Ella Canta

Authentic Mexican restaurant on Park Lane in London, with signature dishes crafted by renowned Mexican Chef Martha Ortiz. 

Authentic Modern Mexican Restaurant London - Ella Canta

http://www.ellacanta.com

Ella Canta Restaurant | InterContinental London Park Lane

Internationally-acclaimed Chef Martha Ortiz has brought her celebrated Mexican gastronomy to London in a new restaurant located at InterContinental London Park Lane.

Martha Ortiz, Chef Patron of Mexico City’s award-winning Dulce Patria, heralded as one of Latin America’s most exciting restaurants, states ‘we will deliver the beauty, vibrancy, and spirit of Mexico to London in a total experience of the senses.’

Martha’s philosophy has been brought to life by David Collins Studio, the global interior architecture practice led by Creative Director Simon Rawlings.

The restaurant features references to Mexican design and culture.

Critic Giles Coren Claims Ella Canta Is the Worst Restaurant He's ...

So Dent’s increasing interest in vegan fare is welcome in a couple of senses: it opens up the universe of possible subjects for a review much more widely, and it means proper critical scrutiny is being given to something that is increasingly looking less like a fad and more like a whole new paradigm.

More critical differences of opinion over on Berners Street — and more than a suspicion of someone trying to move onto this column’s turf — as Jay Rayner kicks back against people preaching that “the best Thai food is sold for buttons from street stalls” and hating on Greyhound Café for its fusion-heavy menu “because they think it will make them sound worldly and clever” — people, in other words, like Katie Glass, who fell into precisely this trap in her ES Magazine review.

Valid questions about the (ir)relevance of authenticity aside, Rayner also seems a bit more taken with how well the kitchen actually goes about executing some of this stuff: herb garden and vegetable broth is “powerful and soothing,” there’s a “generous” hand with portion sizing, and — most importantly of all in this age of one-and-done sensations — there are plenty of things “to come back for,” not least the Happy Toast, enriched with salted caramel and condensed milk, the sort of gut-bomb Elvis might have rustled up for himself during his last years.

And if the main courses “don’t quite come off” in comparison (“weaselly,” “wooly” chicken; “medicinal” Nilgiri jheenga curry, breads that “lack airy buoyancy,”) they’re the exception that prove the rule: generally, the “vivid, exhilarating spicing” on show is enough to leave even a palate as exacting as O’Loughlin’s utterly Street-Porter Does Argentine Food’ resides in the very upper echelons of terrible Alan Partridge TV pitches, and the average reader coming to opening sentence of her review of Chimichurris (“In politically correct Britain, writers tackle some subjects at their peril”) may be tempted, in the interests of self-care, to sack the whole thing off as a bad job, like de-friending that childhood acquaintance who now posts Britain First videos on Facebook under the comment “Interesting…” But this is hardly a car crash, even if some of the descriptions will not have the Maschlers and O’Loughlins of this world looking nervously over their shoulders (paprika makes things taste “really earthy”, apparently), and some of the comments might strike some readers as a little on the questionable side (“I took two gay friends who love eating meat and have no special dietary requirements — these days, they are thin on the ground in inner London.”)

Completists will doubtless remember its restaurant, The Garden Café, from the very first Week in Reviews, where its riff on Modern British cuisine was the recipient of fulsome praise from Jay Rayner, with only a couple of quibbles about the logistics taking it down from a total rave.

Ella Canta review – hotel restaurant brings modern Mexico to ...

More satisfying were the pair of sauces on the side – a treacly sweet and tangy fruit relish on the one hand and a nutty sweet and moreish sauce on the other.

Ella Canta’s version of tamales was a suitably soft and nutty parcel of cornmeal that came stuffed and topped with tender and reasonably earthy sinews of lamb.

The accompaniments largely made up for this though – the tart and nutty mole accentuated the unctuousness of the duck fat, while the sweet and starchy plantain puree neatly offset the umami rice.

They would’ve been entirely unsatisfactory but for the dark, bittersweet chocolate dipping sauce on the one hand and the tangy, mildly sweet dipping caramel on the other.

Although the accompanying chilli sauce was insipid, the crisp and refreshing garnish was welcome as were the reasonably nutty and soft tortillas even if they weren’t as good as they were the first time around.

Restaurant review: Ella Canta, Intercontinental Park Lane - Business ...

This is a new restaurant from Chef Martha Ortiz; well-known in Mexico for her restaurant Dulce Patria in Mexico City, though perhaps less so here.

The restaurant name is Spanish for ‘she sings’, and the intention is to “blend ancient cooking traditions with contemporary style”.

The new restaurant and bar is the second fine dining venue at the hotel which also has Theo Randall at the Intercontinental.

It is run by Ortiz as Chef Patron, working alongside executive chef of the Intercontinental London Park Lane, Ashley Wells, and head chef, Elias Silva Resinas.

Ella Canta - Restaurant Review by Very Kerri

Have I mentioned that I'm a bit of a Mexico fan?

As I write on the flight to Mexico City, I’m taking inspiration for this post from my awaiting destination; namely its Day of the Dead traditions.

The latest opening on the scene, Ella Canta, promises us something a bit more polished, which I'm not suggesting is always a good thing.

New Openings: Ella Canta

Behind the scenes: Welcome to the world of Martha Ortiz: celebrity chef, writer, feminist and all-round force of nature.

The unapologetically glamorous Top Chef Mexico judge’s six-year-old Mexico City restaurant, Dulce Patria, consistently ranks among Latin American best.

The concept: London’s Mexican restaurant scene may be on the up (the joyous Santo Remedio opened its doors this month too) but we still don’t know the half of it.

It’s a fiesta of cultural references that begins at the door with Frida Kahlo-channelling waitresses in floral headpieces and statement earrings, and ends over up-tempo tunes and theatrical after-hours cocktails in the raised-level bar.