MEXICAN RESTAURANTS

SANTO REMEDIO

Run by husband and wife team Edson and Natalie Diaz-Fuentes, Santo Remedio is one of the best Mexican restaurants in town. They’re famous for their grasshopper-topped guacamole but everything on the menu is legit great, especially the soft shell crab tacos, the beef short rib with mole negro and the churros. They shake up a great marg here too and if you want to get your weekend off to a flying start, their bottomless brunch featuring free-flowing said margs, is the way to do it.

LA CHINGADA

La Chingada Mexican Food, Rotherhithe New Road, London

The original La Chingada occupies a very unassuming spot round the back of the Surrey Quays but it’s well worth seeking out because this place is turning out some of, if not the best, tacos in London. But if you’re north of the river, there’s a new La Chingada in Euston too. We don’t like to play favourites but the al pastor – marinated pork, pineapple and diced onion – edges it for us (the al pastor quesadilla is also excellent) but the suadero (confit beef), carnitas (confit pork), chorizo and baja prawn tacos are well worth your time. Fresh tortillas, juicy fillings, great salsas, what more could you want? There’s no bells and whistles here (apart from the Comic Sans sign) but that makes it all the better because all the effort has been put into the food. Order as many tacos as you can physically eat because you’ll regret it if you don’t. And if they’ve got margs on the go, have a couple of those too.

EL PASTOR

It’s fair to say that when the Hart brothers, the pair behind Barrafina and Quo Vadis, announced that they were to open a new Mexican restaurant called El Pastor, people got just a little bit excited. Not only are they top restaurateurs but Sam Hart actually lived in Mexico City for many years, operating a cult nightclub El Colmillo, so he certainly knows a thing or two about tacos. El Pastor is under the railway tracks in Borough Market, a long thin room with high tables and a bar at the front, and a small dining room and kitchen at the back. Whilst you should start with some guac with chicharron and the tuna tostadas, tacos are the main focus on the menu and you don’t want to miss the namesake al pastor, the baja and the epic sharing short rib served on the bone and with a bowl of fresh tacos to roll up your own. BOOM.

IXCHEL

33h King's Rd, London SW3 4LX

Right in the heart of Chelsea, Ixchel is a modern Mexican restaurant bringing a taste of the Yucatan peninsula to London. The concept comes from restaurateur Fraser Carruthers and Mexican chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez (previously of Brat, Ella Canta and Madera at Treehouse London in the capital and at Dulce Patria in Mexico City) and borrows its name from the Mayan goddess of the moon and textiles – you’ll find hints of her influence throughout the restaurant, including moon motifs and contemporary macrame. The interiors at Ixchel are stunning, it’s been fitted out with furnishings made using natural materials and handcrafted artwork that draw both on London’s brutalist architecture and Mexican folk art. Fair warning: it’s beautiful and in Chelsea, so expect the full ‘influencers in the wild experience’, ring lights and all. Also expect a show-stopping food menu from Ximena that includes a selection of ceviches, tacos, tostadas and sharing plates. There are a lot of highlights, but you don’t want to miss the short rib with smoky adobo and pineapple salsa or the crispy potatoes with salsa verde. Drinks-wise, they’ve got a comprehensive selection of well-executed twists on the classic margarita, devised by bar manager Manuel Lema (previously of Cavita and Le Bodegra Negra). Plus, their bar boasts one of the largest collections of tequila in Europe, so if you’re a fan of agave-based liquor, this is a must-visit.

MEXA

Arcade Food Hall, New Oxford Street, London

Sonora Taqueria, run by Michelle Salazar de la Rocha and Sam Napier, was responsible for some of the best tacos in London (and certainly some of the best tortillas too), so we were pretty bummed to hear that it would be shutting up shop in Netil Market. But you can’t keep a good taco down, and the pair have opened new spin-off concept Mexa at Arcade Food Hall. Mexa is about tacos and seafood, and it’s a short menu so you can defo eat the lot between two. Start with some excellent chips, salsa and macha-topped guac, and then dive into fresh AF seabass ceviche tostada, and prawn aguachile. They’re using corn tortillas here, so different from the ones at Sonora, but they’re no less delish, with the beef suadero, pork carnitas, nopales & cheese tacos and the lamb birria quesadilla worth repeat orders.

BREDDOS

82 Goswell Road, London EC1V 7DB

Breddos slings some of the best tacos in London – tuck into classics like masa fried chicken, baja fish and braised beef shin & short rib, with plenty of Breddos’ salsas on the side. If you’re feeling hungry, there are mains like carne asada served with tortillas, Mexican green rice and black beans, and plenty of tequila and mezcal to wash it all down with.

CASA PASTOR

Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, London N1C 4DQ

Casa Pastor, sister to Borough Market’s El Pastor, serves up a similar Mexican menu – think dishes like cherrystone clams with lime, lamb barbacoa, soft-shell crab tacos and vegan coconut ceviche tostadas as well as a Mexican brekkie menu too. The (covered and heated) outside terrace, Plaza Pastor, has its own menu of tostadas, tortas and rotisserie chicken and an extended tequila and mezcal drinks list. They also have live music and DJs out there too, making it the perfect place for a fiesta.

TACOS PADRE

Located in Borough Market, Tacos Padre is the Mexican spot from hot Irish chef Nick Fitzgerald who earned his stripes at Pujol, Mexico City (on the World’s 50 Best don’t ya know). The stall serves some of the best tacos in London, including beef short rib suadero with morita salsa, cauliflower al pastor with salsa macha and lamb barbacoa with gauc, alongside homemade bottled sauces, local beers and mezcal margs. And the annual summer residency, where Nick sets up on the terrace by the stall, has a bangin’ dinner menu with dishes like oysters divorciados, crab tostada with guajillo & tamarind, gilt head bream with shiso ceviche, confit pork chop cochinita with charred x-ni-pec, smoked celeriac with orange habanero glaze & macadamia sikil pak, and bueñuelos with morita cajeta. 

KOL

Mexican chef Santiago Lastra, who worked at Rene Redzepi’s Noma Mexico pop-up in 2017 and has cooked at the Tate Modern finally opened his debut solo restaurant Kol in London in 2020, after a more than a year of looking for a location. Kol is broadly Mexican, drawing influence from across the country as well as making use of British produce too with dishes like langoustine tacos with sea buckthorn, kohlrabi ceviche, lamb leg totasta cured in gooseberries with walnut oil, and tamal with corn husk ice cream. You can see some of the work that goes into the food thanks to the open kitchen, complete with tortilla station, right in the middle of the first floor dining room. As well as a biodynamic wine list, Kol also serves up mezcals, tequilas and less well-known Mexican spirits like whisky from Oaxaca, gin from the Yucatan and rum from Puebla in the dedicated mezcaleria on the lower ground floor.

CLUB MEXICANA

Vegan Mexican? It’s happening at Club Mexicana, which you can find inside KERB Seven Dials and at their first proper restaurant in Kingly Court. The restaurant, inspired by the street-side joints in LA and Mexico City, features an open kitchen so you can see the vegan al paastor spit in all its sizzling glory, as well as a bar where you can sip on margs and palomas on tap, pickle juice-spiked Micheladas and Mexican beers. The menu features a range of plant-based tacos, small plates and some Club Mexicana classics including the beer-battered Tofish tacos, BBQ short ‘rib’ tacos, and corn & black bean salad with jalapeno lime dressing. OLE!

SANTO REMEDIO MEXICAN CAFE

London Bridge’s much-loved Mexican restaurant Santo Remedio has opened a second site in Shoreditch. The Mexican joint run by Edson and Natalie Diaz-Fuentes first opened in Shoreditch six years ago on Rivington Street, they were forced to close the restaurant after five months after problems with the building. Now the pair are back in the neighbourhood, this time on Great Eastern Street. The menu at Santo Remedio is a mix of tacos, tostadas and quesadillas, all designed to be shared amongst the table. Our faves are the baja fish tacos, pork carnitas tacos, hibiscus quesadillas and the prawn & padron peppers raja cazuela. You can’t go for tacos without having some margaritas, and Santo Remedio have plenty of them to offer, including the dangerously good peach mezcalita.

CORROCHIO'S

A slice of Mexico has come to Dalston as Ruby’s has got a brand new kitchen and bar. Corrochio’s, run by chef and cocktail wizard Daniel Corrochio (who actually used to run Ruby’s and has worked with founder Tom Gibson at his pub The Bluecoats in Tottenham as well) is tucked away across from the main bar at Ruby’s and it’s a proper intimate spot – real basement vibes with a bar at one end, a fireplace on the wall and a little water fountain in the middle. Daniel’s menu combines authentic Mexican dishes, with recipes inspired by his mother featuring lesser-known Mexican ingredients. The dishes change fairly regularly but there’ll always be a handful of tacos to choose from, made with excellent corn tortillas. In fact, the tortillas are so good that you’ll defo need to order the guac and totopos too so you can try the crispy versions as well. The drinks list features a range of tequila, mezcal, sotol and raicilla as well as inventive cocktails like the Mezcalita and the Monarca but they shake up a mean marg too for those who want to keep it classic.

From street food stalls slinging incredible tacos to totally plant-based menus, these are the best spots to get Mexican food (and plenty of margs too) in London. OLÉ.

Santo Remedio, run by husband and wife team Edson and Natalie Diaz-Fuentes, is one of the best Mexican restaurants in town. They’re famous for their grasshopper-topped guacamole but everything on the menu is legit great, especially the soft shell crab tacos, the beef short rib with mole negro and the churros. Club Mexicana has brought vegan Mexican grub to the masses inside KERB Seven Dials and at their first proper restaurant in Kingly Court. The restaurant, inspired by the street-side joints in LA and Mexico City, features a range of plant-based tacos, small plates and some Club Mexicana classics including the beer-battered Tofish tacos, BBQ short ‘rib’ tacos, and corn & black bean salad with jalapeno lime dressing.

Mexican chef Santiago Lastra, who worked at Rene Redzepi’s Noma Mexico pop-up in 2017 and has cooked at the Tate Modern finally opened his debut solo restaurant Kol in London in 2020, after more than a year of looking for a location. Kol is broadly Mexican, drawing influence from across the country as well as making use of British produce.

Loading...