Taqueria
139-143 Westbourne Grove, W11 2RS
Nearest Tube: Notting Hill Gate
020 7229 4734
Mon–Thurs: 12:00pm–11:00pm; Fri: 12:00pm–11:30pm; Sat: 10:00am–11:30pm; Sun: 12:00pm–10:30pm
Expect to Pay: £8–£12
Rating: 9 out of 10

Spring, and a young woman’s thoughts turn towards frozen fruity cocktails – margaritas in particular. But as we haven’t yet persuaded our editor to expand this column to include liquid lunches, we ask you to direct your attention away from that margarita for one moment and focus instead on having a proper lunch – solid food apparently. Bollocks.

Taqueria purports to be “a little bit of Mexico in London”. Having sampled – and savoured – the salsa of its parent company, Cool Chile, whilst eating our way through Borough Market, the claim seemed promising.

It did not disappoint. The toasted pepitos – pumpkin seeds coated in salt, chile powder, and lime juice – delivered upon arrival are addictive. We will personally vouch for the camarón al mojo de ajo – garlic prawn tacos with chile chipotle – and the enchiladas verde. And though the smallish serving sizes at first gave this Londonista pause – the product of 27 years of Stateside living – if you start with tostada y tortas and proceed to the tacos, you should come away fully sated. Each of the five in our party – some carnivores, some vegetarians – ordered something different, and each of the five had the same assessment: muy bueno!

About that margarita: Our shallow pockets couldn’t quite cough up the £7 for a watermelon margarita on our first visit, but we are committed journalists, so we dug the change out of our sofa and returned. Served on the rocks with an ancho chile salted rim, it may not be a proper lunch, but it is a glass of frozen fruit happiness.

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Photograph by Julie Palmer-Hoffman