The Carpet Shop in Peckham is not really a carpet shop. It’s a nightclub.
That’s also a Mexican restaurant.
Because before transforming, Batman-like, into one of South London’s most popular dance spots, The Carpet Shop’s daytime persona is Taquiza: a rough-around-the-edges but absolutely dynamite new Mexican eatery.
Sitting under the railway arches down a graffiti’d alleyway off Rye Lane, Taquiza has everything you could need for a laid-back summer’s evening. There are tables spread out over the cobbles outside. There are picante margaritas sporting a thick, powerful collar of chilli salt. And on Wednesdays, there’s a free beer to go with every pair of tacos your order.
Speaking of which: London has developed a bit of a thing recently for serving you tiny pairs of tacos for over a tenner, but at Taquiza the portions feel as bountiful as any coast-line taco shack. The tuna tostada is a generously heaped mountain dressed with mouth-puckering pickles and avocado salsa. The king prawn tacos envelop enormous, juicy prawns coated in crisp batter, and the vegan-friendly enoki mushroom taco overflows with both spice and sheer quantity. There’s a generosity to proceedings that is sometimes crushingly hard to find in London’s restaurant scene, and although you’ll want to order more than two when reading the menu, they’ll be more than filling enough.
After all, you’ll also want to get the totopos, which come with a quartet of tongue-tingling salsas; the refried black beans with an unctuous dollop of smoked queso fundido; and the creamy, mezcal-laced lime flan with roasted pineapple to finish. But if you do end up overdoing it?
We hear there’s a great place you can dance it off.
NOTE: Taquiza is open for dinner Wed-Sat (6-10pm), plus lunch on Saturdays (12-4pm). You can find out more on Taquiza’s instagram, or make a booking here.
Taquiza | Arch 164, 115 Rye Lane, London, SE15 4ST
Making a night of it? Head to one of Peckham’s best bars