187 Cantina, a new Mexican restaurant, is set to open its doors soon and promises to bring a modern twist to traditional Mexican cuisine.

Located in Nesbitt Lane, in the building formerly occupied by ‘The Loft Restaurant’, it aims to bring some more life into the heart of the CBD.

The Lismore App sat down with new owner Dylan Clifford, who gave a sneak peek of what to expect inside Lismore’s newest venue.

“We'll be serving brisket tacos, slow-cooked pork shoulder, burritos, tostadas - which are my favourite part of the menu - they're a four-inch tortilla that's fried, like a big corn chip, and the toppings are placed on top of it,” he said.

“We do some entrees and small eats - salsas, guac, jalapeno poppers – that sort of stuff. We’ll be doing a singular dessert at the moment, which is churros with vanilla bean ice cream and caramel sauce.”

187 Cantina are also a licenced bar, separate to the restaurant. They will run the bar from 12pm until late, Tuesday to Saturday. For the first couple of months, they will run a dinner service from 5pm onwards, until all their systems are in place, then they will look to serve lunch as well.

He said the decision behind the new bar and restaurant came from cooking at home for friends and family,

“Everyone was really in love with what I was cooking - I was getting some really good feedback - and I always had it in the back of my mind that one day I could possibly own a venue where we could sell some pretty good food that I love to cook,” he said. 

“I decided one day after the flood to make a phone call to Brad (the previous owner) because I'd got word that this building wasn't going to reopen.”

“I saw the opportunity to add to the nightlife, and the food scene that's in Lismore, which at the moment is coming back, but isn't where it should be because of the flood.”

“Hopefully people are going to love it. Everyone that's tried it so far has loved it, so we're really looking forward to sharing it with the rest of the town!”

It has been an all-local rebuild to bring the venue back to life, with new bright colours and tiles, neon lighting, and a new mural that will no doubt be plastered over everyone’s Instagram!

“I started with a designer named Emily Foran from Ballina, and she took ideas and turn them into what you see today,” Dylan said.

“Then Joel Jensen Construction came on board - Joel and his team of subcontractors, I couldn't thank them enough, they have been phenomenal.”

“Every step of the way Joel’s popping his head in here, whether it's just working a day on the tools for me, or just coming in for a beer, he's been absolutely fantastic throughout this and I couldn't thank him enough.”

Dylan hopes to open on the 21^st of April, all things going to plan: “As most people would understand, there's been a thousand setbacks, which has put us back months compared to where we would have liked, but hopefully the 21st of April we'll do a Friday and Saturday grand opening.”