TA-KO

Dalston and Stoke Newington have quietly become home to some of London’s best tacos - this little stretch of Kingsland Road and beyond houses two excellent taco slingers in Sonora Taqueria and Corrochios. But perhaps most quietly of all is a restaurant doing things a little differently; TA-KO is the souped-up, recently renovated new face of what was Victory Mansion, banging out ‘Asian-inspired tacos’ and a seriously good cocktail programme.

Sure, Asian-inspired tacos is the sort of tagline that fills us with mild foreboding, but keep reading, because TA-KO is the rare little restaurant that pulls the rabbit out of the fusion hat. At about £5 a pop, the eponymous ‘TA-KOs’ (there are appetisers but we’ll come back to those) are great value, stuffed to the gunnels and gently messy, as good tacos should be. There’s a cracking nahm jim chicken with pickled carrot and daikon, and a tongue-pricking kampot pepper mayo. We love the simplicity of charred sprouting broccoli - still left with plenty of bite - wrapped up in a corn tortilla with a chilli egg relish. Frankly, everything is brilliant, whether it’s a fruity red pepper pork with kimchi and mango salsa, or torched seabass and mandarin sambal.

Someone in the back clearly has a good palate, as much of the TA-KO menu is beautifully balanced; where some restaurants are happy to whack you around the face with flavour, TA-KO prefers a nuanced approach. A ceviche tostada is the pick of the appetisers for us, cleverly elevating seabass ceviche with little hits of wasabi mayo and pickled watermelon. Sides like the cucumber salad with coconut tahini dressing are good too, though on a repeat visit we’d happily lose them in favour of more taco (TA-KO) space.

We have to mention TA-KO’s excellent cocktail menu too, which ranges from classics to more innovative twists. We can highly recommend the pickled jalapeno - a neat twist on a Margarita that adds pickled red jalapeno agave and chilli salt. If TA-KO was somewhere a little more accessible, we reckon it’d be far, far better known - in the meantime, we’re quite happy for it to remain one of our favourite hidden gems.

From the team behind the popular Victory Mansion comes TA-KO a new restaurant on Stoke Newington high street serving up Mexican Asian fusion tacos. Asian flavours and ingredients are served within soft corn tortillas alongside an outstanding cocktail menu.

This relaxed and casual dining concept takes its place in a charming and intimate setting. The interiors balance comfort and chic design with rattan furniture and bench seating as well as stylish green wallpaper and colour palette. Their outdoor terrace makes it the perfect location for a relaxed bite and drink in the sunnier and warmer months. They also have capacity for private events with a downstairs kitchen table area that provides an intimate atmosphere for celebrations and special occasions.

The menu at TA-KO first offers guest inventive appetizers like spicy shitake mushrooms and crispy rice and ceviche tostadas. As suggested by its namesake the main event is the tacos. Two to three tacos per person are filled with tantalizing combinations like blackened river trout and smoker aubergine, pork and kimchi and fermented leeks with Manchego. These are served alongside a stellar offering of sides; you can’t miss out on their infamous ‘MSG’ fries flavoured with nori and salt and vinegar powder. There are several vegetarian options on the menu which can be made vegan upon request. It is also worth mentioning that the whole menu is prepared without gluten.

The cocktails also take center stage here with an extensive offering of inventive and creative drinks. The menu helpfully guides guests through the selection on offer by pointing out which classic cocktails they are most similar too, for instance there are four inspired by the negroni. There are also specialty non-alcoholic mocktails on offer as well as a curated selection of beers. The wine list is concise and curated with sparkling and orange wines on offer.