Kompali is the newest addition to the food culture on Brady Street and represents the hottest trends in modern taquerias (places specializing in tacos, tequila and mezcal). Owners Karlos Soriano and Paco Villar are not only business partners, but “compadres” as the name “Kompali” implies. The duo also own C-Viche in Bay View and you can see some crossover in the flavor profiles of the street tacos that take you on an international journey of big flavors.
The space that was formerly Cempazuchi has been transformed with bright walls and a fantastic mural behind the bar telling the story of mezcal from agave plant to bottle. Everyone is friendly and engaging. The restaurant is unassuming and relaxing—a great place to unwind or meet friends.
There are quite a few tequila and mezcal cocktails to choose from with thoughtful flavor combinations. Intriguing for the smoky flavor they impart are the mezcal cocktails that hit the mark for their innovative flavor pairings. The house margarita is just as refreshing.
The menu includes appetizers, Mexican sandwiches and salads, sides and desserts. We didn’t want to eat too many appetizers because the variety of tacos were so plentiful and interesting, but couldn’t resist the esquite (Mexican street corn) dripping in butter with a sprinkle of feta cheese for a nice balance with the sweet corn. The nopales (cactus) fries were crispy and delicious served with a chipotle cream. The prelude to our tacos, chips and guacamole, was a must. To our delight the chips were warm and crisp—the perfect vessel for the creamy avocado concoction.
The tacos are broken into two categories: Paco’s and Karlos’. Paco’s taco choices are more authentically Mexican with fillings on a house-made tortilla. The al pastor taco is built from marinated pork shoulder with grilled pineapple paired with a sprinkle of cilantro and onion. The more adventurous will want to savor tacos de lengua (slow cooked tongue) or tacos de Tripa (sautéed tripe). Two of my favorites were in the vegetarian category: the papa con rajas of small diced potatoes, peppers, onion and cilantro with cotija cheese; and the sautéed cactus taco. Both were well seasoned and had good texture.
Karlos’ Tacos, offered on either a flour or corn tortilla, had us stamping our flavor passport from Vietnam to Peru with a few stops in between. The Argentinean steak with the bright chimichurri sauce and the Baja style fish taco with cabbage were tempting. The Cordero, braised lamb with the accent of pickled vegetables, and the very interesting Peruvian quinoa and tomato taco were nice additions to our lineup.
It’s hard to choose with so many wonderful options with such great value. Everything is under $13 with the tacos ranging from $2-$4. But save room for dessert. The fried ice cream, churros and—of course—the traditional flan were as fun to share as the rest of the meal.
