Stafford Road has a new addition — and it’s unlike anything else Brisbane has on offer. Sancho, a taqueria and tequileria dedicated to the food of the American state of New Mexico, opened its doors on 18 June at 1/240 Stafford Road. Behind it are Amanda and John Scott, the couple already well known in the area as the operators of Farmhouse Kedron and Oh Boy Bok Choy next door.
For Amanda, bringing New Mexican food to Brisbane has been a long time coming. She first considered opening a venue along these lines 17 years ago, but held off — settling instead on a more broadly Mexican concept — because she wasn’t convinced Brisbane diners were ready for something more specific. The surge of quality contemporary Mexican restaurants that followed, including Baja, Cartel del Taco and La Bodega, helped shift the landscape. “The wave of contemporary, high-quality Mexican restaurants… helped clear the way for Sancho,” she told Broadsheet.
The restaurant takes its name from Sancho Panza, the loyal companion of Don Quixote in Cervantes’ classic novel. It’s a fitting choice for a place that aims to introduce Australians to a cuisine that is frequently misunderstood or overlooked.
New Mexican food is not simply a regional variation of Mexican cuisine. It is known for its fusion of Pueblo Native American cuisine with Hispano Spanish and Mexican culinary traditions, shaped by a state that is home to 23 Native tribes, pueblos, and nations, each with their own languages, cultures, and ways of life. The indigenous people of New Mexico — including the Navajo, Apache, and Pueblo tribes — were the first to cultivate and harvest crops that are now essential to the state’s cuisine, including corn, beans, squash, and chile peppers. Amanda draws a parallel to home: “New Mexico is a bit like Australia. It’s a melting pot.”
The menu reflects that layered history. Pride of place goes to sopaipillas — puffy, fried pastry dough made from Amanda’s mother’s recipe. Sopaipillas are considered one of New Mexico’s signature dishes, and at Sancho they’re served as a starter alongside red and green salsa. The two salsas are themselves a New Mexican institution. Cultivating specific chile pepper varieties and emphasising dishes featuring red and green chiles became defining features of New Mexican food. Diners who want both are said to ask for “Christmas” — a term Amanda reports has proven the most popular choice at Sancho since opening.
The “Three Sisters” — winter squash, corn, and climbing beans — are the three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America, and all three appear across Sancho’s menu. They come together most explicitly in a dish of the same name developed by head chef Julius Villamor (formerly of Baja): roasted pumpkin mole, bean hummus and chilli crisp, served with tortilla chips.
The tortillas themselves carry a notable credential. Sourced from Melbourne’s La Tortilleria, they are among the recipients of the Sello M — an official recognition awarded to businesses preserving authentic Mexican cuisine outside of Mexico, backed by the Mexican government and awarded in collaboration with the Academia Mexicana de Gastronomía. La Tortilleria was recognised for both its restaurant and wholesale tortilla operation, highlighting its long-standing commitment to traditional Mexican cooking techniques and ingredients.
There are some deliberate concessions to local tastes too. New Mexico is an inland state, meaning fish tacos aren’t part of the traditional repertoire — but head chef Villamor pushed for their inclusion, and the compromise landed well: the dish uses a local catch of the day paired with New Mexican flavours.
Sancho’s space is more unusual than a single shopfront might suggest. The restaurant’s U-shaped layout — seating 84 across a verandah, a laneway and two shopfronts on either side of the Little Birdie hairdresser — means diners can order a drink while waiting for a blowdry next door.
For Amanda and John, the unconventional concept is a considered risk backed by years of relationship-building with their local community. “We’ve been brave [with Sancho] because it’s our fourth or fifth venue in this area, so we are quite well known by the locals… They trust that we’ll do something that’s an adventure,” Amanda said.
So far, the trust appears to be mutual.
Sancho
1/240 Stafford Road, Stafford
(07) 3916 3009
Mon–Wed: 5pm–9pm | Thu–Sun: 12pm–9pm
sancho.com.au | @sanchotaqueria
Published 15-July-2026
