La Bodega Negra

One of my favorite “cuisines” in the world is mexican but good an authentic mexican restaurants are hard to find in Luxembourg and even the greater region. There are a couple of acceptable places but often they are a bit too expensive for my taste and often require a reservation as they are popular with groups of friends to grab a bite to eat and drink a couple of margaritas before a night out. To be honest, I oftentimes prefer to make my own guacamole, salsa quesadillas at home than having to buy expensive mediocre interpretations of these dishes that don’t do them justice. This is also the reason that everytime I visit a more “metropolitan” city I make sure to check out their local mexican restaurants.

One of my favorite places I have found is La Bodega Negra in Soho in London. It is one of the best and most unique restaurant experiences I have ever had. Actually, la Bodega Negra has two locations in London: their restaurant and a Café, which is right around the corner. Both serve a similar menu of mexican street and beach food, however, it is important to note that in the restaurant entry is only allowed when you are over 18. So, should you want to visit the La Bodega Negra with your family, I advise you to make a reservation at the Café. Reservations are absolutely required at this place and can conveniently be made with their online booking tool.

I knew what I was getting into before visiting the place as I had read comments and reviews online. I didn´t however tell my partner. The restaurant is located at the Old Compton Street, a busy Soho street with pubs and other restaurants and many tourists. We wanted to grab a beer nearby before going to dinner and wanted to do a walk-buy to see where the place was before grabbing a drink. Right in between all the pubs, shops and restaurants you can find what looks like a strip club or sex shop, advertised by large neon signs. Only the number 9, painted in red above the door gives away that you are actually at the correct address.

Though La Bodega Negra is quite well known by now it is still kinda fun to go in and getting weird looks, mostly by tourists. My boyfriend was a bit apprehensive why we would go into such an establishment to have dinner. I hope I did not spoil the surprise for you but you can always have a bit of a laugh by not telling your friends or partner. When you enter the place you should be greeted by the receptionist who inquires after you reservation and takes your coat. You can then proceed to descend into the somber but cozy basement where you will be seated by a member of staff. As it is a basement you might wanna bring something to keep you warm in case you get cold easily. Please note that often the table is only booked for you for a limited amount of time.

They have quite an extensive cocktails menu and I advise you to be open and adventurous and try some of their more unique creations, their barkeepers really know their craft. And of course, their margaritas are great.Please note that the dishes and drinks are on the pricier side and in order to fully experience the food and beverages I would advise you to foresee a bit more budget for this night out as it would be a shame if you would restrict yourself. As to beer and wine I can unfortunately not report back as we stuck to cocktails and tap water during our visits. Well, and of course tequila, their tequila menu is impressive and you should at least get one shot...see it as a nightcap.

Service has always been very swift and friendly. They function under the premise that if something you order is ready it will directly be brought to your table. Keep that in mind and feel free to order in “rounds” as it can happen that you have all your appetizers and mains on the table at the same time. This can lead to a quite hasty eating experience, which happened to us on our second visit and we finished all of our food quite fast and left us wishing we could have had more time to enjoy each and every dish more.

Nowadays, often customer care is lacking in many restaurants, however, we were extremely pleasantly surprised at La Bodega Negra. As I already mentioned, servers were very friendly and attentive but during a busy night our second round of cocktails was forgotten. After inquiring after them, the server apologized for the inconvenience, swiftly put in the order and told us that the cocktails were on the house. In addition, we were each given a shot of tequila. Straight up great customer care.

Their menu changes regularly with some recurring favorites. They have meat, fish/seafood as well as vegetarian options available. The dishes I would like to highlight at this time are their queso quesadilla, which is served open-faced instead of folded; their whole soft shell crab tacos as well as their churros, served warm and rolled in cinnamon with molten chocolate and dulce de leche as dipping sauces.

On our first visit, my boyfriend chose the soft shell crab tacos on a whim...an we were amazed! It was my first time having crab an it was amazing experience, crunchy and sweet. The second time around they had tweaked the recipe a bit, making them blackened soft shell crab tacos. They were still great, and I urge you to absolutely go for them when visiting, however, we prefer the original version. The waiter told us that the original recipe is still be served at the Café.

An honorable mention goes of course to their guacamole, freshly made with amazing totopos chips, it’s a must when visiting a mexican restaurant. For me, a fresh and tasty guacamole is a sign of a great mexican restaurant.

After finishing our dinner with the mandatory tequila shot the bills usually comes up around to 120 British Pounds, about 134 Euros for 2 rounds of cocktails, water, appetizers, 2-3 mains per person, a shared desert and the tequila shots. Pricey, yes, but absolutely worth a visit and a great spot for a date night. I can absolutely recommend and look already forward to the next visit.

Tipp: right down the street from La Bodega Negra is a small pub called The Three Greyhounds, we usually come here before or/and having dinner at the restaurant. There are not many places to sit down but you can enjoy a drink inside or outside should you get there a bit early; they have a great beer/ale selection and pour a good pint of Guinness and you can do some people watching in the busy street.