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Terracotta tiles, crumbling exposed brick and plenty of pathos plants dangling overhead, you'd hardly remember you're in Marylebone after stepping into the charming and relaxed space that's now Mexican restaurant Cavita. That's exactly how chef Andrea Cavita wants you to feel, taking diners on a journey to her two hometowns; Mexico City and the village of San Felipe Ixtacuixtla. Luckily for us, the finished result is an incredibly ambitious yet relaxed, colourful and memorable culinary journey with home at the heart of the experience.
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Chef Andrea cut her teeth working across some of the most-decorated and experimental restaurants across the globe including Mexico City's Pujol (currently ranked as 5th Best Restaurant in the World) and Spain's famous El Bulli – remember the Costa Brava restaurant with a waiting list of 1,000,000? Cavita is her first solo debut.
Every aspect of Cavita is infused with laidback warmth and the feeling of home – especially the stars of the show – the food and drinks. Taking our seats at the the terracotta centrepiece bar, we started with a House Margarita, a fresh, spiced watermelon margarita served with lime-infused salt made in-house, and a Mezcalita, like a margarita but smokier and spicier. For those wanting to get a little more adventurous on their Cavita journey, lookout for the lesser known Mexican spirits on the menu like sotol, pox, raicilla and bacanora.
As for the food, every dish came out full of inventive presentation and bursting with colour. We kicked things off with a bright and beautiful aguachile rojo from the raw menu, featuring sashimi-style king fish, grasshopper salt, watermelon and rainbow radish swimming in a tangy chilli sauce. From the appetiser menu we opted for the melt-in-your-mouth pig's head tamal which came to us steaming and wrapped by a blanket of charred collard greens and a side of salsa verde to drizzle all over. Other starter options include a grilled 'Cesar’ salad (Caesar salad was invented in Mexico after all) and mussels esquites, a seafood take on the crisp and sweet Mexican corn salad.
Next was a dish that elicited a “this is now my favourite restaurant ever” from my fellow diner. Non-veggies should absolutely not skip the smoked beef shin quesabirria, one of the most brilliant bites I've had in a long time. It's two tacos filled with heaven. Or, two tacos filled with succulent slow cooked beef shin smothered in guajillo adobo sauce and crispy cheese – and with it comes a spicy veal bone consomé for dipping said taco in. It's comfort food at its very best. Tacos were a tough act to follow but mains arrived in the form of the Mole Verde, a juicy and smoky wood-grilled chicken set on top of vibrant green mole and irresistible coal-roasted vegetables. For pudding, we wrapped up the food journey with corn cake and ice cream.
As for the final stop of our journey, we wandered down to the basement where Mayahuel, the moody and cavernous Mexican cocktail bar, awaits. The bar has an agave-forward menu led by Bodegra Negra's Manuel Lema – serving agave flights, creative cocktails and high-quality mescal. A perfect place to sip and dream about our next visit.
Cavita: cavitarestaurant.com
Address: Cavita, 56-60 Wigmore Street, London W1U 2RZ
