The vegan restaurant will open in Soho’s Kingly Court on 21 May, according to owner Meriel Armitage. “We’re so excited to open our very first restaurant in the heart of Soho. We’re looking forward to doing what Club Mexicana does best - great vibes, lots of tacos and banging cocktails,” she says.
“We’ll be dishing up more tacos than ever before, as well as our biggest street food hits and favourite dishes.”
Club Mexicana Carnaby is billed as London’s first vegan taco joint and will be inspired by the street-side taquerias of Los Angeles and Mexico City. Its signature dish will be a shawarma-style dish of house-made seitan served with the restaurant’s secret marinade, which is made with five types of chilli and a handful of spices as well as fresh pineapple.
Other dishes will include a beer-battered tofish taco; a Chezeburger taco featuring ‘beef’ burger, red pepper queso, dill pickle and annatto mayo; and a queso fundido – a Mexican fondue of melted vegan cheese topped with spicy ‘chorizo’. It will also serve nachos, tostadas and burritos, including its popular carnitas burrito with jackfruit, salsa verde, pink onions, pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa negra and chipotle oil.
The restaurant has decided to publicise its opening day despite current uncertainty in the hospitality sector due to the Coronavirus, with many restaurants closing because of a lack of footfall.
Ramen operator Supa Ya Ramen, which was due to open its debut restaurant in London on Thursday, (19 March) now says it will be delaying the opening until further notice. It will be running a collection service from a hatch at their site on Hackney Road and also a delivery service from early next week.