Four years ago, the chef Santiago Lastra was an unknown quantity in London. He’d done a residency at Carousel; he’d been — his PR people were very keen on this — involved with Noma Mexico, at one time the most famous pop-up in the world. And then there was what he was here for, to open Kol. A Mexican restaurant, but with no limes, no avocados. A Mexican restaurant, but fine-dining. Eyebrows went up. Lastra seemed to acknowledge the challenge himself, admitting to this paper that he’d originally thought about opening a London “research centre into Mexico” instead. “I think it was a bit of a blessing to open not to know how difficult it would be,” he tells me over a coffee.
But the sceptics have been put to bed: 15 months after opening, Kol picked up a Michelin star and, for the past two years, the World’s 50 Best restaurant list has named it the UK’s finest. So now, as Lastra readies himself to open his second restaurant, Fonda, no one is questioning whether Mexican food is going to cut it. In fact, it seems to be all anyone wants at the moment: when Fonda opens in September opposite Sabor on Heddon Street, it will be the 16th high-profile Mexican opening in a year.“
