Fonda will be opening on Heddon Street this year
Santiago Lastra opened KOL in Marylebone in 2020, quickly winning plaudits – it holds one Michelin star and is number 23 on the World’s 50 Best list – for his blend of Mexican flavours and techniques with British produce. Now he’s expanding into Mayfair with new restaurant Fonda. Named after the term for family-owned restaurants in Mexico, Fonda will be opening on Heddon Street, close to one outpost of Casa do Frango, which is also operated by restaurant group MJMK.
Fonda will showcase recipes and flavours from across Mexico in a modern way, with a comal, a clay griddle for cooking corn masa, being a prominent feature. There’ll be salsas and oils, like courgette & gooseberry salsa verde, arbol chilli & tomato salsa roja and cascabel chilli & sunflower seed salsa macha, on each table to be used on dishes like:
- sikil pak, toasted pumpkin seed ‘guacamole’ pine oil
- trout ceviche with squash aguachile and tostadas
- costras, ribeye and Swaledale cheese on a flour tortilla
- Baja tacos with cucumber, pistachio & mint sauce, chipotle and sourdough
- tostada with baked beetroot, seaweed oil, marigold and elderflower vinegar
- tuna crudo with pink mole, tomatoes and pine nuts
- confit scallops on gooseberry, sesame & burnt habanero salsa underneath a crisp tortilla
- adobado of charred monkfish with potatoes and spiced kelp butter
- short rib in mole poblano
- tamal with dates, walnuts and butterscotch
- chocolate sorbet with chilli oil
As well as a dedicated Paloma section of the drinks list, there’ll also be Heirloom Tomato and Mushroom & Oyster Shell Micheladas, Pineapple Weed Negronis and Corn Husk Old Fashioneds on offer, alongside low-intervention wines from lesser-known regions.
And Fonda will very much look the part too, showcasing Mexican craftsmanship through textiles, bespoke stoneware, and a rotating selection of artwork. All in all, it’s shaping up to be one of the biggest openings of the year.
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Key Information
Opening date | September 2024
Address | 12 Heddon Street, London, W1B 4BZ
For more information | @fondarestaurant