It's hard to miss Fonda on Heddon Street
So what do we need to know about Fonda?
This is chef and restaurateur Santiago Lastra's "second album", the follow-up restaurant to Kol which is currently 17 on the World's 50 Best Restaurants list. The name explains the concept - a fonda in Mexico is a family-owned eatery. So as he explains it, they're serving up home-cooked dishes using traditional Mexican recipes but employing the same principles as Kol in featuring the best of British produce.
If you haven't had a chance to try Kol yet, or maybe your budget hasn't stretched that far, this is now an excellent way to enjoy Lastra's food. It's not that we're describing this as an entry-level establishment, rather that it's a lot easier on the purse for food of this quality.
Where is it?
You'll find it on the corner of Heddon Street in a section that's now home to quite the selection of restaurants including Sabor, Ambassador's Clubhouse and Casa do Frango. The arrival of Fonda merely cements the fact that this is now an excellent street for London foodies. As for getting here, your nearest two tubes are either Oxford Circus or Piccadilly Circus.
Where's a good place to meet for a drink first?
You're not blessed with many decent places to drink in this part of town but The Starman on Heddon Street is a decent-ish pub. Or you could always head to the bar underneath Ziggy Green where their 'art installation' recreation of Soho dive bar The Colony Room is a louche but interesting place for a drink.
Where should we sit?
The ground floor is split into two distinct rooms - the one with the bar which is particularly good for larger groups, and the section adjoining the open kitchen which is great if you like to get a sense of what's going on. This second space is also a good spot for watching the chefs at work flipping homemade tortillas on the clay comal.
The massive comal for making their homemade tortillas on.
What's on the menu?
It's a helpfully simple menu, split into snacks, a comal section devoted to tacos and tostadas, and then mains (which are individual dishes) and specials (which are more for sharing).
First things first though - the waiter brings a trio of salsas for the table which are arranged in heat order starting with a salsa macha made with Cascabel chillies, sunflower seeds and honey, then a Salsa Verde with courgette and gooseberries and finally a spicy Arbol chilli and tomato-based Salsa Roja.
Fonda's salsa set
As for the rest of the menu, here's what we had to give you a picture of what to expect:
Queso de Aro (£11) - a fresh cheese that's made in-house and served with a martajada sauce and warm tortillas. Think of this as your alternative to the usual bread course. You load up the tortilla with the cheese and then top it with that sauce. Fresh and delicious.
Costra (£12) - an aged ribeye taco with a caramelised Swaledale cheese topping - the spicier salsa works wonders on this, but frankly we're still thinking about how good that crispy cheese topper was.
Baja taco (£8) - featuring beer-battered Cornish cod with chipotle and a very moreish cucumber, pistachio and mint sauce.
Did you know that what your life was missing was this dish of lobster al pastor gringa (£34) stuffed with lobster and Spenwood cheese? Us neither, but we're definitely the better for having tried it.
There are four options on the mains all of which come with a selection of warm tortillas for you to assemble with whatever you've chosen. Choices included short rib, charred monkfish and hen of the woods mushrooms as the protein source.
We went for the confit pork shoulder (£25 for two) with crispy shards of chicharron on top and a side of refried beans topped with shredded queso fresco. It was so good, we asked for more tortillas to keep the momentum going.
What's on the menu for vegetarians?
You'll find plenty of options in every section from totopos with roasted pumpkin seed and mole to a baked beetroot tostada with seaweed oil and elderflower vinegar. There's also this unmissable dish:
Oaxaca cheese quesadillas (£24) topped with loads of Wiltshire black truffle. The idea is you cut them in half and ladle in the most amazing crème fraiche. They're earthy and light at the same time - wondrous stuff.
Room for dessert?
If you can resist the lure of all that comes before you'll be happy you left some room for Fonda's shortlist of four dessert options.
Steamed corn tamal with dates (you have to unwrap this first) served with poached pears and a butterscotch cream (£11).
Arroz con leche (£9) made with a Mezcal custard and dotted with quince - an incredibly rich version of that London dish of the moment, rice pudding.
What's on the drinks list?
Palomas are a big deal at Fonda with a whole section devoted to them. And we can attest that our Rhubarb & Gooseberry one (£14) was one of the best we've ever tried made with Ocho blanco tequila, gooseberry, verjus and rhubarb tonic. There's also a house margarita (choose between frozen or on the rocks and also tequila or mezcal) that's worth trying and a selection of micheladas too.
Left to right: Rhubarb and gooseberry paloma (£12) - with the glass rim dusted with malic acid and fine salt and Fonda margarita (£14).
Overall thoughts:
What a hit Lastra has on his hands with this Heddon Street opening. We'd describe this as a diffusion line to Kol, so very much from the same house with all its strong links with excellent British producers, but offering a more casual (and more affordable) line in dishes. We found it very much to our taste and we reckon a lot of Londoners will feel the same.
More about Fonda
Where is it? 12 Heddon St, London W1B 4BZ
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @fondarestaurant.
Hot Dinners dined as guests of Fonda. Prices correct at time of publication.
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