Last Updated on April 28, 2022
A Pan-Pacific Restaurant and Bar in Notting Hill Gate
Los Mochis is a new pan-Pacific restaurant and bar in Notting Hill ‘mixing Mexican spirit with Japanese elegance, Mexican art and design with Japanese coolness and Mexican flavours with Japanese techniques’. I’m familiar with Nikkei cuisine, the Japanese-Peruvian culinary fusion that has become popularised in London at restaurants such as Nobu, Chotto Matte and Coya but the fusion of Mexican and Japanese ingredients is new and an exciting prospect.
We have arrived for dinner on a warm summer’s night and the restaurant is packed and buzzing so we climb the stairs to the cool of the upstairs bar. There is a rather cool painting of Frida Kahlo on the wall and some cacti knocking around, but I’m most interested in the small but perfectly formed cocktail menu built around a list of small producer tequilas and mezcals.
The Los Mochis Tommy’s Mexican margarita is a take on the classic margarita blending Ocho reposado tequila with lime juice but with the orange liqueur replaced by the sweetness of agave nectar and with a spice rim rather than just salt. It was delicious and got our juices flowing!
My Shingo Negroni brought together Nikka days whisky, plum sake, Campari, sweet vermouth and smoke essence. This was very smooth and smoky with the plum sake and vermouth balanced by the bite of the whisky. It was less bitter than a classic negroni and I loved it.
We moved downstairs to the restaurant. It’s elegantly but casually styled with wooden floors and tables and there are brick and render walls ceiling covered with greenery.
The menu majors in tacos, ceviche, tostadas, tiraditos, quesadillas and Maki rolls but all with a Japanese twist. We went for the million-course tasting menu (actually about 13 in all) which takes you on a fantastic journey through the food offer.
To drink, we moved onto a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc, Bishop’s Leap, St Clair, Marlborough NZ. 2019. It was full of grapefruit and honey flavours with plenty of freshness on the palate – a great match with the food.
First up was the Guacamole Socal Shrimp – a lightly spiced blend of fresh guacamole, grilled shrimp and spring onion served with tortilla crisps with lots of flavour and texture action going on.
The Crispy California was a pair of sweet potato shell mini tacos filled with crab, avocado, cucumber, spicy aioli and fresh crab – it zinged with taste!
Poke is a Hawaiian raw fish salad that has become very fashionable in the last few years. The Los Mochis Tuna Poke was beautifully balanced with raw bluefin tuna, yuzu-shiso soy, avocado, jalapeno, sesame, spring onion all sitting in a sweet potato shell.
The seabass ceviche was a super-luxe dish with shiso-truffle soy, the citric saltiness of yuzu tobiko, shallots, mint cress enveloping the meaty chunks of sea bass in a fabulous sauce.
Salmon tiradito is a Peruvian dish that I love. Melt in the mouth salmon was given a kick by kizami wasabi (wasabi marinated in soy) and spiced with shichimi, yuzu tamari, and coriander cress.
Falafel can be so variable in quality, This was a superior take on the Middle-Eastern staple, crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside lifted by a luscious truffle chilli Goma (sesame) sauce.
Hiramasa means Kingfish, a highly prized fish used for sashimi. In this dish, it comes with a deliciously light and piquant Yuzu Kosho, Spring Onion, Jalapeno, and Truffle Chili Goma dressing.
One of my standout plates from the meal was the Miso Black Cod. Served in a tortilla, the Ume Saikyo Miso Black Cod was served with Avocado, Cabbage, Jalapeno and Sweet Potato Crisps. The fish was Beautifully sweet, soft, rich and buttery with the crunch of crisps offering textural contrast.
Trailer Park Chicken was top notch. The tender, spicy fried chicken came with guacamole, a shit-kicking jalapeno BBQ sauce, habanero gochujang, sesame and parsnip crisps.
Kushiyaki means skewered and grilled which gave these grilled tiger prawns tremendous flavour. Served in a tortilla with guacamole, lettuce, yuzu aioli and a Pico de Gallo salsa with coriander cress this was another beautifully put together dish.
The Bang Bang Kani tortilla featured generous chunks of Alaskan King Crab, moreish Bang Bang spicy mayo, lettuce, masago fish eggs for colour and saltiness, and coriander cress.
After this feast, we managed two desserts.
A melting chocolate fondant had a South American twist with dulce de leche inside and the cool addition of vanilla ice cream.
The Matcha Blondie which came with a white chocolate and coconut sorbet is for matcha fans only which sadly isn’t me. But that’s all about personal taste, so if you are, then do try!
Los Mochis is much more than just a good local restaurant. They have taken a simple street food concept and taken it to another level. The fusion of Mexican and Japanese ingredients and techniques creates a vibrant, cuisine that you really ought to try. The Notting Hill locals clearly agree!
Los Mochis
2 Farmer Street,
Notting Hill
London W8 7SN
For Japanese without the Mexican in Notting Hill, we recommend Ukai. And, for South American without the Japanese try Cha Cha x Sister Jane.
But, if you want both, then do try Los Mochis.
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