London’s options for good Mexican food are scarce. There is the Michelin starred Kol in Marylebone, Taq in Notting Hill and Fonda in Mayfair, each offering their own stamp, but London’s Mexican diaspora is relatively small, and that means we just don’t have the quality nor quantity of decent places
Adam Bloodworth
Thursday 18 June 2026 4:39 pm | Updated: Thursday 18 June 2026 4:47 pm
London’s options for good Mexican food are scarce. There is the Michelin starred Kol in Marylebone, Taq in Notting Hill and Fonda in Mayfair, each offering their own stamp, but London’s Mexican diaspora is relatively small, and that means we just don’t have the quality nor quantity of decent places to eat.
One country that has a large diaspora though is obviously America. And one of Miami’s best Mexican restaurants is currently popping up at The Ned in the Square Mile.
Taking over the space typically occupied by the Malibu Kitchen, Cantina Malibu on The Ned’s atmospheric ground floor is serving the Michelin starred food from one of Miami’s most lauded kitchens.
Los Felix’s head chef Sebastian Vargas has temporarily moved to London to cook – evenings only – at the venue. While all ingredients have been sourced in the UK, this is a gorgeous blast of authentic Mexican cooking.
Everything is an exercise in colour and flavour. On the menu, crab erepa with plantain and coconut oil, lobster esquites with coconut, morita, queso fresco and basil, corn dumplings with sorrel, pepitas macha and nasturtium, and pork cheek carnitas.
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When City AM dined, the pork and crab were plated particularly beautifully, and were absolutely packed absolutely huge flavour.
The pop-up remains at the venue until Saturday 27 June. Go to thened.com/london/restaurants/cantina-malibu
Read more KOL: How Santiago Lastra reimagined Mexican food with British ingredients
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