Los Charros Cantina: Must Eat Mexican In Branford From Chef Colt Taylor

Andrew Dominick July 28, 2023

Ask any fine dining enthusiast in our state and there’s a strong chance The Essex, owned by chef Colt Taylor, get a glowing recommendation.

While writing this, it’s important to mention I’ve personally never been to The Essex. I simply know its reputation and I’ve heard the raves from my nerdiest food friends. I’ll get up to Old Saybrook soon, but before I check off The Essex, I wanted to meet Taylor at his other concept, Los Charros Cantina, where the menu marriage is a co-existence of authentic Mexican cuisine and L.A. style Mexican.

Indulge in a salsa flight! Each one from the top down increases in heat, beginning with avocado, pico de gallo, roja, chipotle, peanut, verde, and habanero. Don’t worry, none of them are TOO SPICY. These are salsas where you can actually taste each element they’re comprised of.

If that sounds good to you (and why would it not?), Los Charros and The Essex almost never happened in the first place, even though Taylor grew up in Essex.

“I never intended to move back here,” Taylor says. “I was in New York, Miami, and L.A. for 21 years. I came back because my mom (artist Melissa Barbiere) was diagnosed with Parkinson’s. I live in Old Saybrook to be close to home.”

Only enhancing Taylor’s passion for cooking was when about six years ago he found out his great great grandmother, Vasilva Barbiere was a famous private chef who cooked for Amy Vanderbilt in Brooklyn. “My family probably hid it because they didn’t want me to be a chef,” he says.

Most of the artwork that hangs on the walls of Los Charros is by Taylor’s mother, artist Melissa Barbiere, who had a studio in Greenwich for 25 years

If we go back even further, Taylor almost didn’t become a chef in the first place. Although he’ll tell you he has been cooking since he was a kid, he actually attended the University of Vermont where he was premed and a double major in business.

The academics at UVM didn’t stick, but being bitten by the industry bug at a young age did. And Taylor will tell you he cooked in kitchens in Old Saybrook when he was just 12 years old. That bug came back as Taylor attended the Culinary Institute of America where one of his mentors was Dominick Cerrone.

Drinks, as you might expect, mostly feature agave spirits tequila and mezcal

And there are flights! Go straight up tequila or mezcal, or go with a margarita flight that includes a house marg, spicy, a rotating flavor, and a bartender’s choice.

The CIA education translated to Taylor having stints at big time restaurants Le Bernardin, Babbo, Gotham Steak at Fontainebleau, and One if by Land Two if by Sea as executive chef for over four years, which earned a Michelin star in 2014 under his leadership.

When he returned to Connecticut after the Michelin accolade, Taylor opened The Essex in Centerbrook (then relocated to Old Saybrook) with its ever changing seasonal menu that’s locally sourced and damn near everything is homemade, and in 2018 he debuted Los Charros Cantina in Old Saybrook, as he says, “for selfish reasons.”

Aguachiles are a nice burst of freshness before you dive into tacos

Tuna aguachile - cucumber, jalapeño, red onion, avocado, lime, sticky rice

“My aunt in Los Angeles married a gentleman from Guadalajara (who owns an agave plantation down there),” Taylor explains. “I was a fine dining chef in L.A. from 2009-2011 and I’d spend free time with them. When you’re out there, you fall in love with Mexican food. When I moved back to Connecticut, there were like three things that I missed, actually, I don’t think missed is the right word. It’s that I was thoroughly disappointed in them; the ceviche in Miami and the K-Town vibes and the Mexican food of L.A. So, yeah, it’s more of a selfish decision to open this place. I’m not Mexican, but my uncle is, and you learn this incredible history and culture of the people, the food and the tastes.”

What Taylor’s vision was at its original location, and still is after Los Charros relocated to Branford, is an approachable spot that uses quality ingredients, all locally sourced and the best available. In fact, they’re the same ingredients as he uses at The Essex. But what it’s not, according to him, is “watered down Mexican, as to not lose its cultural appropriation.”

Mushroom taco, using local Seacoast Mushrooms, is one of the few departures from authentic Mexican. This one mimics a vegetarian “cheesesteak.”

And like, we already vaguely told you, Taylor and his team do it all themselves. The refried beans and stewed black beans are made daily. The tortillas are made fresh from 100% Oaxacan heirloom corn, as are their chips. And the flight of different salsas? Yeah, all house-made.

The tacos are ALMOST all authentic, specifically the al pastor, braised chicken, and the rich, beefy quesabirria made with slow cooked brisket, but there are Cali nods represented by the fish tacos, and a Seacoast Mushroom taco with caramelized onions, peppers, and cheese sauce that has a vegetarian Philly “cheesesteak” thing going on.

Chicken pibil and all it’s accompaniments. That day’s mystery sides were shishitos and creamed street corn.

In-N-Out Double Double tribute, only Mexicanified

Fajitas, mole roja chicken enchiladas, a braised wagyu brisket wet burrito, and two family style DIY options include crispy pork shoulder carnitas (adobo, roasted pineapple, pickled red onion) and a whole pibil-style chicken that’s bitter orange marinated, wrapped in banana leaves, gets a long sous vide bath, and is quickly deep fried before hitting your plate where it comes with almond raisin and cumin moles that Taylor said are a couple years old each, where a quart of each batch is used to jumpstart the next batch for depth of flavor. Each of the comida compuesta shared plates come with flour tortillas, rice, beans, tingas, flour tortillas, crema, guacamole, and random small plates.

Should you be looking for a departure from anything authentic, Taylor’s ode to In-N-Out comes in the form of a double wagyu griddle smashed burger topped with ancho chili aioli, jalapeños, and cheese. Use two hands and have your napkin tucked in like a bib to tackle this beast of a burger.

When you go, you can expect a lot of this, as Taylor said the menu should largely stay the same.

“We tweak it here a little bit, where at The Essex the menu basically changes all the time,” he says. “It’s all about consistency and comfortability here. Mexican (along with Asian) is one of my favorites because it’s aggressive, which I love. We play with a lot of different flavors using French and American technique, but we play with it even more at The Essex.”

Tres leches comes in both vanilla and chocolate if you still have room for dessert.

That’s the deal regarding the food, but I was curious about the response he’s getting after moving down to Branford early this spring, as we stopped in for dinner early in the middle of the week to a pretty open dining room.

So, I asked Taylor if it gets crazy on weekends here.

His response was, “Oh, it’ll get crazy tonight. Give it an hour.”

By 6 p.m. you’d be lucky if you could squeeze in for a couple tacos and a margarita at the bar.

And try to squeeze in you absolutely should. Branford and its surrounding towns clearly love it.

120 N Main Street; Branford
860.237.4266; loscharroscantina.com