Taquero: Nottingham's new Mexican restaurant is officially open - and people are already loving it
The restaurant has a stocked menu with traditional dishes and cocktails
Nottingham's new Mexican restaurant, Taquero has opened to the public. The eatery which can be found in the city centre's Hockley area officially flung open its doors to the public earlier this month.
Just weeks after opening, it seems customers are already loving the new restaurant which has a 4 out of 5-star rating on TripAdvisor and a string of positive Google reviews.
Located on Heathcoat Street, the new restaurant is created by co-owners Dan Lindsay and Chef Jacque Ferreira, the award-winning team behind Bar Iberico and Iberico World Tapas.
Spanning 2,500 square feet, the building has been artfully renovated by Dan, with bold colours inspired by his trips to Mexico. In one of its previous lives, the eye-catching grade II listed building was a former lace mill, and care has been taken to restore some of the building’s original features such as exposed brick arched windows inside, and stained-glass windows on the front.
Read more: Food and drink in Nottingham
Hoping to take foodies on a journey through the authentic flavours of Mexico, the menu offers a selection of delicious tacos, tostadas, empanadas and sides.
The new venue has capacity for 54 diners, an outside seating area for the warmer months, and an open-pass kitchen which allows diners to witness the magic of each dish being created. It also has a basement for additional guests and private parties launching in February.
Similar to its sister restaurant Bar Iberico, Taquero will be walk-ins only, with table booking only available during the week for tables of over ten people.
"Mexican dining like Nottingham hasn't experienced before"
Dan Lindsay, co-owner of Taquero, said: “We’re really excited to be officially opening our doors to the public. It’s certainly been a journey to get to this point with a lot of time and effort spent, but we can’t wait to show everyone what we’ve been working on.
“We’ve drawn on inspiration from trips to Mexico as well as from our other restaurants such as Bar Iberico. Care and attention has been given to every detail from the interiors which, like Bar Iberico, are relaxed yet inviting, to the carefully curated menu of exciting and authentic Mexican dishes and bold flavour pairings.
"This is Mexican dining like Nottingham hasn’t experienced before, and we can’t wait to share it with everyone.”
What's on the menu?
Created by co-owner Chef Jacque Ferreira and head chef Ovid Edwards the new menu, which features meat, vegetarian, and vegan dishes, is a food lover’s dream. Highlights include the Al Pastor tacos which feature grilled pork, pineapple and salsa verde; the Plantain and Black Bean tacos which feature plantain, frijoles and almond mole; and the Tuna Tostadas which feature sashimi grade tuna, sesame, avocado and coriander.
Jacque added: “Authentic Mexican flavours have always been a love of mine so launching Taquero is particularly special for me. We’ve put a lot of passion and care into every single dish, and created a menu that is a true celebration of Mexican cuisine, history and culture.
"Until now, Nottingham didn’t have a traditional high-end Mexican food offering so it’s exciting to be bringing something new to the city. Each item on the menu from the salsas though to the tacos, sides and more feature traditional Mexican techniques and pairings with something to suit all tastes.
“Mexican food is food to be enjoyed with friends in a laidback atmosphere and that’s exactly what we’ve channelled at Taquero.”
Running like clockwork
The launch has brought 20 jobs to the area, with the restaurant run by general manager Rich Ford who also runs Bar Iberico and assistant general manager Saara Croeser.
Meanwhile, the bar will be run by bar manager Kyran Scott who boasts impressive credentials having worked at popular cocktail bar Cottonmouth which was crowned one of the UK’s top 50 bars before closing this year.
Tequila!
The well-stocked bar features a selection of Mexican beers and soft drinks as well as an agaveria of Mexican agave-based spirits including seven different mezcals and nine tequilas.
The bar menu offers an eclectic range of cocktails including the Kantiil which features Cazcabel blanco, Strega, fig liqueur, lime and agave as well as the Penicilina which features Abasolo corn whisky, memento verde mezcal, honey and ginger and turmeric syrup.
Taquero opening times:
Taquero is located at 6 - 8 Heathcoat Street, Nottingham.
Opening times will be 11.30am – 10pm from Tuesday to Saturday.
The new restaurant will also be open on Christmas Eve from 11.30 am – 6pm and New Year’s Eve from 11.30am - 10pm.
For more information, visit https://www.taquero.co.uk/