Review: London’s new Mexican Restaurant Chayote
When you’re tired of the usual fare, there’s nothing like a fresh splash of fusion to reinvigorate your palette. So we invite you to follow the scintillating spicy scents to the new Mexican-Peruvian offering that is “Chayote”.
A 15min walk from London Bridge station along the river and across Tower Bridge will bring you to one of London’s best oases. The irresistible charm of St Katherine Docks can not be overstated – surrounded by the hustle and bustle of sight-seers, traffic and the City, this marina offers a much needed reprieve from London’s relentless pace and crowded tourist traps. There’s an instant calm as you stroll around the water, sheltered by a wonderful mix of historic and modern buildings, all perfectly maintained.
As you wander around, there’s no shortage of food and drink options, but Chayote offers something really special. Of all the lovely spots to occupy in the docks, Chayote is almost at the end of Commodity Quay. If the weather allows (although their superb heaters make outdoor seating perfectly comfortable), the tables outside provide the perfect view that encapsulates St Katherine Docks – Ivory House and lovely yachts and sailboats to your left, London Tower to your right. It’s just sheltered enough from the tumult of the road leading to the bridge, without losing the visuals that make the marina so special.
Once inside, the interiors of Chayote are quite unassuming. Everything is crisp and clean, with a sleek bar, exposed brick and hanging ropes – clearly a tribute to the docks – with just a hint of art deco. I’d argue that when you bring together Mexican Peruvian and Spanish culture, you could have so much fun with the interior decor, but Chayote’s style clearly opted for staying in keeping with the location as opposed to the cuisine. Also, I judge a place by its toilet – clean, tidy, but functional at best. All in all, the interior doesn’t do justice to the chic menu.
Definitely the first thing to be noted is the exceptional friendliness of the staff. At the time of my visit, it wasn’t too busy, which always helps with more personal attention, but everyone from the bar staff, host and waitress were extremely welcoming and attentive. While I could easily enjoy the comfy seating and get lost in people/boat watching, as soon as I started to peruse the menu I was completely enthralled.
I personally think it’s a good sign when a menu isn’t too extensive. Pages and pages of dishes not only make choosing something exhausting, but also suggests quantity over substance. A short but refined menu indicates that these options were deliberately and carefully curated – and that’s certainly the case here. It’s no exaggeration to say that reading every dish description made me salivate – incidentally, the back of the menu includes a very useful glossary, explaining any terms you may not be familiar with – while seemingly very simple, with very few ingredients, the flavour combinations on the page alone promised a taste experience like no other.
Definitely the same can be said of the cocktail menu. All the usual suspects can be provided at the bar, but Chayote has decided to play on what you might expect at a Mexican/Peruvian restaurant – the margarita, the pisco sour – and give these libations their own unique twist.
Although I have a relatively weak tolerance for spicy, I was far too intrigued by the menu to sell my experience short and play it safe. While waiting for my friend, I passed the time with the Picante cocktail. I was forewarned that it was spicy and it certainly delivered. However, it’s actually only the rim that makes the drinking of the Picante so intense. If you’d prefer a milder experience, I would still recommend this Tequila based cocktail – simply request a milder or no rim at all. It served as the perfect aperitif.
I’m not one to bash a cliche, so there was no way I’d come to a Mexican restaurant and not sample their guacamole. Sadly, it was loaded with onion – having said that, not so much that it overpowered the flavour. It was fresh and zany, but the star of this snack was actually the tortilla chips. You’re brought a variety of different types and I swear – one of them had a hint of bacon powder or something similar – it made the combination with their guac terrific and a far cry from the usual equivalent you’d find in the likes of Wahaca.
Always having been a fan of ceviche, the first official dish of the evening was the Seabass and green mango aguachile. Aguachile is basically a ceviche, but it tends to be marinated for a much shorter period of time in a simpler mix and served immediately. Again – this dish was very spicy. However, when I’ve had overly spicy curries in the past, for example, the spice was so strong that my entire head felt like it was on fire and it completely killed all the flavours.
With this seabass? Not the case at all. The spice, while very strong, stays only on your lips and tip of the tongue and definitely serves to enhance the flavours, rather than detract from them. And incidentally, the tortilla chips – replenished whenever you need – actually served as the perfect antidote to the spice. The structure of the aguachile was not unlike a carpaccio, and the green sauce – exquisite! – isn’t easily captured with a fork. The tortilla chips served as the perfect scooping device and paired with this dish very well. But do watch out for a runny nose!
Almost all the dishes on the menu are gluten free and every category includes a vegan option. A life-long lover of fish and meat, I leaned more into the meaty options, but the dilemma was legitimate! The tacos, tostadas and mains are all served in a shareable fashion (customisation for various party sizes is of course available) – this is definitely a menu to enjoy with family and friends, and you should all embrace getting somewhat messy fingers. I’d struggle to envisage a business meeting here, despite the proximity to city, purely because eating food largely by hand and sharing dishes is a bit intimate for colleagues/externals/wearing a suit.
My friend and I got a selection of mouth-wateringly beautiful dishes: yellowfin tuna tostadas, oxtail tacos and girolle with cheese tacos. And from “land and sea”, Iberico pork cheek carnitas with red and green mole. It’s honestly hard to say which one was the most delicious. All of these were not spicy and definitely more palatable if strong spicy flavours are not for you. Just as the seabass, the quality of the yellowfin tuna was incredible – perfect fresh flavours, with all the sauces and extras not at all drowning the key ingredient.
The oxtail and pork cheek were slow cooked to perfection and melted in the mouth. The soft tortillas, fresh and warm, can also be replenished upon request. The moles that came with the carnitas were particularly wonderful, so do make sure you scoop up both to go along with the meat. And while the combination of mushrooms and cheese might be more reminiscent of Italian or even more northern cuisines, the girolle and cheese tacos were utterly divine. While the meat dishes are, while not heavy, definitely very filling – the girolle tacos were the definition of more-ish, so if you were to stick to the vegetarian options, you’d be supremely happy loading up on just these!
Our “sharing mains” we paired with the Hola cocktail. Now – it’s not an exaggeration to say – I would come back to Chayote for this cocktail alone. It’s a tall cocktail, so not too strong and perfect to sip along as you enjoy your meal. If you favour a more fruity, sweet cocktail, then look no further. While the ingredients might seem like the Hola is quite sour – it’s anything but. The citrus is beautifully balanced with the sweetness of the mango and the oak smoke element compliments the meat dishes in particular exceptionally well.
Incidentally, this is a good time to note that if you’re more of a wine than a cocktail person, the entire drinks menu is definitely to be admired. While reading through the wine menu, I was taken all around the world. Italy, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, South Africa, Georgia, France – this wine menu is an exploration of the best (and not remotely extortionate!) offerings from almost every corner of the globe.
As far as Chayote’s interpretation of fusion goes – the wine list takes it to another level. The spirits selection is also very impressive, in particular, a very enviable selection of great Mezcals! And it must be said – both for the food and the drinks, considering the location (plus… it’s London, in the midst of a cost of living crisis!), the truly amazing quality of the ingredients, careful preparation and – did I mention the attentive service? – the prices are not just reasonable, they’re amazing.
Once upon a time, I was lucky enough to experience this level of Mexican cuisine in a mind-blowing restaurant on Park Lane. Sadly, it did not survive Covid, and while I absolutely adored that restaurant – arguably Michelin level dining – it would certainly set you back a pretty penny. Chayote offers simpler, but absolutely on par quality dishes and at extremely reasonable prices. Ingredients and cocktails of such quality would easily go for twice as much in the likes of Mayfair, so this is the ideal way to experience genuinely expert and top tier dining in the heart of London without breaking the bank.
I regret to say that while I desperately wanted to not only order more dishes but also sample the sides and extra sauces, what little breathing room was left had to be reserved for the dessert. Though I must say that I caught some of the sides being brought to our neighbouring tables. The yuca fries were the most sumptuous bright yellow and – for a side dish – it was an extremely generous portion.
The desserts were also a painful conundrum. Again, just a handful of options, but each sounding more amazing than the next. While we desperately wanted to go for the pumpkin cheesecake (having seen several of our neighbours practically lick their plates clean), the cold weather inspired a warmer option, so we went for the donuts. Forget everything you ever thought you knew about a great donut. First off, Chayote’s donuts are more akin to if a donut and a churro had a very delicate, refined baby. They were decadent, but light. The powdery sugar on top provided the warm sweetness, while the fresh raspberry coulis was the ideal level of citrus.
The donuts also come with a spicy chocolate sauce. This is definitely the time where spicy doesn’t mean what you think. It simply speaks to the chocolate sauce being rich in flavour, but not at all too sweet and not too viscous either. For dessert lovers that perhaps aren’t the biggest fans of chocolate – this is genuinely perfect. We supplemented the donuts with a mix of avocado ice cream and hibiscus sorbet. The restaurant has some very fun flavours to try, and while tempted by the corn ice cream (next time, for sure!), we’d always wanted to try avocado ice cream and coupling it with a lovely sorbet was spot on.
While the flavour of avocado is very subtle indeed, the ice cream was a beautiful palate cleanser. In fact, an interesting thought occurred whilst eating it. It may be served as a dessert, but because it’s not at all overwhelmingly sweet, but creamy (without being too rich) the avocado ice cream may well be a genius side dish while sampling the more spicy dishes and cocktails on the menu. It won’t at all distract from the savoury flavours, while providing the perfect cooling effect! Meanwhile the hibiscus sorbet was the ideal choice to pair with the donut’s sweetness. Donut, ice cream and sorbet alike all went absolutely delightfully with the chocolate sauce! Its versatility speaks to the perfect balance of flavour. All too many chocolate sauces can be sickly or sticky, but this one was exactly what the taste buds ordered.
It would be rude not to close off a Saturday night meal without an Espresso Martini, but I can easily say that this was unlike any I’d ever had before. Overall, I’m a big fan of this cocktail, but when it’s done badly, it’s truly a disaster. Too sweet, too runny, too much coffee, not enough coffee – endless examples of how an Espresso Martini can be made poorly. But the Chayote Espresso Martini comes with its own special spin – Mezcal. And while you might think mezcal has no business in a dessert cocktail – you’d be wrong. Somehow, it goes perfectly with the coffee and Kahlua flavour profiles and takes this seemingly “done a million times before” cocktail into a delightful new direction.
All in all – we, reluctantly, left Chayote not just full (though important to note – the wonderful nature of these dishes and the fact that you share, you won’t leave the place feeling sick or like you’ve overindulged, just supremely satisfied) but having truly felt like we’d gone on a journey of taste, colour and sensation. If London Bridge isn’t your usual neck of the woods, that really shouldn’t put you off – this is a restaurant that is 100% worth the detour and whether you want to have an epic catch up with your friends or impress on a date night, Chayote is the spicy kick London has been needing to elevate its South American offerings.
