There’s a new Mexican restaurant and tequila bar bringing the exotic taste of the Yucatan Peninsula to West London’s King’s Road. Founded by Fairbairn Capital and guided by the culinary vision of Mexico-born head chef Ximena Gayosso Gonzalez, Ixchel is a celebration of the freshest tastes from Mexico, offering a diverse range of intoxicating flavours and aromas.
Ixchel is a new restaurant and tequila bar serving Mexico’s authentic taste in West London
‘I think King’s Road has been missing something like this, so when the opportunity arose to open Ixchel, I leapt at the chance, as I have had my eye on the site for a while,’ shares Fraser Carruthers, founder and managing director of Fairbairn Capital. ‘Keeping the vibe high, serving amazing food, great drinks with incredible music is what we are about.’
The all-day tapas-style menu, crafted from locally sourced ingredients, reinvents beloved plates of ceviches, tacos, and tostadas. Small sharing dishes, showcasing the spice and flair of traditional Tulumnese recipes, are perfect for groups. Delightful options include Albacore tuna sashimi with Ponzu toreada sauce.
For heartier appetites, Platos Fuertes, prepared on the Robata grill, feature standout dishes like achiote charcoal boneless chicken thigh with watercress leaves and chilli sauce for meat enthusiasts, and roasted celeriac pastor with charred pineapple for seekers of the plant-based. Side dishes, such as crispy potatoes in salsa verde, add to the overall culinary experience.
The hidden tequila bar complements the dining offerings with one of the largest collections of agave-based liquor in Europe, boasting a diverse selection of premium tequilas and mezcals sourced directly from artisanal distilleries in Mexico. Non-alcoholic delights are also available on the menu, highlighting the region's flavourful citrus fruits.
Ixchel, named after the Mayan goddess of the moon and textiles, features the moon symbol across its contemporary brutalist space. The ground floor is a bright area with floor-to-ceiling windows, with the moody setting of the downstairs bar. Mindful of local artistry, Behind the Door Designs curated hand-woven artworks, sculptures, and lighting by local Mexican artists for both floors.
-
Inside Christian de Portzamparc’s showstopping House of Dior Beijing: ‘sculptural, structural, alive’Daven Wu travels to Beijing to discover Dior’s dramatic new store, a vast temple to fashion that translates haute couture into architectural form
-
A music player for the mindful, Sleevenote shuns streaming in favour of focused listeningDevised by musician Tom Vek, Sleevenote is a new music player that places artist intent and the lost art of record collecting at the forefront of the experience
-
Take a tour of the 'architectural kingdom' of JapanJapan's Seto Inland Sea offers some of the finest architecture in the country – we tour its rich selection of contemporary buildings by some of the industry's biggest names
-
French bistro restaurant Maset channels the ease of the Mediterranean in LondonThis Marylebone restaurant is shaped by the coastal flavours, materials and rhythms of southern France
-
Sir Devonshire Square is a new kind of hotel for the City of LondonA Dutch hospitality group makes its London debut with a design-forward hotel offering a lighter, more playful take on the City’s usual formality
-
This sculptural London seafood restaurant was shaped by ‘the emotions of the sea’In Hanover Square, Mazarine pairs a bold, pearlescent interior with modern coastal cuisine led by ‘bistronomy’ pioneer chef Thierry Laborde
-
Montcalm Mayfair opens a new chapter for a once-overlooked London hotelA thoughtful reinvention brings craftsmanship, character and an unexpected sense of warmth to a London hotel that was never previously on the radar
-
Follow the white rabbit to London’s first Korean matcha houseTokkia, which translates to ‘Hey bunny’ in Korean, was designed by Stephenson-Edwards studio to feel like a modern burrow. Take a look inside
-
Poon’s returns in majestic form at Somerset HouseHome-style Chinese cooking refined through generations of the Poon family craft
-
This Mexico City café embraces brutalism’s warmer sideStay for breakfast, lunch and dinner at the Formant Studio-designed Marne Café, where an interior of raw finishes and tactile materials invites you to linger
-
One of London’s favourite coffee shops just opened in Harvey NicholsKuro Coffee’s latest outpost brings its Japanese-inspired design to the London department store
