The Mexican that every gentleman needs to try

I have to admit, I’m chicken prejudiced. Whenever chicken is put up against beef, lamb and fish options, it rarely makes the cut. I immediately envisage plates of dry, drab and grey ‘hunters chicken’ from chain pub lunches. Edson Diaz-Fuentes, a chef from one of Mexico’s best restaurants, Casa Oaxaca, and the brains behind Wahaca’s recent menu revolution, admits he’s guilty of the same. When I met him at his newly opened Mexican cocina in Shoreditch, Santo Remedio, he insists I break protocol and try his chicken taco, fighting the urge to choose its red meat competitors. He was right to do so. The meaty flesh is pulled into the finest of strands, giving it maximal surface area for absorbing its sauce, filled with fruity notes of orange juice. Luckily the rest of his menu was more of the same, moreish and satisfying. Add Santo Remedio to your list of must-visits and you will not be disappointed.

I have come to learn that a shorter menu is almost always better – concise and thoughtful and just so much easier to cope with when panicked with FOMO. The Mexican street food style menu here offers a short one-page list of tacos and sides alongside a handful of dishes on the specials board; we were suitably encouraged. Edson’s cooking sticks to traditional techniques found in the real cuisine of Mexico City, Oaxaca and Yucatan.

The interior is bright and fun without being too kitschy. Unfortunately it is easy to get by on style in Shoreditch and Old Street, but there is genuine passion here. Edson visits us between every round of food. We discuss his past in Mexico, the different dried chillies he utilises, sous vide techniques, his dreams of importing corn from his homeland and opening a late night Mexican fast food taco bar.

Start with tortillas and guacamole. While guacamole can so often be wimpy, homogeneous slop, here it is chunky, tangy and served with a sprinkle of crunchy grasshoppers. The 6-hour braised beef barbacoa tacos are served in a tortilla with plenty of bite and dressed with the deep, complex heat of homemade salsa roja. The chicken wings in Oaxacan Mole sauce were chocolaty, smoky and indulgent; luring me from my devotion to their Korean counterpart. A side of elote was so good we almost ordered it again, sweet, creamy and cheesy – the holy trifecta of pleasure. End with perfectly fluffy and crispy churros with an indulgent dulce de leche.

The Mezcalita Verde cocktail kicks like a mule with a blend of cucumber and jalapeño chilli, making it the perfect way to limber up your appetite for spice. The cocktail menu is short and sweet but after perusing we recommend you stick to the enticing selection of hard-to-find Mexican wines and beers.

A trio of tacos is around £7.50, specials are £8-16, sides are £2-3.50. For some of the best Mexican food in London, it’s a steal.

While the American BBQ wave shows no sign of relenting, its southern culinary cousins often go neglected or left in chain restaurant mediocrity. Luckily, Santo Remedio is a prime example of Mexican food done properly. With bold flavour and real spice, we’re confident you could pick anything on the menu and have a good time. So get a long table by the window with friends and order everything. We will be on the table next to you, three bowls deep into an elote binge. Don’t judge us.

Meeting that edgier-than-you friend who refers to the area he works in as “the Silicon Roundabout” so you can school him on knowing your habaneros from your anchos. Probably a relaxed date too, but beware, the tacos are messy.

Visit Santo Remedio here.

Become a Gentleman’s Journal Member?

Like the Gentleman’s Journal? Why not join the Clubhouse, a special kind of private club where members receive offers and experiences from hand-picked, premium brands. You will also receive invites to exclusive events, the quarterly print magazine delivered directly to your door and your own membership card.

Click here to find out more