London’s restaurants did a great job of getting delivery services up and running in the last few months, a creative feat we celebrated with our lockdown awards recently. But if a major part of your concept revolves around visiting chefs from around the world, as Carousel’s does, then how do you even begin to try and replicate that for delivery?
Their solution is Carousel’s Greatest Hits, a globetrotting delivery menu that changes country / continent every week. A nod to what’s come before at Carousel and the revolving, global span of what they usually offer, this is the first time they have ever offered delivery. First up is Mexico, available from now until 18th July; then there’s Asia (21st July – 1st August); the Mediterranean (4th – 15th August); and the USA (18th – 29th August).
We tried out the Mexico menu which consisted of ceviche tostada; esquite; pork pibil tacos; and chocolate mousse with corn crumble – not bad for £27.50 (£30 if you want it delivered).
There’s quite a bit to do assembling all the dishes once you have it in your kitchen but the team have recorded videos taking you all through it so it should all be plain sailing. We nibbled on the crunchy totopos with pumpkin seed mole while we prepared the first dish of ceviche tostadas – actually one of the easiest to prepare, seeing as you’re just piling on fresh fish and all the toppings. It might have been the easiest but it was also the only slightly disappointing dish of the night, lacking the zesty punch that you’d expect from ceviche.
Things improved greatly with the esquites, a corn chowder served with burnt corn aioli and smoked jalapeño – we could have eaten a gigantic bowl of this. The main event was pork pibil tacos. The pork itself came with broad beans and chilli oil, and just needed a quick reheat on the hob. There was also fresh corn tortillas and a whole array of toppings, including habanero pickled red onions, salsa, and a rich, earthy pico de gallo. It was a fantastic combo, if a little messy from maybe a touch too much chilli oil on the pork which was leaking everywhere.
Dessert was an excellent, and surprisingly spicy, chilli-spiked chocolate mousse, with caramel and a fine corn crumble powder. You’ve got a few days left to order this Mexican feast, but if you miss out, we’re sure the next few Greatest Hits menus are going to be just as tasty.
For more details and to order, head to carousel-london.com