meat! Tip, dip these in the wing sauce. I know.

El Capo slaw: Crisp strips sweet potato, cabbage, onion and corn in abandoner sauce. As mentioned above, great with tacos.

Mac n cheese with chorizo: Sweet Jesus. If you go to El Capo and do not order this, you are a damn fool! Mix this with chips to produce a carb infused piece of actual heaven. I ate too much of this.

Chicken burrito - served with rice, guava, black beans, veggies and cheese: 'Do you want to chimichanga that?'... In unison, 'yes!'. This is why I knock around with these folks. Much love. What can make an already awesome item even better? That's right, deep frying the bugger. Check me into A&E.

Pedro's Changa: It's basically a spiced apple chimichanga burrito. I was very very excited about this. However, a heinous piece of misfortune was about to cross my path. I hadn't even been under any ladders. I eagerly cut it open, (despite the fact I had already eaten my monthly quota of carbs) took a big old bite... but NO! A terrible error had occurred. I wasn't quite quick enough to warm my pals. Turns out both desserts had been lavishly topped with salt instead of sugar! Bad times. However, after much laughter and many apologies, this was rectified. The only problem was this was the last one, so I will have to wait to sample this apple filled beauty. 

Churros: Churros are one of my favourite desserts in the whole world. Imagine them packed with spicy chocolate. Yep, inside the churros. Once we had the unsalted versions, we caned these. It numbed the pain of the salt.

Churro sundae: A valiant effort was made, but the battle was lost. Considering how much we had eaten between three of us, it was an impressive attempt. Warning, this dessert may cause extreme drowsiness within the hour. I've seen.

The cocktails deserve their own section, for they made me very happy indeed. I have a feeling that this wasn't all of them, but cut me some slack, I was involved in all that food above, and had consumed two cocktails before getting to El Capo. There are plenty of quirky drinks in the city; hell I've had them on fire, with sweets stuck in them, with popping candy and even one served in a ceramic elephant. However, these are some of my favourites. They have an element of fun, but taste bloody amazing. 

Clockwise...

El bambino: Brugal blanco, creme de peche, hibiscus syrup, lime juice, Ting and 100s and 1000s: It's pretty, but also utterly delicious. One for those who love a sweet cocktail. 

Cazcabel honey tequila: The best tequila I've ever tasted. It's like pure alcoholic honey syrup. I'm buying a bottle. I'll see you in group therapy. 

La eposa Tashita (The Wife) - Stoli red, lychee, lemon juice, vanilla and prosecco: This was my old fave before it was taken off the menu. I was fuming, but not quite as much as the owner's wife who it was named after... She's back kids, and just as beautiful as before with her little violet. 

Inca trail - Lemongrass infused pisco, guava, lime, agave and rhubarb bitters: Very refreshing with a sharp edge.

Cocktail with no name - Mango vodka, creme de peche, ruby red grapefruit, lime and lychee: Another fruity one which is also surprisingly boozy. 

Poya loco sharer - Ilegal Mezcal, lime, grapefruit, Courvosier, bon bon syrup, guava lime and apple juice (below): A tour de force! Not only is it served in a giant glass skull, but it was the perfect antidote to having eaten all the carbs and meat in the world. Bright eyed and bushy tailed (for 10 minutes) after we'd dealt with this.

We had a lovely evening filled with food, booze, laughter and fantastic music. The music here is just brilliant; one minute you're rapping along with Mase, next thing you're starting a conga... El Capo really is a great all rounder if you like Mexican food and fancy booze. Our waitress Eve also deserves a mention; she was an utter delight, despite the fact she was from Calgary and had never heard of Bret Hart. Go here with your homies for a night of drunken fun and singing!