EL PATRON, FULHAM

Tequila and Mexican food make me happy! It's not even that they remind me of Mexico, where I actually never ate a pulled pork burrito nor any of the Mexican food I've found in London restaurants, it's just that I love the flavours of London's version of Mexican food as well as the whole ethos of the street food style it's served in. And as for tequila, I don't think I need to explain that one. So I was curious to find out more about the newest Mexican restaurant bar to arrive in London, El Patron in Fulham. I was invited to the press opening last week to try out some of the tequila cocktails and Mexican food they'll be serving there. Press events are always lots of fun, but you never quite get a true sense of how the restaurant will be day to day so I'm definitely going to be going back to El Patron soon to check it out on a "normal" night! And for more of the Mexican food and cocktails.

El Patron have over 60 different types of tequila behind their bar, and were serving 3 cocktails on the night - a margarita slushy, straight from a slushy machine; the Poncho, made from arête blanco, coconut kalani liqueur, lime, egg white and peach and orange bitters; and my favourite of the evening, the Scorpion, made with AquaRiva Blanco, Stone's ginger wine, lime, chipotle, Falemum liqueur, ginger beer and bitters - a spicy, strong, long drink served in a jam jar.

Food on the night was little snack versions of the full menu that El Patron will be serving. They've got a Mexican chef running the kitchen and we nibbled on pots of spicy guacamole, tomatillo salsa - which was absolutely delicious, mini tacos and quesadillas. My photos of the food are awful so I'm not including them here - dark and crowded meant it was difficult to really get any good shots, and in fact, the 2 photos above, and the photos below, were kindly sent to me by the PR company. The full food menu, which is served every evening except Sundays (when they're closed) includes burritos, quesadillas, tacos, salads, steak and pots of all their delicious dips.

El Patron is a really fun venue. There's bars upstairs and downstairs, and tables in both areas if you're there for food. They also have live music at the weekends in the downstairs area, so do check it out if you're after amazing Mexican cocktails, food and a good night out.