Latest opening: Los Mochis London City
What: A Mexican-Japanese restaurant on the 9th floor of The City’s recently launched 100 Liverpool Street development, which has seen a 1980s office block transformed. With around 14,000sq ft of trading space, Los Mochis London City is one of the largest restaurants within the Square Mile and offers far better views than one might expect from a 9th floor venue. The large menu is being billed as pan-Pacific and is wide ranging, ticking off Mexican and Japanese staples including sushi and tacos.
Who: Los Mochis London City is the third London restaurant project from Finland-born Markus Thesleff, who made his name as a restaurateur in the Middle East with brands including OKKU and CLAW. The opening follows the success of the original Los Mochis site in Notting Hill and the more recent relaunch of Knightsbridge stalwart Sale e Pepe. Other key people involved in the project are recently appointed Thesleff Group COO Jean-Baptiste Requien and brand executive chef Leonard Tanyag.
The food: The wide-ranging menu is a mix of fusion items and non-fusion items in the sense that some dishes blend Mexican and Japanese influences and others don’t. Menu sections include para picar; crudo; grilled skewers (kushiyaki); salads; nigiri, sashimi; maki rolls; tacos; and robata-cooked dishes. There is also a tasting menu option available for £95 which features signature dishes including salmon tiradito; miso cod kushiyaki; and the Los Mochis’ Trailer Park Chicken Taco. The menu is also notable for being entirely gluten, nut and celery-free. In common with its older sibling in Notting Hill, Los Mochis will soon be home to a sub-branded omakase counter serving much more ambitious cuisine.
To drink: As one would expect given its market positioning and postcode, Los Mochis London City is angling for guests to go big or go home offering just two beer options (both gluten free). Its centrepiece is what must be one of London’s largest collection of agave-based spirits that range from £13 for a 50ml serving of Patrón to £245 for the same measure of Casa Azul’s ‘Gurrero’ Mezcal expression. Still wine kicks off at £11 per 125ml glass. Those looking to spend more than that won’t have any trouble at all - Los Mochis London City’s cellar is packed with some of the most prestigious wines in the world with the list topping out at £6,800 for a bottle of 2004 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Grands Échézeaux. The extensive cocktail list - meanwhile - includes the Pepino-Jalapeño Margarita (Tapatio Blanco, lime, cucumber, coriander, jalapeño agave); the Mezcal Espresso Martini (The Lost Explorer Mezcal, espresso, Ojo de Dios Cafe, Mr. Black coffee liqueur); and the Sakura Vesper (Grey Goose Vodka, Bombay Premier Cru, Dewazakura Ginjō Sake, oyster leaf).
The vibe: The restaurant is split into several different areas including a dining room, bar, lounge, sushi bar, two PDRs, and 3,000sq ft rooftop terrace with panoramic views of The City skyline. Designed by the Los Angeles-based OV & Co, the restaurant is accessed via a dedicated elevator that speedily delivers guests to a large reservation desk that intentionally blocks the view (Thesleff wants there to be a sense of discovery as guests are shown to one of the venue's many different areas). Design details include a 24ft hand-painted mural by Mexican artist Tellaeche; a walk-in wine and sake room; a 12m willow tunnel sculpture by artist Cherry Chung; a bar framed by Mexican Talavera tiles; and more cacti than you can shake a stick at.
And another thing: Restaurant understands that £45,000 worth of caviar was purchased for Los Mochis London City. If that’s not putting your money where you mouth is, we don’t know what is.
9th Floor, 100 Liverpool Street, London EC2M 2AT
Getting back into the big leagues
Costing around £11m to deliver, Los Mochis London City is a big moment for Markus Thesleff. While his previous projects - Los Mochis Notting Hill and Knightsbridge’s Sale e Pepe - aren’t exactly low key his latest is on an entirely different scale in terms of both physical size, ambition and risk.
Los Mochis London City is a marker in the sand, then, designed to show that Thesleff Group is able to go toe-to-toe with larger players in the increasingly busy vibe dining space. In this sense it represents a return to the big leagues for Thesleff, who was a prominent player in Dubai and elsewhere in the Middle East creating restaurant brands that were designed to compete with the likes of Nobu and Zuma prior to returning to the UK a year or two ahead of the pandemic.
While a third London site is a possibility, Thesleff’s eye is now on overseas expansion with Los Mochis London City intended to show what his group is capable of. Speaking to Restaurant earlier this year, Thesleff said that the US would be his first priority and that he was in discussions regarding a site in Miami. Los Mochis London City is a good shop window. Thesleff appears to be in his element with his latest project having created a restaurant that is impressive in terms of both design and operations.
