Jan 23

Jan 23 Lupita, Kensington

LUPITA WEST: KENSINGTON HIGH ST

11/10/17

By Alex

WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT:

Tacos, Tacos, Tacos!
Fantastic cocktails
Stylish and authentic surroundings
Excellent service and friendly helpful staff

DECOR:

Lupita is bright and airy, with modern geometric shapes throughout. Lots of mirrors help to create a bigger brighter space and there are several nods to Mexican culture with painted masks on the walls. Overall the restaurant is a large yet cosy space with good lighting.

DINING:

Lupita has three branches in London (Kensington, Soho and Shoreditch), specialising in quality traditional Mexican dishes using the freshest ingredients. The menu features loads of authentic dishes - from cheesy enchiladas to bulging burritos - all washed down with amazing margaritas.

Lupita are proud to serve incredibly fresh fish, so it seemed apt we were here to celebrate National Seafood Week. Fish tacos were the order of the day - created by Lupita’s own chefs, as well as Masterchef finalist Lorna Robertson (who we ended up sitting with for the evening!).

We began with Lupita’s own guacamole (amazing), made right in front of us at the table. I’ll be making this at home soon that's for sure: ripe avocado, onion, tomato, jalapeños with a generous squeeze of lime and some black pepper. We couldn’t stop eating this - along with the delicious tortilla chips this made for the perfect starter.

Next came a trio of tacos. They looked small but man were they filling! First up was Tuna Tostadas - diced tuna tartare with caramelised onion and avocado served with chipotle mayonnaise. I don’t think I’ve ever eaten tuna that tasted fresher in my life and it's hard to describe these as anything other than delicious.

Our second taco was Lorna's signature Crispy Plaice Tacos (the one’s she made on Masterchef for all those keen eyed viewers). Again, super tasty with the red cabbage slaw and mango salsa setting them off perfectly. I was glad they were so good as it would’ve been pretty embarrassing sitting next to Lorna if not…

The final taco featured grilled prawns with melted cheese (yes!) and that superb chipotle mayo again (who wouldn’t love this combination?). I have to say I think this was my favourite. Each serving comes with 3 tacos and as mentioned earlier, they may look small but they really do fill you up.

By this point I was pretty full but as my Nan always said, there’s always room for dessert! Tonight this consisted of a traditional Mexican sponge cake, made using condensed milk and evaporated cream. The cake was incredibly light - perfect considering the amount of tacos we’d just consumed. A delicious dessert and the perfect way to round off a brilliant meal.

DRINKS: We had a glass of Prosecco when we arrived, and then were offered a choice of 3 different margaritas - I plumped for the hibiscus flavour which was both strong and tasty.

DEBRIEF:

If you're a taco lover (come on, who isn’t) then this is definitely the place for you. You won’t go far wrong ordering the above. Lovely atmosphere - if you like Wahaca but fancy a slightly smaller more authentic experience, Lupita is the place.