I have a serious case of wanderlusting. At the moment, the idea of a beach holiday in a warm, sunny place (with a side of cocktails, guacamole and naps under the palm trees) sounds like the absolute dream.

But since this is London and I won’t have a holiday for quite some time still, I settled for the next best thing: a taco feast at Taqueria.

Serving up London’s best Mexican food, the place is packed every evening.

But on a rather late lunch date, it was much more of an intimate affair.

Filled with light, repurposed wooden chairs and a very well-stocked bar, the restaurant itself is an absolute gem.

Faced with an impressive number dishes to choose from, we decided to go for a bit of everything and share, tapas style.

We tucked in hungrily!

Starting (as all good stories do) with guacamole.

Creamy, zingy and served with super crunchy totopos, it’s the sort of guac’ that’d fix even the strongest of wanderlust cases.

Roadside chicken tacos (charcoal grilled chicken, scotch bonnet mayonnaise, lettuce, árbol tomatillo salsa).

Delightfully spicy and well worth a little close-up!

As soon as we’d finish a plate, a new one would miraculously appear in its place. Pretty much like eating at Hogwarts, just a little spicier!

Carnitas tacos (slow cooked pork, salsa verde, pickled jalapeño, onion, coriander).

And the best of all, fish tacos (cod deep fried in cider batter, chipotle mayonnaise, avocado cream, cabbage).

 

We washed it all down with various tequila cocktails.

My favourite being the Paloma.

A mix of tequila and ting grapefruit soda with a salt rim.

We were almost too stuffed for pudding, but just about managed to squeeze in some ice cream.

To be fair, the Super Duper Scooper (vanilla ice cream covered in cajeta (Mexico’s answer to salted caramel…) and chocolate sauce) would have been difficult to resist, and I’m rather gald we didn’t even try!

 

Punchy flavours in every dish, great cocktails, fun & buzzy atmosphere in the evening, and a quieter, almost romantic vibe at lunchtime. You really can’t go wrong at Taqueria.

A little holiday at home.

Booking info and menus for you to pick & mex(ico) from on the website.

Taqueria, 141-145 Westbourne Grove, London W11 2RS