Santiago Lastra is the friendly face behind London’s Mexican food renaissance. As the chef patron of restaurant KOL in the heart of Marylebone, Lastra champions Mexican food through the lens of British ingredients. That means going truly local: Limes are replaced by fermented gooseberries, avocados are swapped for pistachios, and the kitchen is always tinkering with a new seasonal R&D project. Since debuting in October 2020, KOL has quickly amassed a string of accolades; just this year, the Michelin-starred restaurant secured the No. 17 spot on the World’s 50 Best list.
Born in Mexico City and raised in the small nearby town Cuernavaca, Lastra first found an appetite for cooking at age 15. Driven by an innate curiosity for food, he excelled in the kitchen, and eventually found his way to Mugaritz in San Sebastián, Spain and Copenhagen’s revered Nordic Food Lab.
His wealth of experience soon caught the attention of other chefs. In 2016, Noma co-owner René Redzepi tapped him to lead research trips for the Noma Mexico pop-up in Tulum. These exposed him to the country’s finest producers, markets and ingredients, and inspired him to open his first restaurant in London.
Of the 31 states in Mexico, Baja California holds a particular resonance for Lastra and KOL. The restaurant’s signature dish – a langoustine taco with a generous splash of sea buckthorn juice – has its roots in Puerto Nuevo, a seaside village sandwiched between Tijuana and Ensenada. “It’s a marriage between Mexico and England, and a way to transport the guests to two of my favorite experiences ever: eating lobster tacos in Baja California on the beach, and freshly caught langoustine by the sea in Scotland,” says Lastra. “These places also inspired me to pick berries on the beach – from sea buckthorn bushes – and squeeze them on my tacos.”
Home to more than 3.7 million inhabitants, Baja California is hailed for its seafood industry, dynamic wine scene and some of the country’s finest gastronomic experiences. This summer, Lastra returned to eat at his favourite spots across the region, and inevitably, find inspiration for future endeavours. (Fonda, his new contemporary Mexican restaurant, will open in London’s Mayfair this autumn.)
Below, Lastra shares his personal guide to Baja California – from the wine region of Valle de Guadalupe to where to eat tacos in Ensenada...
Santiago Lastra’s Food & Drink Guide To Baja California
5 Places To Eat & Drink In Valle de Guadalupe
- Fauna, For A Truly Perfect Meal – Chef David Castro and his team have dedicated their lives to taking the gastronomy of Valle de Guadalupe to the next level. By focusing on the best seafood and working their farm, the result is creative, intentional cuisine that highlights seasonal, local produce. The drinks menu takes a low-mileage approach, too: chefs work with local producers to make great cocktails and serve wines bottled just down the road. Leave space for dessert, made by chef Maribel Aldaco Silva (Castro’s wife) – some of the best in the country.
- Villa Torél, For Breathtaking Views – With this restaurant, set in a beautiful winery, chef Alfredo Villanueva, originally from Monterrey, has cemented his position as one of the pioneers in the Baja California gastronomic scene. His simple, elegant dishes pay tribute to the quality of local seafood while honouring his heritage from the northern side of the country.
- Deckman’s, For An Unforgettable Meal Cooked Over An Open Fire – Chef Drew Deckman has one of the most iconic restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe. Overlooking beautiful wineries, Deckman’s offers an unforgettable view at sunset. Everything is cooked in an open-fire kitchen using charcoal and wood. The smoked oysters, grilled steak and ceviches are highly recommended.
- + 5. Vinos Pijoan Winery & Aborigen Vinícola Winery, To Discover The Best Mexican Natural Wines – At both of these natural wineries, a new generation of winemakers are turning their focus to biodynamic farming methods to produce high-quality wines and distillates. I recommend visiting them to try amazing Mexican natural wine and soak up the beautiful surroundings.
6 Places To Eat & Drink In Ensenada
- Manzanilla, For The Best Tasting Menu In The City – Two of Ensenada’s gastronomic highlights can both be found at Manzanilla: chefs Benito Molina and Solange Muris. Molino brings his training in French classical cooking to reinvent Mexican cuisine via their tasting menu, which offers a holistic view of the hyper-seasonality of the region’s seafood, with a welcoming, high-quality service.
- Mariscos El Gordito, For Pismo Clam Cocktails – Yes, clam cocktails: a sublime combination of locally caught Pismo clams, cucumber, red onion, avocado, and a squirt of ketchup in a plastic cup. A local place that opens at 10am and is usually closed by 1pm, because everything is gone. The perfect spot for a quick lunch.
- Tacos Marco Antonio, For Breakfast Tacos – Formerly a tuna cannery, now a restaurant serving only ‘stew’ tacos with various fish and seafood. Super popular with locals, the food is homemade, simple and very tasty. Specialities are the fish chicharron taco with chipotle shrimp, the smoked marlin quesadilla, and the caguatun (a tuna stew with olives, capers, tomato and carrot), which is served with a splash of red wine and a spoonful of yellow mustard.
- El Güero Ens, For Traditional Seafood Cocktails & Tostadas – Open since the 1980s, locals love this street food stall in downtown Ensenada. Visit for clams in their shells, campechana cocktails, shrimp aguachiles and freshly opened oysters in their shells. And you can’t miss the squid ceviche from the tostada bar.
- Tacos Corona, For Traditional Baja-Style Tacos – A taco stand that only sells fish or shrimp tacos, served in a beer batter. It’s a local classic for lunch or dinner. Try all the toppings, such as finely chopped raw cabbage, pico de gallo, dry chile sauce, mayonnaise, crema, pickled red onion with habanero and chopped cucumber with onion.
- Tacos el Paisa, For Charcoal-Grilled Meat Tacos – At this taqueria, the meat is marinated with orange juice, onion and garlic salt. The chefs really take care of the details: for example, they still make the tortillas by hand, the meat is cooked on a charcoal grill and there is a generous portion of guacamole in each taco (which many taquerias do not do, due to cost). These tacos are eaten with raw radishes, chile toreados, and roasted cambray onions with the meat.
Jess Eng is a food and culture writer. She contributes to The Washington Post, TASTE, Eater and also hosts the fermentation-focused podcast Ferments Live
