This weekend in the Steel City, hungry vegans and vegan-friendly eaters can grab some great deals from the Make No Bones stable of restaurants to celebrate their launch on the UberEats delivery app.
On Monday March 23, 2020 Club Mexicana, the home of Mexican and Californian inspired street food, is opening the doors to its very first restaurant.
Five years on from their street food beginnings, following a successful Hackney residency and the launch of The Spread Eagle (London’s first 100% vegan pub), founder Meriel Armitage and her team are beginning an exciting new chapter amidst the hustle and bustle of Soho.
Inspired by the street side taquerias of Los Angeles and Mexico City, Club Mexicana will dedicate itself to a concise menu of expertly-made tacos and small plates, designed to be enjoyed with a margarita (or two) in hand.
Guests can watch the open kitchen hard at work, as Meriel and her team slice into the star of the show: a sizzling vegan al pastor trompo (or spit) made in-house from seitan, smothered in Meriel’s homemade marinade with tropical favours from the fresh pineapple that sits on top of the spike.
The menu will feature cult favourites such as the beer battered Tofish Taco and the Cheezeburger Taco loaded up with ‘beef’ burger, red pepper queso, dill pickle and annatto mayo. New dishes will see the Al Pastor taco with shawarma style ‘pork’ from the trompo with charred pineapple, salsa verde, onion and coriander, and punched potatoes with chipotle mayo, spring onions and sea salt.
For those looking to feast, Club Mexicana will be slinging nachos, tostadas and its new Queso Flameado – essentially a Mexican fondue of gooey melted vegan cheese topped with spicy ‘chorizo’, ready to be dipped into.
There’s also a line-up of Club Mexicana’s much-loved burritos, including the Jackfruit carnitas burrito loaded with salsa verde, pink onions, pico de gallo, sour cream, salsa negra and chipotle oil.
For something sweet, guests will be invited to take their pick from blood orange granita with a hint of margarita, rich chocolate mousse or a deep-fried ice cream sandwich from Happy Endings.
To counter the heat, the bar will shake up a curated menu of cocktails, wines, and Mexican beers. Guests can grab a stool for chilled margaritas from East London drinks company black-lines and grapefruit Palomas poured on tap, or opt for a true taste of Mexico with something spicier like the beer-led CM Chelada and pickle juice-spiked Michelada. Club Mexicana’s favourite frozen margaritas, a collaboration with Square Root Soda, can be ordered in classic sour lime, pink hibiscus, or juicy agua fresca.
Interiors will be decorated with Club Mexicana’s signature tropical neon pink signs and bold colour-pop artwork. The stool-lined bar is the perfect spot for a cocktail and a quick bite, while tables and chairs that have been sourced from young emerging London-based producers and craftpeople will invite diners to keep those tacos coming. When the days get warmer, guests can also grab one of the outdoor tables to soak up the sunshine with tacos and a few chilled Mexican beers.
Meriel says, “We’re so excited to open our very first restaurant in the heart of Soho. We’re looking forward to doing what Club Mexicana does best – great vibes, lots of tacos and banging cocktails. We’ll be dishing up more tacos than ever before, as well as our biggest street food hits and favourite dishes. It’s going to be a lot of fun!”
“We are delighted to welcome Club Mexicana to Carnaby’s food hub, Kingly Court. The Mexican-Californian inspired vegan street food restaurant will enhance Carnaby’s ever-increasing, global dining offering,” says Shelley Webb, Head of Group Residential & Kingly Court.
Club Mexicana at Kingly Court will open on Monday March 23, 2020.
You can see the exact location of Kingly Court online thanks to Google Maps.
Already a success in Tulum, Mexico where Chef Charly first opened his food truck in the jungle on New Year’s Eve 2016, Charly’s Vegan Tacos has now arrived in Miami to revolutionise the vegan food scene.
“The first year we opened in Tulum, we lost a lot of money. We were about to close when high season arrived and people finally started to turn up from what must have been word of mouth. And now we are opening in Miami! It is a great feeling to to be taking what we call our ‘Hip Dining’ concept to Florida”, says restaurant founder Charly.
Charly applies his past experience as Executive Chef at some of the best steak houses in Mexico City to make vegetables taste and feel like authentic Mexican cuisine with very similar textures and flavours to that of meat.
“What’s amazing for us in Tulum is that about 80% of our customers are regular meat eaters. We are not here to judge as I used to love meat. When I started eating vegan what I missed the most was the feeling of eating animal protein. Now I’ve eaten vegan so long I don’t miss it, but these recipes helped me stay on track in the beginning. Charly’s Vegan Tacos is my best effort to bring this marriage of food types to everyone so we can all eat less meat without missing the textures and flavours we have grown to love so much”, Charly told me.
The Wynwood, Miami location evolved from the Tulum concept by creating a full service dining experience, with Starters (labelled as Antojitos on the menu), Tacos, Mains and Desserts. See the full Miami menu online here. It is amazing!
Charly’s Vegan Tacos is located on 172 NW 24th St, Wynwood, Miami. See the exact location thanks to Google Maps.
You can follow Charly’s Vegan Tacos on Instagram and Facebook. The Miami location is currently open Tuesday to Sunday from 5:30pm until late.
A few months ago I posted abut new vegan venue, The Spread Eagle.
This 100% vegan pub in Homerton, east London has been blowing people away with not only their gorgeous selection of cocktails and drinks, but also the NEXT LEVEL food coming out of the pub’s kitchen thanks to Club Mexicana.
Looking at the photos below makes me a little emotional.
I can remember going to one of the first ever Club Mexicana pop up events many years ago at Black Cat Cafe and to see the progress the business has made is startling.
Superstar business owner and devoted vegan badass Meriel has made Club Mexicana one of the most recognisable and adored food providers in London. She has cemented her brand as a recognised signpost for taste and quality. She has inspired dozens of traders to play catch up with her branding and market positioning. She is recognised by non-vegan organisers as one of our business leaders.
Before you drool over some of these exclusive food photos from inside The Spread Eagle, please take a moment to follow Club Mexicana on Instagram.
You can also follow The Spread Eagle on Instagram and see the pub’s exact location thanks to Google Maps.
500g Tamale masa/corn flour – make sure it is the type suitable for tamales! 250g solid vegetable shortening
250ml liquid vegetable stock
Corn husks
Salt
Plus whatever fillings you decide to use!
Makes approximately ten tamales/serves three or four people
Instructions:
For the dough/masa
In a large bowl or saucepan, soak corn husks in very hot water for about 5 minutes
In an electric mixer, use the flat beater/dough hook attachment at a high speed to soften the shortening for a few minutes until it is very smooth
Reduce speed and add the Tamale flour
Slowly pour in the vegetable stock and add the salt
If needed, add some extra water to get the right consistency in the dough. You want the dough to be sticky but not too sloppy
To make the tamales
Take a softened corn husk and spread approximately two tablespoons of dough in a flattened patty in the centre
Add your fillings (approximately 1 tablespoon) on top
Gently roll the edges of the corn husk over the fillings and fold the end over to enclose
Tie the tamal together either with strips of corn husk or pieces of string
Cooking instructions
Steam the tamales either in a pressure cooker or a traditional steamer. In a pressure cooker, they will take approximately 30 minutes or 11⁄2 hours in a traditional steamer.
Once cooked, allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before opening – they will be very hot inside!
Filling suggestions
In Mexico, tamales are filled with a seemingly endless combination of ingredients, but common vegan tamales are:
Spinach and huitlacoche (a type of edible corn fungus)
Mushroom and salsa verde
Black beans with salsa verde and vegan cheese
Note – this is a recipe for savoury tamales but sweet tamales are also very popular. This requires a sweetened dough so look out for a future video for sweet tamales!
If not already warm, heat the salsa verde in a medium/large saucepan
Stir in the totopos/corn chips and stir until they are well covered
Spoon totopos/salsa verde onto a large plate
Add warmed refried beans
Add a couple of tablespoons of vegan sour cream
Place the finely sliced onion on top
Finally, add the avocado to finish
This recipe is for Chilaquiles Verdes (Green Chilaquiles). You can also make Chilaquiles Rojos (Red Chilaquiles) using our Salsa Roja recipe instead of the Salsa Verde. Optional toppings can include anything, but frequently Chilaquiles are served with fried mushrooms, cheese, cilantro/coriander etc.
This is a bit late seeing as the event has almost sold out, but below is the 5-course vegan menu I am serving at my 4th annual Day of the Dead dinner on November 1.
Aperitivos: Mini tortillas with guacamole, salsa verde & pico de gallo
First course: Esquites with Vegenaise, epazote, fresh lime juice and chile powder
Second course: Black bean & lime soup with smoked paprika, chipotle and cumin
Third course: Flautas filled with chorizo and potato served on a bed of lettuce, drenched in salsa verde and topped with marinated onion
Fourth course: Albondigas de lentejas (lentil meatballs) with adobo sauce
Fifth course: Chocolate cake with sticky spiced chocolate sauce, served with vanilla ice cream and hibiscus-chile sprinkle
The entire menu is gluten free this year.
There is a 5:30pm seating where there is just one ticket remaining and an 8:00pm seating which has completely sold out.
The always-popular Club Mexicana has come on board as part of International Vegan Junk Food Day 2015 celebrations.
This mobile vegan food vendor has been winning hearts and tastebuds over the past few years and they show no sign of slowing down. They are impressing people with tacos, nachos and burritos that are all 100% vegan.
One place where they are certainly going down a storm is the Street Feast event at Model Market in Lewisham. Their super cute stall is a hotspot for tasty comfort food lovers.
