Mon–Thu 7.30am–11pm, Fri–Sun 8.30am–midnight
I first met Lorraine, the owner of Habanera, on a sunny afternoon as I left the dentist next door to her new Mexican bar/restaurant on Uxbridge Road. Five minutes later I was sat in the then-unfinished restaurant, interviewing her on the back of a menu while she offered me a tequila. It was 3.45pm on a Tuesday. Such is the laid back, ad-hoc nature of the latest venture from the owners of the hugely successful, celeb-friendly Hummingbird Café.
I revisited on their first full Friday night and the place was buzzing with the local crowd revelling in the food and drink revolution sweeping this area. Inside was a wall of colour, noise and smell, with the kitchen at the front and the bulk of the seating at the back. Tables were full and the staff busy, giving the whole place a fitting Latin American bustle.
Our flustered but ineffably charming waitress sat us at the back before flying off with our order of two bottles of Negra Modelo (£3.50). The dining area was surprisingly bright and dominated by a living wall that periodically watered itself.
The salsa bar serves your choice of salsa with giant corn chips (£3.50). Incredibly moreish nachos and a zingy guacamole (what else?) meant we had to be restrained before embarking on the main event; tacos.
Soft corn tacos are what Habanera is all about and the list is as long as it is diverse. (I must caveat the following by saying you get three tacos per dish. Yhey are small and Lorraine insisted we try more; we weren’t aiming to eat this much.)
First up was Yuzu Ahi (£7.50), crammed with succulent fat chunks of Ahi tuna and strips of yuzu, an East Asian citrus fruit. Carnitas (£5.50) were a rich and incredibly flavoursome collision of pulled pork, pineapple and lime and Carne Asada (£5.50) is steak, avocado and salsa, which was well seasoned and meaty, though lacking that special something.
Lorraine then decided we needed more and ordered succulent slips of duck (£6.95) in a tamarind salsa nestled in a soft corn tortilla. It was incredible, if not very authentic. Last up (mercifully) was cactus and poblano (£5.50), which sounds more exciting than it is but provided some needed veggie respite among all that meat. The tacos were all served alongside crispy, salty sweet potato fries (£3.50).
With the plates and taco-paraphernalia cleared, a space opened for tequila master Tristan to arrive with six bottles of eye-wateringly strong tequilas and mescals, shot glasses and a vivid mental tour of Central America. We sipped, quaffed and generally spoke nonsense for half an hour but, as far as the Mexican experience goes, it is a vital part of the meal.
Mid-way through our alcoholic voyage we were served hitherto-forgotten pudding in the form of Impossible Cake, a chocolate and crème caramel riot, and Key lime pie. Both were £6 and evidently handmade. The pie was light, creamy and citrusy while the Impossible Cake was very good but so rich it offered to pick up the bill. After another couple of Tristan’s tales and one last mescal, we found the resolve to leave.
Gracias Habenera – it was a genuine pleasure.
