A Standout in London Michelin-Starred Restaurants

To say that Santiago Lastra is a chef is like describing Mozart as a pianist. Part cook, part mad scientist and part cultural ambassador, Lastra learned at a young age that cooking goes hand in hand with research, and that science, technology and history are as much a part of what’s on the plate as the ingredients. And that’s why KOL, his Michelin-starred restaurant in London, is far more than a Mexican restaurant. It’s a laboratory where flavors, textures, colors and ideas merge to create something truly unique.

Here, Lastra and his team work closely with a curated group of British farmers, foragers and producers from all corners of the British Isles to meticulously source everything that graces the plate and the glass at KOL. From a cheesemaker in Essex who makes Oaxaca-style cheeses to sourcing the best Scottish seafood, collaborating with Flourish Produce to coordinate crop cycles in line with the restaurant, and exploring milpa farming techniques in Britain, Lastra is creating a community and a movement while he shares his rich Mexican heritage.

“We strive to work directly with producers as much as possible,” says Lastra. “Traceability is crucial because we are passionate about our ingredients. If you don’t know where your ingredients come from, you cannot go beyond and do something special. That is what makes the difference.”

“Producers also contribute to creating a great dish,” he adds. “It begins with the ingredients we use and the people who nurture and harvest them, being mindful of seasonality and the environment. This attention makes the food taste significantly better and allows for greater creativity. We communicate with producers and our suppliers almost daily to prepare and gradually develop dishes based on availability. It is all about collaboration.”

Who is Santiago Lastra?

Born in Mexico City and raised in nearby Cuernavaca, Lastra wanted to be a mathematician and was deeply attracted to research and problem-solving. His first attempt at cooking was the recreation of a crab dip recipe on the back of a packet of Ritz Crackers. At 15 years old he started working part-time in a local Italian restaurant, and after graduating from high school at 18, he moved to Spain to attend an internship at Michelin-starred Europa Restaurante.

By now, the link between science, research and cooking was clear to the budding chef. He returned to Mexico to study culinary arts before returning to Spain, where he worked for fifteen months at Mugaritz while completing a master’s degree in culinary innovation at the Basque Culinary Centre. With no intention of opening his own restaurant, the plan was to return to Mexico and open a research laboratory.

But then, Copenhagen came calling. He began a development course at the Nordic Food Lab in the University of Copenhagen, researching how to make tortillas using the local grains. The project evolved into a series of pop-up events, where he cooked Mexican-inspired recipes using ingredients from the countries in which he was hosted. This innovative endeavor attracted the attention of René Redzepi, who was planning to bring his acclaimed Noma restaurant to Mexico for a 7-week pop-up in Tulum, and thought Lastra was the right person to manage that project.

After spending months researching Mexican ingredients and cuisine for the Noma project, Lastra set his eye on the U.K. for his next big endeavor — to open his own restaurant applying the same idea as his experimental pop-ups, crafting dishes that honored his heritage but using only British ingredients. That means no limes, avocados, coconuts, pineapples or any ingredient which does not grow in Britain.

He spent a year traveling across the U.K. meeting producers, ranchers, fishermen and cheesemakers, understanding the flavors, the land and what it produced to find ingredients that approximated the flavors familiar with Mexican cuisine. He opened KOL in 2020, and by 2022, the restaurant was awarded its first Michelin Star, which it retains today. The food is prepared right in the middle of the restaurant in a tiny but efficient open kitchen. And the only items he imports directly from Mexico are corn, dried chiles and chocolate.

The Adventurous Menu at KOL

The menu at KOL is quite indescribable. You might read items like “Taco: Langoustine, smoked chilli, sea buckthorn,” or “Churro, Cornish crab dulce de leche, marigold,” and you will have absolutely no idea of what’s to come. Cornish crab dulce de leche? Yes, in a way. The KOL way. And it won’t look like anything else you’ve ever seen. Definitely not the sugar-coated fried pastry sold in the streets of Mexico.

On the day of my visit Lastra took me, mezcal and verjus margarita in hand, to the restaurant’s lower ground floor where stand-alone bar, KOL Mezcaleria, shares the space with the Chef’s Table, KOL’s private dining room. At the end of the long space is a small kitchen which doubles as a research space for Lastra and his team. He points to a blackboard with notes and drawings, explaining the thought process behind a dish in which he was working for the spring menu.

Then he shows me the work in progress, a rainbow skewer of vegetable stems and herbs – sea beet leaves, pennywort, and rhubarb – which they grill and place atop their interpretation of a nicuatole, a corn-based pudding which, at KOL, is flavored with meadowsweet for sweetness, and finished with a corn sauce and a spoonful of caviar. This spring-forward dish will, of course, disappear or change completely for the summer season, as will the restaurant’s whole menu.

“We draw inspiration from Mexican flavors; that is our starting point,” says Lastra. “Our main goal is to create dishes that are authentically Mexican, and for that, we need to understand how Mexican food genuinely tastes. With its rounded flavor notes, spices, herbs, spiciness, alkalinity, sweetness, sourness – they are very complex to use. It is also about using the memories and stories of childhood to showcase the various dishes from Mexico through a unique experience.”

The food is paired with a wine list that boasts 100% biodynamic and organic wine from Central and Eastern Europe, carefully chosen by Lastra and team. When I asked why no Mexican wines on the list, he was blunt: “I have not found one with the quality that I seek, but there are a few getting closer.”

Downstairs at KOL Mezcaleria: An Agave-Forward Cocktail Bar

As expected, KOL Mezcaleria specializes in mezcal and other premium Mexican spirits. Mirroring the kitchen’s philosophy, cocktails use agave-based spirits paired with seasonal British ingredients. While you’ll need months in advance to book a table at KOL, the mezcaleria is a bit more laid-back, and if you are lucky, you might be able to walk in if it’s early enough on a weekday. Plus, you can enjoy snacky foods that pair with the drinks. Think quesadillas made with Kentish Oaxaca-style cheese, truffles, and guajillo chile, or an empanada filled with wagyu shortrib, served with watercress salsa and pickled shallot.

“We adapted recipes to the local ingredients and seasonality of the United Kingdom. It’s almost like translating the flavors of Mexico into what can be created with ingredients found in the U.K.,” says Lastra. “We discovered ways to cook and dress these locally and seasonally grown ingredients to achieve a similar flavor experience to that of Mexican produce. We replicated this flavor experience in our own style, creating tasty and delicious dishes that have a story to tell.”

Last year, Lastra and his team reached another milestone by opening Fonda, a more casual yet equally interesting restaurant serving regional Mexican classics. While dishes like tacos, tetelas, ceviche and mole are recognizable, they are prepared with the same “British ingredients, Mexican soul” approach that has distinguished Lastra as an international culinary innovator, and a proud son of Mexico.