“Mexican dining culture is very much about conviviality,” explains Crispin Somerville. co-founder of El Pastor. “The food is put in the middle of the table, and people pile in.” In this spirit, El Pastor’s menu features a centrepiece of either braised short rib or marinated sea bream. Both are accompanied by corn tortillas, salsas and sides, designed for everyone to gather round and get stuck in building their own tacos.

For the short rib, grass-fed Angus beef is braised for twelve hours in a rub made with muscovado sugar, coriander seeds, cumin, garlic, oregano and paprika until it’s not only rich in flavour but also so meltingly tender that it falls off the bone. This is paired with sharp pickled red onions and La Maya salsa, made with roasted pineapple and fiery habanero chillies for a sweet, warming kick.

"The recipe for our sea bream is taken from chef Gabriela Cámara of legendary Mexico City restaurant, Contramar” says Crispin. For this signature dish, known in Mexico as Pescado a la Talla, butterflied fish (usually red snapper, but El Pastor uses sustainably sourced sea bream) is marinated with two different salsas – a mild, green mojo verde made with parsley, garlic and a hint of cumin, and a hotter, red salsa roja made with tomato, garlic, Mexican chillies and spices. “The dish is a beautiful reflection of Gabriela’s half Italian, half Mexican heritage” says Crispin. “The milder green sauce is inspired by Italian cuisine, while the salsa roja is Mexican.” The fish is grilled until slightly charred, then served with tortillas, chipotle mayo, lime-dressed cabbage and coriander.

“The recipe for our sea bream is taken from chef Gabriela Cámara of legendary Mexico City restaurant, Contramar” says Crispin. For this signature dish, known in Mexico as ‘Pescado a la Talla’, butterflied fish (usually red snapper, but El Pastor uses sustainably sourced sea bream) is marinated with two different salsas – a mild, green, ‘mojo verde’ made with parsley, garlic and a hint of cumin, and a hotter, red ‘salsa roja’, made with tomato, garlic, Mexican chillies and spices. “The dish is a beautiful reflection of Gabriela’s half Italian, half Mexican heritage” says Crispin “the milder green sauce is inspired by Italian cuisine, while the salsa roja is Mexican.” The fish is grilled until slightly charred, then served with tortillas, chipotle mayo, lime-dressed cabbage and coriander.

For a larger feast, choose from a selection of El Pastor menu favourites to add on. Start with house-made totopos (corn tortillas chips) with guacamole, followed by the restaurant’s signature tuna tostadas made with raw, sashimi-grade yellowfin tuna marinated in a sesame, soy and árbol chilli dressing and piled onto crisp, blue corn tostadas. There are also chicken tinga tostadas, loaded with chipotle-marinated chicken, as well as refried black beans and El Pastor’s take on esquites (a Mexican sweetcorn dish), with grated cheese and a jalapeño mayo. To drink, try one of El Pastor’s notorious margaritas, made with a generous measure of El Jimador Reposado tequila, plenty of lime juice, a splash of Cointreau and a little sugar syrup – salud!