Kol chef to open new London restaurant

Santiago Lastra, the chef behind London’s Kol, the first Mexican restaurant in the UK to win a Michelin star, will open his second restaurant in the city this September.

Named Fonda, the new restaurant will be a more casual offering than Kol, serving comfort food inspired by Mexico’s family-owned ‘fonda’ eateries and the country’s street food.

Spread across two-floors on lively Heddon Street in London’s West End (home to Sabor and previously the likes of Fallow and Manteca), Fonda will serve an already winning-sounding à la carte of dishes such as chalk stream trout ceviche; confit scallops on a gooseberry, sesame and burnt habanero salsa; adobado of charred monkfish with potatoes and spiced kelp butter; and of course a traditional mole, with beef short ribs, which if the version at Kol is anything to go by will be spectacular.

There will also be a number of dishes cooked in clay comals, traditional griddles for cooking masa, including costras of ribeye topped with a layer of melted Swaledale cheese on a flour tortilla, tacos, and tostadas.

Expect, as at Kol, Mexican craftmanship, British ingredients, and excellent margaritas to star.

Lastra’s Kol has had a meteoric rise since opening in the middle of the pandemic, winning a Michelin star and having broken the top 20 of The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list in 2024. The restaurant has helped to usher in a new era of ‘fun dining’ in the UK capital, giving diners Michelin quality food without the stuffiness.

At Fonda, Lastra’s brother, Eduardo, who he has worked closely with since the inception of Kol, will take the lead.

Get a taste for the dishes below.