The best Mexican restaurants in London
Long gone are the days when a Mexican feast in London meant your only option was slightly sad-looking nachos. These days, the best Mexican restaurants in London come in all shapes and sizes. There are creative fine-dining and tasting menus from Mexican chefs whose CVs include the world's best restaurants like Pujol and Noma. There are also the no-frills, canteen-style taquerias that serve short menus of pillowy-soft tortillas with melt-in-your-mouth braised beef birria tacos and agua frescas (come ready with your order) or tequila bars where the food menu is equally the main event.
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The best Mexican restaurants in London
1/10Cavita, Mayfair
Chef Adriana Cavita cut her teeth working across some of the most-decorated and experimental restaurants across the globe including Mexico City's Pujol (currently ranked as 5th Best Restaurant in the World) and Spain's famous El Bulli – remember the Costa Brava restaurant with a waiting list of 1,000,000? Cavita is her first solo debut and it's quickly cemented itself as one of the best restaurants in London right now. The interiors are relaxed, harking to Mexico City with terracotta tiles, exposed brick and plenty of pathos plants dangling overhead and the food is phenomenal – don't skip the smoked beef shin quesabirria or the smoky Mezcalita. For something a little lighter, make your way downstairs to the recently refreshed bar El Bar De Cavita, a moody and cavernous space based on traditional cantinas serving up Chef Adriana's favourite things: margaritas, mezcal and Mexican street food. The food here is also just as exceptional as the fare upstairs, think hamachi tostadas, tacos de pastor, that beef shin quesabiria and grilled octopus. Even the totopos were worth the visit alone for – with three delightful dips including an incredibly more-ish spicy Mayan dip with pumpkin seed.
- Website: cavitarestaurant.com
- Address: Cavita, 56-60 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2RZ
2/10Kol, Marylebone
There are a few restaurants around the world - Noma, St John, El Bulli and the like – that have achieved the status of household name. When a chef emerges from one of these stables to set up his own restaurant, it's always worth taking notice. Santiago Lastra is just such a chef, having come up in the kitchens of experimental Murgaritz in San Sebastian and Noma, before launching Noma Mexico in his homeland in 2017. KOL, on Marylebone's Seymour Street, is Santiago's first solo venture and is described as 'Mexican soul, British ingredients.' KOL was awarded its first Michelin Star in 2022, which it retained in 2023.
Every aspect of KOL is infused with warmth; the terracotta, wood and ceramic interiors, the incredibly elegant open kitchen and the sunny disposition of the staff. There is a lot to admire about it, but the food really is the star of the show and all the beautiful things in the restaurant revolve around it – different plates and bowls from a range of ceramicists to complement each dish, bespoke leather tortilla warmers, and an intriguing and modern wine pairing that balances the fiery heat of many of the dishes. - Charlotte McCaughan-Hawes
- Website: kolrestaurant.com
- Address: 9 Seymour St, London W1H 7BA
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3/10Sonora Taquería, Stoke Newington
There's a permanent queue outside this cult Mexican restaurant in Stoke Newington – which was formerly a stall in Clapton. But don't let that wait put you off as it's absolutely worth the wait for Sonora's tacos which are a ‘religious experience’ (as my fellow diner put it). The menu is short and split into ‘from the grill’ with options like carne asada beef tacos (£4.5) and grilled cactus leaf (£3.5), ‘braised dishes’ including £4 barbacoa tacos and ‘sides’ – one of the three options here includes a £1 bean taco or melted cheese. It's all very delicious and very affordable. There is nothing fancy or frivolous in the small canteen-like space either, and there's high chance you won't be getting a seat so prepare to eat outside.
- Website: sonorataqueria.com
- Address: 208 Stoke Newington High St, London N16 7HU
4/10Side Hustle at The Nomad, Covent Garden
The Nomad has cemented itself as a blockbuster of a hotel in the heart of London's theatre land. While the Atrium restaurant – set in an Edwardian-style glasshouse – is the show-stealing, architectural addition you'll often find photographed on Instagram, Side Hustle (already voted one of the 50 best bars in the world), is the laid-back bar on the side and the place to go for a devilish cocktail and spicy Mexican and Latin American-inspired dishes. The food menu draws the most on Mexico for inspiration, with classics including Baja-style fish tacos, tuna tostadas and pork belly al pastor with charred pineapple.
- Website: thenomadhotel.com
- Address: Old Police Station Entrance, 28 Bow St, Covent Garden, London, WC2E 7AW
5/10Ixchel, Chelsea
Tulum comes to the King's Road with Ixchel, a sleek new south-eastern Mexican restaurant and tequila bar set across two floors. Chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez is at the helm of the all-day tapas-style menu, having previously worked at Michelin-star restaurant, Brat, Mexican restaurant Ella Canta and Dulce Patria in Mexico City under Chef Martha Ortiz. Her small sharing dishes sway towards the sea, showcasing the spice and flair of traditional Tulumnese recipes, with dishes like Albacore tuna sashimi with Ponzu toreada sauce. Bigger dishes like Platos Fuertes, come prepared on the Robata grill. As with Tulum, the night doesn't end at dinner – head to the tequila bar that has "one of the largest collections of agave-based liquor in Europe". Though there are some great O% options too – we particularly loved the fresh and dark Dirty Lemonade made with activated charcoal, fresh lime juice and agave.
- Address: 33H King's Rd, London SW3 4LX
- Website: ixchellondon.com
6/10Decimo at The Standard, King's Cross
From the moment the glass lift on the outside of the Standard hotel's building starts its ascent, Kings Cross melts away below and the mood changes. Decimo opens up before your eyes, a sprawling space cleverly designed in sections on different levels to make it feel like it has many pockets and separate areas, rather than being one giant space. Chef Peter Sanchez-Iglesias serves Mexican and Spanish food and those cultures are omnipresent in the interiors. The glass windows that line the space are covered with macramé curtains, half the tabletops are glazed red tiles and vibrant Hispanic music is piped into the room. The food is expensive, but it’s worth it. We started with manchego quesadillas - a cheese foam on top of a blue corn tostada for a much-needed texture contrast and lime to cut through it - a sign of good things to come. Tacos are two bite explosions of flavour; I recommend the pork belly, my fellow diner the Baja fish. From here, it’s onto a selection of fish – all finished with a slick of mexteca, a glaze of pork fat and oregano – and meat, to be accompanied by the varied vegetables selection. Monkfish is served decadently on the bone, the red prawns are plump, sweet and finished with a bold sprinkle of salt but the star of the show was truly the mushroom bomba rice. Imagine the rich flavours of a mushroom risotto, double them, add the stickiness of bomba rice to that and elegant slivers of perfectly thin and round mushrooms and you have a £22 bowl of perfection. To finish, a set cream with olive oil, salt and clementine sorbet was sheer joy. – - Charlotte McCaughan-Hawes
Address: 10 Argyle St, London WC1H 8NP
Website: decimo.london
7/10Hacha, Brixton & Dalston
Hacha may be more bar than a restaurant, but one of London's best bars – known for their clear as water Mirror Margaritas – also serves up some authentic Mexican bar dishes like Calabacitas, crispy birria tacos, and gringa quesadilla as well as crunchy churros and sweet Tamal de Elote. Hacha Brixton is a great place to go in the market, with an upstairs seating area that feels hidden away from the crowd.
- Website: hachabar.com
- Address:
Brixton: 12-14 Market Row, SW9 8LD
Dalston: 378 Kingsland Rd, London, England, E8 4AA
8/10El Pastor, London Bridge, Soho, King’s Cross, (Battersea Power Station to open Spring 2024)
El Pastor is the place to go for a lively experience, inspired by the taquerias of Mexico City the founders frequented during the decade they spent running rowdy nightclub, El Colmillo during the 1990s and 2000s. The small group of informal Mexican restaurants is steadily growing across the capital, with the fourth opening in Battersea Power Station set to be their biggest yet. The menu revolves around their signature tacos (all wrapped in fresh tortillas, made daily using heirloom Mexican corn) – including of course the Al Pastor.
- Website: tacoselpastor.co.uk
- Address:
London Bridge: 7a Stoney Street, SE1 9AA
Soho: 66-70 Brewer St, W1F 9UP
King's Cross: Casa Pastor, Coal Drops Yard, Stable Street, N1C 4AB
9/10Del74, Dalston
Kitschy ’70s decoration and paper menus you check with a pen, it's a laid-back affair at Kingsland Road's Del74. The menu here is short, focusing on tacos, tostadas and quesadillas – all made to recipes handed down from showrunner Enrique’s Mexican Aunt Patty and include cochinita pibil, with braised leg of pork, guacamole, and red pickled onions; as well as classics like barbacoa and cauliflower cracking. There's a well-stocked bar serving the usual but also options like a pay-as-you-pour mezcal sharing bottle. Come here on Tuesdays for £3 tacos all night long.
- Website: tacosdel74.com
- Address: 129 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2PB
10/10Club Mexicana, Brixton, Shoreditch, Soho
Club Mexicana began in 2014 as a Saturday night supper club in a Hackney cafe-and now founder Meriel Armitage's all-vegan all-flavour Mexican restaurant has three permanent locations around London serving everything from Birria Tacos made with marinated slow-cooked ‘beef’ brisket to burritos and nachos. Visit on Tuesdays for an all-you-can-eat from 5pm.
Website: clubmexicana.com
Address:
Shoreditch: 46-48 Commercial St, London E1 6LT
Soho: Kingly Court, London W1B 5PW
Brixton: 14B, C, Market Row, London SW9 8LD
