Mexican inspired restaurant Mirtala opens on Turnham Green Terrace

Benaisha Daruwalla and Rishad Mehta

Couple from Ealing open their first restaurant

Mirtala, the new Mexican inspired restaurant on Turnham Green Terrace, is about to open its doors.

The Chiswick Calendar first reported that Benaisha Mehta and her husband Rishad, from Acton, had taken over the lease of the former Sam’s Kitchen premises at 59-61 Turnham Green Terrace at the beginning of May.

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There have been signs of work going on, a new facade painted, new kitchen equipment installed, for the past six weeks and now they are ready to open.

They are holding an opening invite-only dinner on Wednesday 1 July and are now ready to accept reservations. Benaisha Rishad are offering holders of a Chiswick Calendar Club Card a free glass of wine with their meal. Just say you are a Club Card member when booking.

The food is Northern Mexican inspired, “but not Tex-Mex” says Benaisha. The menu will be based on the regional cuisine of Monterrey, in the northeastern state of Nuevo León.

Their signature dish will be is a 16-hour British Wagyu Barbacoa, ‘which we slow-cook in bespoke, handmade limestone pots.

‘We serve this family-style alongside Sonoran-style flour tortillas, house-made pickles, and fiery homemade salsas’.

The bar will feature Mexican twists on classic cocktails, for example the house martini is made with mezcal and a pickled ’nanche’ (a small yellow fruit from Mexico) instead of the classic olive, and the house Old Fashioned is made with Abasolo Mexican corn whiskey, complemented by some homemade hibiscus Aqua Fresca and Horchata.

From Thursday 2 July – Sunday 12 July they will be running a special set menu for our soft launch period. Vegetarian options are available.

“We have wanted to do this for ages”, Benaisha told The Chiswick Calendar.

They have run supper clubs at the Post Room in Chiswick to try out sample menus, but this is the first time they have served food in their own place.

Rashid grew up in Mumbai, where his family runs a food business, so the obvious question is why Mexican food not Indian?

There is a sweet story attached to that, which started with one woman complimenting another on what she was wearing.

Rishad’s grandmother met a Mexican woman on a long haul flight, they got chatting, kept in contact and became friends. Both were great hosts. They became best friends and their families became friends as they visited each other.

Rashid’s family were importers, bringing in the best foods from around the world – obscure Italian cheeses for example – so he grew up with a very wide experience of different foods.

They visited his grandmother’s friend Mirtala in Mexico and he came to love the cuisine of Monterrey, which he says is very different to the Mexican food we have come to know in the UK.

Every firstborn female in a new generation of Mirtala’s family is named after her, and now so is Benaisha and Rishad’s first restaurant.

Examples of the menu include:

Summer Guacamole – Toasted avocado leaves, corn tostadas
Aguachile de Callo – Hand-dived Orkney Scallops, chiltepin chile
Brochetas al Pastor – Ironage pork skewers, habenero & pineapple salsa
Pollo con Masa – Fried chicken, habenero cream, pickled cascabel
Mirtala Barbacoa – British-Wagyu, slow roasted with 16 herbs and spices
Sides – Sonoran tortillas, eight 8 hour pinto beans, pickle plate, Mexican rice

See the full menu here – Mirtala Menu

Book here – Mirtala reservations