Mexi-match: London’s best tacos and tequila pairing menus

Tacos need tequila so the best joints have pairing menus, says Phoebe Luckhurst
Just add tequila: tacos at El Pastor

Messy food is immeasurably satisfying. There is great pleasure to be found in the reversion to uncivilised habits: throwing caution to the wind about getting plump dollops of guacamole on our noses.

There lies part of the appeal of tacos, which are virtually impossible to eat cleanly. Accordingly, the capital’s appetite for them is rapidly gathering pace, as new openings make tacos the centrepiece of their menus, and street food vendors experiment with inventive new flavour combinations.

Such runaway success merits ceremony. Having a taco should be an occasion: an evening of rambunctious fun. For tacos have a natural partner: tequila. The combination is lethal.

The partnership works not simply because both are Mexican: the flavours complement each other. Where tacos are messy, tequila is clean, where tacos can be experimental, tequila keeps things pure (and boozy). Both are strong characters that riff off each other.

Mexican medley: a spread at Breddos tacos

Where can you go to get the best of both? Firstly, swerve to Dalston, where Brunswick East is hosting a mezcal and taqueria pop-up called Sin Gusano (tasting note: mezcal refers to spirits distilled from any kind of Mexican agave plant, while tequila uses the blue agave plant specifically).

The residency opened last week, runs until June 10, and invites its visitors to learn about the traditions of tacos and mezcals. Tacos will be dished up on traditional platters and will be served with home-made salsas — bartenders will be primed to offer wisdom about the flavours and production processes of the spirits, which will be served, in traditional fashion, with orange slices and sal de gusano.

London Food Month is taking tacos as a theme too. Hawker House is holding a taco contest, serving entries from chefs including Thomasina Miers and the team at Temper, with tequila to animate the competition. One will win the title Britain’s Best Taco. Temper is also hosting its own taco and cocktail masterclass: learn to butcher the meat and get an intro to the mysteries of mezcal (temperrestaurant.com).

Finally, decorated chef Edson Diaz Fuentes of Santo Remedio in Shoreditch will be preparing a Mexican feast — with wines, tequilas and mezcals — for 20 guests at a secret venue.

Breddos Tacos is a Clerkenwell institution: its creative tacos are seasoned with a rotating menu of home-made salsas. There is also a menu of mezcals sourced by its team from Mexico, each made in small batches by artisan distillers, and which cannot be found anywhere else in the UK — a neat excuse to try them all. Its tequilas are smoky and citrussy.

El Pastor’s hero taco is made from pork shoulder marinated for 24 hours, caramelised pineapple, guacamole taquero, white onion and coriander. Try with a margarita (pictured). The Borough Market taqueria has a dedicated mezcal menu which subdivides the poisons into “smooth and silky”, “deep, dark and smoky”, “fresh and green”, and “unique and exotic”. Go in a group of four and aim to conquer one market apiece. As part of its own London Food Month celebration, El Pastor will hold a one-off Taco Love Fiesta, a collaboration with Diaz Fuentes and chefs from Breddos.

Killer Tomato, on Goldhawk Road, mashes up cuisines to unexpected success: its signature is a cheeseburger taco. It recommends accompanying it with an eye-wateringly strong margarita. La Bodega Negra in Soho has four tacos and a list of tequilas and mezcals that barely fits on the page. That’s the correct ratio.

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