Glass experiences a night of chilli-mango margaritas and female wrestlers at Queen of Hoxton’s Lex Mexicanas

IT seems that there is no better place to get away from London than London.

From Little Venice in Notting Hill to China Town in Soho, London is full of hidden gems that don’t really feel like London. But, if you want to escape the city for only a night, Queen of Hoxton in Shoreditch has transformed it’s rooftop into Les Mexicanas for the summer, a Mexican themed bar complete with colourful decor, tequila, and costumed female wrestlers ready to take on any competitor.

Staircase to Les Mexicanas, Queen of Hoxton

Giant frozen Margarita, Les Mexicanas, Queen of Hoxton

While I had never been to the rooftop bar at Queen of Hoxton previous to its opening night, I have had the pleasure to attend its weekly wednesday Drag Bingo, so I was familiar with the bar. Chilled out, colourful, and trendy, the bar is incredibly Shoreditch-esque, standing out as one of the few places in the area with a rooftop bar. And with Paola Feregrino-Rodriquez, proud dual Mexican and Londoner, as the rooftop’s cultural curator this year, there has been a variety of day and night events planned for summer, including Trump piñata-making and a feminist embroidery workshop.

The decor of the bar is coloured with its Mexican-inspiration, fitted with strings of fairy lights, flags, and wall-murals of Lucha Libre, the term for Mexican wrestling. It comes through on the small details, like its wrestling posters plastered on the wall and fake fitted grass. Even on a slightly-chilly early May night you could feel the place is all about summer, and the energy was incredible. Bustling with people, almost all of whom had one of their bespoke tacos or one of their even more bespoke margaritas, an exciting mix of chilli, iced mango juice, and tequila. Intensely refreshing, this has to be my drink of choice, although they do offer other cocktails including a Watermelon Paloma, Mezcal Cantarito, and Cuba Libre. As well as a selection of wines and beers, of course.

Mango-chilli margarita, Les Mexicanas, Queen of Hoxton

Pulled chicken tacos and vegan chayote taco, and nachos with dips, Les Mexicanas, Queen of Hoxton

The tacos turned out to be equally impressive. I tried out the pulled chicken tacos, and my friend chose the vegan chayote and spicy squash taco, both which come in a soft blue corn tortilla. While I may be bias, because tacos are one of my favourite foods, they were delicious, with the added bonus of getting to watch the chefs put it together right in front of you. The perfect accompaniment to an Estrella, to me there is no debate that tacos are the best bar food. My friend happily ate her vegan option, packed with squash, blistered tomatoes, avocado, and pink pickled onions, and while I didn’t get a chance to sample any, she assured me they were very tasty.

Les Mexicanas, Queen of Hoxton

Wrestlers, Les Mexicanas, Queen of Hoxton

The bar also comes with its own personal wrestling ring, along with female wrestlers ready to take on any challenger. I was much too frightened to arm wrestle with someone trained in combat, but it did provide fabulous in-house entertainment for the night.

Overall, at Les Mexicanas I had a lot of laughs, as many tacos as I could handle, and a few too many drinks. A bar curated perfectly for spending time with friends, day or night, it’s a place you’ll want to come back again and again throughout summer.

by Emma Hart