Santo W10

A North Kensington Mexican, just north of the Westway, with good food and notably friendly service; it’s a useful spot – open all day at weekends – but the kitchen can sometimes be irritatingly slow.

We’re all so accustomed to the idea that Mexican food is just some sort of ‘filler’ that the standards of this Portobello newcomer come as a pleasant surprise.

We went for a weekend lunch en famille. The menu was pretty standard – albeit spiced up with a few specials of the day – but the dishes were consistently fresh-tasting and interesting. They included some no-compromises fare for the adults, and a sensible range of miniature – and less spicy – dishes for the children.

In fact, in its unpretentious way, this was a true something-for-all-the-family destination, with the sole caveat that service – though very friendly – was slow, even by adult standards (and that in a restaurant that wasn’t especially busy).

We didn’t sample the evening fare. The menu, however, included enough ingredients we’d never even heard of before that we were sorry not to have the opportunity to check it out.