Mexican fare is great all year round, but the sunny flavours are especially good in the summer. This month, James and Lee took a stroll down Poštovská to check out the offerings at Hermanos.
James: The Hermanos team have been on the food scene in Brno for some time at food festivals, with a food truck and pop-up kitchens. This is (I think) their first dedicated brick-and-mortar restaurant. It’s in a great central location opposite Metro Music Bar on Poštovská, with dining in the cheerfully decorated saloon or outside on the street if you wish to watch the city hubbub. Brno isn’t very hubbub-y as cities go, but if you want to see genuine Brno hubbub, while eating some grub, then this is the spot. It’s a hub of hubbub.
Lee: I’ve always adored that word, “Hubbub.” Memories of old-school Czech-Mex (James’s favourite term) fade as we have had a new Mexican wave of restaurants to enjoy since pioneering Bistro Bastardo opened its doors several years ago. Mostly they stick to three basic main options: Tacos, Burritos, and Quesadillas. I really enjoy these places, but my minor issue is that they’re often very much a fast-food experience. You go in, order your food, shove it down your gob, and get out again.
As such, it’s not usually a great pick for leisurely dining, although Blue Demon and now Hermanos buck that trend. We knew we were in for a decent stay from the moment we entered. The bright, clean, and colourful main room is welcoming and encourages you to spend a few hours eating, drinking, and chatting. The menu is also geared toward getting people sharing and talking about the food, especially regarding the tacos. But first, drinks!
James: I ordered a jalapeno margarita, which was fine but (disappointingly) used pickled jalapeno. I think the bright floral spice of fresh jalapeno is the key to making this drink stand out.
Lee: I went for a regular margarita. I’m embarrassed to say, it was the first of my life. I figured that drinking one with Mexican food would be a good place to start! I don’t have much to compare it with, but I can say it was crisp, zesty, and refreshing, and the dust around the rim of the glass led James into a bizarre conversation with our nonplussed server about crushed worms…
James: Sal de Gusano (Worm salt – literally) is sometimes used to rim margaritas and mezcal cocktails. The confused server revealed this was not it. Which was unfortunate, because I was looking forward to your first sip!
We ordered a nacho bowl for starters. Light puffy tortilla chips scattered with three types of cheese, chunks of tomato and a vibrant green guacamole. The bowl itself is edible, made out of a toasted tortilla, which adds a bit of extra novelty and potential sustenance for impatient punters awaiting their mains.
Lee: Yes, when I visited with my kids a week or so later, my six-year-old son was delighted with the nacho bowl. The fact that you could actually eat the bowl blew his little mind!
James: For the main event, we got the full spread of tacos to share. Of the five options, my favourites were probably the Watari, which is shredded beef and guacamole; and the Verde, a vegetarian option with falafel. It may seem incongruous mixing Middle Eastern ingredients into Mexican dishes but there’s actually a long history of Lebanese influence in Mexican cuisine. It’s the origin of the famous kebab-like Tacos Al Pastor. I also enjoyed the ‘Toro Ardiente’, but a word of warning: this taco comes with “salsa tres diablos”……es muj caliente.
Lee: I just Google-translated that, and no shit! I thought I was very comfortable with spicy food (or at least Brno levels of spice) but that was one fiery taco! The heat just kept building and my margarita wasn’t doing anything to put it out… I was sweating there for a few minutes.
Just to back-track a little, the food at Hermanos is nicely presented, or very Instagrammable, if you prefer. The tacos are served on a slate. Back in Britain, there was this thing in the past about crooks stripping lead from church roofs and selling it for scrap. When the slates came out, I got an image of someone going around a Welsh village nicking tiles from the houses to provide hip crockery for places like Hermanos. To your knowledge, are there any culinary benefits to serving on a slate?
James: Hmmmm…..they stack well in the dishwasher?
Moving on, the Labriego taco is a strange one, with the kitchen using local ingredients to create something different: pork, bacon, and sauerkraut. I really admire the notion here – this is NOT the bastardised Czechs-Mex food that came in the early wave of “Mexican” restaurants because the owners didn’t trust the public to appreciate unfamiliar flavours and were happy to compromise on ingredients to keep costs down. This is a genuine attempt to marry Czech and Mexican flavours. Unfortunately to me it’s still missing something. At the moment it is mostly like a miniature pork lokše, and I would really like them to make it more their own dish.
Lee: Yes, I agree to a certain extent. I’m happy that a Czech-style taco exists but the combination didn’t work for me. It seems to be aiming at a witty fusion of Czech and Mexican, but the filling didn’t go with the taco, in the same way as the more traditionally Mexican fillings wouldn’t go with a few slices of bread dumplings. For me, there was no connection. It’s not like I’m going to drizzle pork, bacon, and sauerkraut with lime, or smear it with guacamole, or dunk it in our mango & habanero sauce like I would with the others. It’s more of a talking point than a successful menu item. My pick of the five was the Infierno, which was pork and pineapple. James wasn’t as impressed, but I’ll eat that combo any day of the week.
James: We still had room for more after polishing off the tacos. I wanted to check out the Birria Tacos, which have been very popular on Instagram and Youtube in recent years, and the shredded chicken quesadillas seemed like a sensible option. Before the dishes arrived, I followed my Margarita with a Michelada. This peculiar drink is a beer with lime, hot sauce and tomato salsa mixed in. It tastes a lot like a bloody mary that’s been adapted to be refreshing on a hot day.
Lee: I’m glad I didn’t order one of those. I took a sip of James’s and something about that concoction just triggered my gag reflex. Not for me – I stuck to regular old beer.
James: The Birria looked great, shredded beef tacos fried in their own fat until crisp, served with a beef broth for dipping. They were okay but didn’t live up to my expectations, lacking a bit of potency. The chicken quesadilla was a bit of a stealth winner, though. Juicy chicken with just enough barbecue sauce to accentuate the smokiness of the bacon, but without overwhelming the other ingredients.
Lee: Yes, it was a mixed bag at the end of the meal. I enjoyed the quesadilla too, but I kind of wish we’d called it quits after the taco platter.
Verdict:
To sum up, I liked Hermanos a lot. It’s got a nice informal atmosphere with some appropriate music playing in the background, exactly the kind of place I could see myself going with a group of friends for a fun night out. The service was also excellent with friendly and happy staff who are attentive without being in your face. At one point, our server made a mistake with the order, but noticed it herself and immediately replaced the item without us having to say a word. Not everything on the menu was to my taste, but there were plenty of things that really hit the spot.
James: 3.5 stars
I agree. If I’m looking for a quick bite and fancy Mexican that day, I’d probably still dash into Bistro Bastardo over this place. But if I want a leisurely meal with people who enjoy sharing some talking-point dishes, Hermanos is a great option in the city centre.
Lee: 4 stars (very good)
***
Hermanos
Poštovská 3, 602 00 Brno-střed
Tel: 721 111 101
Opening hours: 11:00 – 20:00 Monday; 11:00 – 22:00 Tuesday through Thursday; 11:00 – 23:00 Friday; 12:00 – 23:00 Saturday; closed on Sunday
Website: https://hermanos.cz/
Walk-in possible, reserve if you want to guarantee a table
Price: We split the bill and paid around 800kc each. It wasn’t cheap but it did cover drinks, starter, our initial pick, and a couple of extra orders.
