The Baja fish tacos, with beer-batter fish, red and white shredded cabbage, chipotle mayo and a blue corn tortilla
The chicken BLT taco, with achiote-marinated chicken thigh, piloncillo bacon, cherry tomatoes, shredded lettuce and a house-made spiced ranch dressing
The carne asado taco, with chipotle, orange and soy-marinated hangar steak, pickled onions, avocado and a blue corn tortilla
The carnitas taco, with slow-cooked pork belly, collar and crispy skin, in a marinade of orange juice, Mexican oregano, cinnamon and garlic, served with pickled jalapeno and salsa verde
What's the draw:
Corazón taqueria is the passion project of Laura Sheffield (formerly GM of The Riding House Café and Corbin & King's Fischer's) and chef Paul Daniel (who was head chef at The Riding House Café and went on to become executive chef for the whole Village London group), and it's this passion that shines through in the chic and inviting space on Soho's Poland Street. The menu is taco-focused, obviously, with other quintessential Mexican dishes like guacamole, tostadas and rice and beans. As Sheffield said to us, "This is comfort food – it's not fancy, but it hits the spot."
What to drink:
It would seem amiss to not wet the whistle with a margarita or five – and that's conveniently just how many different kinds Corazón has on its menu: choose from house, pomegranate, jasmine tea, achiote, and orange and black pepper. We then tried the delicious horchata – a soft serve of almond and rice milk with cinnamon and agave, which was the perfect foil to the heat of the food. If that's not your thing, there are cocktails, wines and beers aplenty, so you'll find something to suit.
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What to eat:
Tacos, obviously. But kick things off with the sikil pak, a Mayan-spiced pumpkin seed dip that had a chocolate-y, mouth-coating flavour and texture, and the aromatic Brixham crab tostadas. As for the tacos, we went for the Baja fish with gusto (getting covered in chipotle mayo in the process), the rich, melting lamb barbacoa, and the horacio, made with roast butternut squash, wild mushrooms, huitlacoche (a bizarre corn fungus that's actually a Mexican delicacy), crispy chestnuts and queso fresco. And there's no escaping dessert – you have to try the toothache-inducing tres leches cake, a dense sponge made with condensed milk and topped with toasted marshmallow frosting. It's incredible.
Tacos from £9 for two; margaritas from £8. 29 Poland Street, W1F 8QR; corazonlondon.co.uk. Want to find out where else you can eat tacos in London? Read our handy guide.
