Cometa is London's new Mexican seafood restaurant

Comita — (Image credit: William Page-Brown)

Self-respecting London foodies will most likely know Carousel, the Fitzrovia restaurant that invites a rotating roster of chefs from around the world – from Kyoto to California – to take up residency and showcase their distinct flavours. A new guest chef joins each week or two, their menu completed by wine pairings selected by the Carousel team.

Carousel was launched in 2014 by brothers Ed and Ollie Templeton (Ed acting in a front of house role, while Ollie stands as head chef). In addition to running their chef residencies, the brothers have also collaborated with Guy Ritchie’s Ashcombe Estate, hosting a season of chefs to curate intimate suppers in the director’s ‘Wild Kitchen’ in 2025, a project set to return this year.

Over the years, a common theme the brothers kept returning to was their love for Mexican food. Now, building on past Mexican guest chef collaborations – including with Tomás Bermúdez (La Docena), Thalía Barrios Garcia (Levadura de Olla), Santiago Muñoz (Maizajo), and Gerardo Vázquez Lugo (Nicos) – they have transformed Carousel’s wine bar into a dedicated contemporary Mexican seafood restaurant, Cometa.

The Mood: Warm and confident, with a playful edge

‘There’s been a Mexican heartbeat in our kitchen for several years now,’ says Ed Templeton. ‘These are the flavours that we keep going back to, so opening Cometa felt like the natural next step for us.’ The brothers redesigned the space themselves, with a focus on creating a cosy and intimate dining experience.

The inspiration behind the design was a response to the space’s previous life as a wine bar, resulting in a quiet evolution that highlights its best features. For example, they kept the terrazzo tiles, which Ed feels ‘add a little playfulness to the confident, grown-up feel’.

‘Cometa is a contemporary Mexican restaurant, but we didn't want it to feel overtly Mexican; that's not its purpose,’ explains Ed. ‘We wanted to create a stylish [venue] that would feel at home in Roma Norte, yes, but also Pigalle, Chueca or the Lower East Side.’

The brothers were happy to leave the classical Mexican tropes to the many London restaurants that do it well, and instead focus on creating an intimate dining room where guests can spend time deep in conversation, and enjoy perusing the predominantly seafood-focused menu.

The dining room is layered in soft textiles, oak-topped tables, and a warm, earthy colour palette. ‘You’ll find bespoke carpentry, comfortable wooden chairs with woven seats and arms rests, linen café curtains, earthy wall and ceiling tones accented with bright artwork from American artist Todd Bienvenu,’ Ed tells Wallpaper*.

He continues; ‘We wanted to create an environment that would be softer, warmer, comfier and ultimately more elegant and considered than the purposefully low-key wine bar space that we created four years ago, before we really understood the street and the role that this restaurant would play within the wider Carousel mix’.

The Food: British produce elevated with fresh and zesty Mexican flavours

Cometa’s menu will see fresh UK seafood and fish paired with Mexican flavours, tied together through a contemporary lens. The kitchen will be manned by Ollie Templeton, José Lizarralde Serralde of restaurants Relæ, Nicos, and Meroma, and Alejandra Juarez of Estela, Máximo, and Makan.

The menu include a selection of raw dishes, such as ceviche and aguachile, a spicy Mexican dish from the coastal state of Sinaloa.

Larger sharing plates include crab chilpachole rice, a traditional seafood stew from the Veracruz region, that is modified here with the addition of delicious brown butter and chive. Lobster is served with chintextle (an Oaxacan chilli paste) and a succulent smoked butter sauce.

Naturally, the drinks menu includes agave-based drinks, from spicy margaritas to mezcal old-fashioned – salud!

carousel-london.com

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Tianna Williams is Wallpaper’s staff writer. When she isn’t writing extensively across varying content pillars, ranging from design and architecture to travel and art, she also helps put together the daily newsletter. She enjoys speaking to emerging artists, designers and architects, writing about gorgeously designed houses and restaurants, and day-dreaming about her next travel destination.