News / Restaurants
Restaurant inspired by mezcal bars of Mexico opening soon
A husband and wife duo behind Bravas, Gambas and Cargo Cantina are opening a new mezcal-fuelled Mexican restaurant in Bristol.
Inspired by their visit to the La Condesa borough of Mexico City on their honeymoon, Kieran and Imogen Waite are planning to bring the essence of the city’s mezcal bars to their new site on Whiteladies Road.
For Kieran and Imo, the team behind Season + Taste, Condesa will complement their Mexican bar Cargo Cantina. While the Wapping Wharf site is a “bar that does good food”, Condesa will elevate the menu in the setting of a restaurant.
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The pair originally owned Masa + Mezcal, a Mexican restaurant in Stokes Croft, but closed the site in 2021.
Work is already underway at Condesa, a site formerly taken up by Burger Joint, and which sits next to the recently opened Pazzo, the latest Italian iteration from the Bianchis group, and a Latin American cocktail bar and restaurant, Batida.
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Sanded walls, cosy banquette seating, an open kitchen, wine-cellar tunnels, and even a tortilla machine will bring the authentic feel of the intimate mezcal bars of Mexico to Bristol.
Head chef Sean Martin and manager Belle Garland will move over to the site from Cargo Cantina, after visiting Mexico with Imo and Kieran in 2022 when they were just beginning to think about the new restaurant.
The menu is still being refined, but marketing manager Kit describes the inspiration as “a combination of honouring traditional food, with a contemporary twist to build something timeless”.
Keiran, Imo and Sean are also inspired by the Milpa system, a traditional Mayan agricultural system which dates back centuries but still exists today in modern day Mexico.
Crops are composed of the “three sisters”, squash, corn and beans, forming a farming ethos where food is grown and produced in harmony.
It is hoped the Whiteladies site, opening in mid-March, will bring the same sense of community as Bravas, a stone’s throw away on Cotham Hill, a restaurant that has become the epicentre of Cotham Hill Street Party and a thriving dining spot for the local community.
Main photo: Condesa Instagram
Read next:
- Pazzo, Whiteladies Road: ‘It’s hard not to go crazy for Pazzo’ – restaurant review
- Cantonese and dim sum restaurant opening in Bristol city centre
- Experienced restaurant team to cater to four Bristol nurseries
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