Just around the corner from home in Berwick, a new restaurant emerged just a few months ago. I remember receiving a promotional flyer in my mailbox and thought to myself “I must go and check it out someday”… and that someday somehow just happened recently. I must say I was pleased, it was a decent restaurant and we needed more decent restaurants in the area. I wasn’t completely wow-ed, there is still some room for improvement. 

Go Native offers native and traditional dishes from different regions around the world including street food from the Philippines, Cambodia and the native Americas.

I happened to go there on Taco Tuesdays, so Mexican was mostly on offer. Some limited items from the main menu were also still available to order for those who don’t really fancy Mexican and accidentally happened to visit on a Tuesday, or those who came in a big group and would rather not have Mexican food. We had nachos to start with, the corn chips were a bit cold but the flavours of the guacamole were amazingly spicy. Yes, spicy. Love the chillies that were added to it. Love the strong flavour of spring onion. I can see how this may not be everyone’s cup of tea – and for people who are used to milder flavours of nachos might find this a bit too much, but I loved the bold guacamole.

Also from the Taco Tuesdays menu, the pulled beef tortillas were a generous serve and full of colours and flavours. It was everything you expect from a typical Mexican meal. Unfortunately I cannot comment too much on whether I absolutely love it or not, as it was around this time that Pocahontas’ dad (a North American man all dressed up in a traditional cultural outfit) came out and shocked my 7 month old baby with a native song which caused quite an outburst… so I had to hold her and concentrate less on food!

I wish I had more room at this point to eat more of this Navajo bread that came with the pork and beans stew (also from the Taco Tuesdays menu). The stew was deliciously savoury and was almost like comfort food. I love how everything was served with sour cream and guacamole, as I love love love avocado and love their guacamole. The bread was soft and fluffy on the inside, and crusty on the outside. It was like a supercharged roti. Yummy.

My favourite dish of the night is the Filipino Pork Adobo or slow braised pork belly. This was my first time trying the adobo, after it has been raved and talked about heaps by my Filipino friends. Now I understand what all the fuss was about! It was super soft and tender, melts in your mouth. The flavour is vinegarry, sweet, sour, salty all at the same time. Quite similar to my braised pork recipe actually.

I am looking forward to returning to Go Native and trying out more things from their usual menu, when it is not Taco Tuesdays or Wednesday Ribs. Oh, yes I want to try their American ribs too. But I mostly would love to try the Filipino Lechon (pork belly with crispy crackling) because that is another Filipino dish always talked about on Social Media amongst my food blogger peers. I would also love to try various items from their Grill menu and some desserts. To check out their menu, please click here.

Overall, it was a pleasant experience. My 3 year old son had a great time playing in their play area securely tucked in the corner of the restaurant. Our table was right next to the play area so I could keep an eye on him while I was eating my meal. My 7 month old behaved really well in the corner too, sitting quietly in her pram (until the Northern American man started dancing of course). The fact that I could manage a full meal, take photos for my blog, and keep kids happy (love the fact that they have the usual things on a common Kids Menu to keep my boy happy with familiar food I know he loves eg chicken nuggets and chips lol) means that the next time I struggle to find time cooking dinner, and need to get out of the house, even with the kids, I know I can come here. Also now a good option for when I am catching up with friends who also have kids. Family friendly restaurant with authentic native food – how much better can it get!