A new eatery has opened on the fringe of Borough Market, Southwark's most eclectic culinary hotspot. Folded inside a narrow railway arch, El Pastór offers a contemporary twist on a traditional taqueria, serving spicy tacos, quesadillas, tostadas and aguachiles from an open kitchen not much larger than a street food cart.
Acclaimed proprietors the Hart Brothers (of Barrafina fame) enlisted the help of Michaelis Boyd Associates to dress and shape the intimate space. They've kept things refreshingly raw and simple, so as to highlight the location's existing features - most prominently, the atmospheric curved ceiling.
Choice new additions from the designers include an emerald green conglomerate marble bar, repurposed stainless steel window frames, and a lighting design best described as a fiesta of fairylights.
Fiery small plates pile onto Pyrolave tabletops, of which the chargrilled stonebass and pineapple taco is a particular hit. To whit, a drinks menu boasts multiple mezcal choices. The smoother, smokier cousin of tequila is served in carafes and sipped from hardened pomegranate shells, sweetened by hefty wedges of blood orange.
The no-booking policy often sees a healthy line of customers snaking through the covered market outside, but with the promise of Mexican warmth and bottomless Mezcal ebbing from El Pastór's shutter-shopfront, who's complaining?
INFORMATION
ADDRESS
7A Stoney Street
-
Nina Runsdorf brings classic jewellery back to life to mark 20 yearsNew York-based jewellery designer Nina Runsdorf celebrates her eponymous brand’s anniversary with a new jewellery collection, ‘Archive’
-
Enter the world of Cave Bureau, and its architectural and geological explorationsNairobi practice Cave Bureau explores architecture’s role in the geological afterlives of colonialism, as part of a team exhibiting at the British pavilion at the Venice Architecture Biennale 2025
-
All-In is the Paris-based label making full-force fashion for main character dressingPart of our monthly Uprising series, Wallpaper* meets Benjamin Barron and Bror August Vestbø of All-In, the LVMH Prize-nominated label which bases its collections on a riotous cast of characters – real and imagined
-
One Club Row is London’s answer to the Lower East SideLocated at the site of the former hotspot Les Trois Garçons, One Club Row brings back noughties glamour with 19th-century interiors, gourmet bites, and jazz nights
-
Marylebone restaurant Nina turns up the volume on Italian diningAt Nina, don’t expect a view of the Amalfi Coast. Do expect pasta, leopard print and industrial chic
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Treehouse Hotel Manchester: you may not want to leafTreehouse Hotel Manchester offers a nature-infused biophilic sanctuary amidst the city’s ever-growing architectural canopy
-
Dining at Pyrá feels like a Mediterranean kiss on both cheeksDesigned by House of Dré, this Lonsdale Road addition dishes up an enticing fusion of Greek and Spanish cooking
-
London restaurant Tatar Bunar puts Ukrainian heritage front and centreFamily recipes and contemporary design merge at this new east London restaurant by Ukrainian restaurateurs Anna Andriienko and Alex Cooper
-
Corner Corner may be London's most unique entertainment destination yetThe newly-opened venue combines food, jazz and—yes—urban farming beneath one sprawling roof
-
For a taste of Greece, head to this playful new restaurant in London’s ChelseaPachamama Group’s latest venture, Bottarga, dishes up taverna flavours in an edgy bistro-style setting
-
A buzzy Korean pop-up becomes a permanent fixture in East LondonChef Joo Won has turned his Calong pop-up permanent in the arty enclave of Stoke Newington
