The “Mexican wave” has been a phone-in feature lately. London, once devoid of reputable Mexican food, has seen a veritable boom in recent years. Tacos at La Chingada and Sonora Taquería; upscale homages to the nation by way of Kol and Cavita. Mexican bars are a natural extension. Cinco, the candlelit enclave below Corrochio’s on Kingsland Road, is one. The latest is Little Fires, newly installed on Bethnal Green Road on the stretch that juts out above Brick Lane. Possibly a sampling of “London’s hottest curry” at Bengal Village will happen to those who have one margarita too many. Try not to die.
A launch party last week proved much too hectic to rifle through the menu with any panache. I did manage to have a glass of natural wine and saw a space that looked fresh and becoming upstairs and possibly unfinished below.
This is a difficult game and money is hard to find. So I’ll return to try the mezcals, supposedly the raison d’etre here, the “corn colada” and the “chimichurri martini”, both of which appear to be inventive takes on classics. A titular picante of reposado, triple sec and lime juice will surely win the day if it proves as attractive as those served by that famous members’ club where people get up to all manner of mischief in photobooths. That evening I sauntered quickly off to All My Gods, another new bar causing a hubbub.
This one boasts a martini dispenser, a vending machine full of BuzzBallz, a pool table clad in black felt and a shrine to Ozzy Osbourne. Such a combination was like an arrow to my heart, not least with the addition of £13 glasses of Ruinart and iced “nuclear daiquiris”.
Lethal, in a good way. And handily close to Satan’s Whiskers, one of the best bars in the world, and A Bar With Shapes For A Name. Little Fires needs stoking.
125-127 Bethnal Green Road, E2 7DG, littlefires.bar
Bar snacks
Searcys
11 Great George Street, SW1, searcysatwestminster.co.uk
London’s rooftop bars are generally too Foxtons/Moss Bros for me to visit but those who wish to drink champagne while gazing at Elizabeth Tower may be buoyed to learn of Searcys in Westminster, which has opened a new terrace. The brasserie is teaming up with Bolney Wine for the late summer season. Entry is £10 but with it comes a glass of something fizzy. I also quite like that the entrance is by way of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors next door.
Vagabond
The Dock Shed, 9 Deal Porters Way, SE16, vagabondwines.co.uk
The wine bar brand Vagabond is to open a huge new place in Canada Water in the autumn, taking over a space at the new Dock Shed development. There’ll be more than 100 wines on tap and a standalone winery big enough to produce 100,000 bottles each year. “This urban winery is unlike anything we’ve done before,” says managing director Christobell Giles. One for the fancier Millwall FC fans.
