“I’ve never eaten good Mexican food in London” was what Gourmand Gunno’s dining comrade for the evening had told him when the two of us first discussed where we might go for our semi-regular supper outing. Your reviewer is fortunately a huge fan of all things Mexican, having first travelled to the country over 25 years ago. The good news – both for Gourmand Gunno and his then-sceptical comrade – is that London is now awash with ‘proper’ Mexican restaurants. Cavita is a welcome addition to the scene.

Chef-patron Santiago Lastra’s KOL restaurant was one of the hottest dining tickets of 2021. It had opened in 2020 but owing to the pandemic, only truly got going in last year. Your reviewer dined there seven days after the Government permitted indoor meals to restart. He loved it so much that he sought to rebook for the full nine-course tasting menu in the evening. Once again, the pandemic intervened and he had to wait until a recent Saturday March finally to take his seat. In the interim, KOL has – justifiably – received a Michelin star. It is undoubtedly merited. For diners after a novel and memorable experience in London, KOL is the place to go.

When Gourmand Gunno first travelled to Mexico many years ago he was told that the Mexicans believed their cuisine to be the third-best in the world. This was a clever notion: why try to claim you’re better than the French or the Italians (who apparently ranked numbers one and two)? At the same time though, you’re making a clear statement of intent about how you believe your food should be regarded. Even if this ranking is certainly open to debate, it is still fair to wonder just why there are so few restaurants serving genuine Mexican food in the world’s major cities. The good news for Londoners is that KOL seeks to address this anomaly. It delivers admirably.

Having spent some time in Mexico – including a dedicated six-week period – your reviewer can state that what Madera offers is not authentic Mexican food, but a take on it, which will more likely appeal to British and American palates. Beyond the view and the people watching opportunities, Madera ticks almost all the evident boxes of what ‘on-trend’ restaurants seek to offer – a bewilderingly complicated menu, dishes explicitly made for sharing which arrive as soon as they are ready and music that was slightly too loud for a midweek lunchtime.