Comida & downward dawgs

Believe it or not, I’ve never tried authentic Mexican food…at least not until this weekend. Despite my love for guac & salsa, my experience of Mexican food had merely extended to Chipotle and my laughable creations at home .  Over the weekend, I caught up with some cousins at Santo, a cozy Mexican restaurant and bar in Notting Hill.  We didn’t realize that tables over 6 had to go with the set menu option for £25 per head (excluding drinks).  Especially as I had read several reviews about their apparently small portions, this worked in our favor.  This is just one round of the food:

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Queso fundido, ceviche, carnitas, chile con carne, beer battered sea bass tacos, cazuela, to name a few…I think I got somewhat of a taste of real Mexican comida.  If you are more after presentation & elaborate decoration, you’d probably want to give this place a miss.  But if you want fresh & flavorful food and a buzzing atmosphere, I’d recommend Santo in a heartbeat.

Aside from being immersed in a major food coma on Sunday, I woke up with an itch to do yoga.  A couple of friends have been raving about Triyoga Studio in Primrose Hill, so I decided to finally check out a 90-minute vinyasa yoga class.

triyoga

With an organic café & in-house shop, the studio itself was awesome.  I didn’t love the class as it was a bit too repetitive, but I am going to try out some other classes this week.  What can I say- my yoga classes in Mumbai have raised the bar ;).  Workout aside, I scored a pretty sweet deal: £20 for 2 weeks unlimited, first-timers only (otherwise each class is £16).  I’ll definitely be making use of this pass at least once more so I can get my money’s worth.  After all, who doesn’t like a good workout bargain?

What cuisine are you yet to try?

What workout(s) did you do this weekend?

45 thoughts on “Comida & downward dawgs”

  1. I still need to try yoga at a studio. Wish I stayed in a more developes city.
    The food looks too good.
    I havent tried out loads of cusines but I would like to eat at a Mexican place like the above.
    take care.
    ♥Z

  2. What an epic looking mexican feast there- I think you can confidently say you have experienced a true mexican dining experience! Were you a fan of Cerviche? Fresh Cerviche = Heaven!

    A cuisine I am keen to try is Ethiopian. A friend tried it recently and was amazed at the flavours and also the lack of cutlery- they were given huge flat breads to scoop up to stews and curries.

  3. That yoga bargain sounds amazing! I still haven’t tried Yoga, but this week I’m checking out an aerobics class my friend swears by, and also doing fat-burning yoga! Next week I want to do Zumba, and also I think I saw on your blog you tried a spin class in Bombay – where is that? I’m having spinning withdrawals 🙂 And I think my body needs some challenging right now, so that I lose the last few pounds before I head to NYC.

    I’ve thankfully tried a lot of cuisines since my family is very adventurous – Ethiopian, Spanish, French, all kinds of Asian, Indian obviously, and I ADORE Mexican so I hope your experience was fabulous! I do want to taste African cuisine though – never been to North or South Africa so that would be exciting!

    1. Try the yoga classes at Well & Trim in the morning/early afternoon- the instructor at that time is much better! I tried spinning at Top Spin on Napeansea Road- they do a trial free class so definitely give it a shot!

  4. Now that is a pretty amazing looking feast! Holy.wow… I’m ashamed to admit that despite my intense love for [what I call] Mexican food, I’ve yet to try any authentic restaurants myself 🙁 Chipotle is pretty much the extent of my Mexican experience, but based on that and my own personal experiments, I say that Mexican is one of my favorite cuisines. Am I allowed to do that? No matter… it’s freaking delicious 😉 I honestly probably do need to get a little more adventurous with eating out, but allergies make it kind of a pain in the butt, so I tend to find a place I feel comfortable/safe with, and eat there repeatedly.

    Hope your week is off to a great start, love!

  5. Yay for trying real Mexican food for the first time! That spread looks amazing, I’d be all over that! We really need more Mexican restaurants in these parts, I love them but don’t get the chance to go too often.
    I’ve never tried Ethiopian food, which I’m really curious about!

    1. Same here- I should look out for an Ethiopian restaurant while I’m in London…I doubt I’d find one in Mumbai!

  6. Henna Hemnani

    In response to ‘what workout(s) did you do this weekend?’, I did my first ever 10km run thanks to your support 🙂 you should be a nutritionist AND running coach!

  7. SO glad you finally got to try authentic Mexican! So amazing right! The first time I tried it, it was amazing.
    Too bad about the yoga class, I guess some are just hits and misses like that but at least you can try out another class. The studio does sound amazing!

  8. Yum! I haven’t actually been able to find great Mexican food in London yet. I’ve been to a couple of places but nothing is as good as what we had in Sydney, funnily enough.

    PS. I’m texting you tonight after I find out my training schedule for the week! Rob and I went to Patty and Bun yesterday pre-Pinkberry, but their grill had broken down so now I’m desperately craving a good burger!

  9. Real, authentic Mexican food is so hard to find where I live. I need to go back to California for vacation; the best Mexican restaurant I’ve ever been to is out there!

    I love vinyasa yoga but I don’t go too often, only because I have a gym membership as it is and don’t want to pay for a yoga studio on top of that. I love when yoga deals pop up online, though!

  10. We had Mexican this weekend too! And I totally understand about the food coma – like we couldn’t eat dinner on Saturday night we were that full kind of food coma! Glad you were able to enjoy the glory and cheesy goodness that is Mexican comida! YUM!

    1. It’s one of those food comas that you don’t even mind enduring because the food tasted so good at the time 🙂

  11. cant think of what I haven’t tried – any cuisine that offers vegetarian options, I think I’ve tried atleast once. Maybe eastern european – but they do so much meat, I cant think of anything but cabbage salad I might eat there 🙂
    Please dont ask about workouts – because there werent any and thats so bad!!!

    1. Haha if cabbage salad is one of the few veggie options, you’re probably better off not trying Eastern European 😉

  12. I feel like “authentic” Mexican food is almost an oxymoron (I know you love that word 😉 around here. I really do love good Mexican food, though! I went to a latin fusion place this weekend and got some seriously delish fish tacos. Happy monday!

  13. Oh that Mexican place looks wonderful! It’s probably more traditional than any Mexican place I’ve ever eaten too 😉
    I really want to try traditional Spanish food! I’ve had paella and some other similar dishes I’ve made at home, but I really want to try the whole “tapas” thing.
    I hope you can find some good classes at that studio! It sounds lovely 🙂

  14. oh that mexican restaurant looks like a blast! the food looks yummy too 🙂 I’m trying to think what type of food I have yet to try and nothing is coming to mind… i just scrolled up to see some of the other comments, and I suppose i’ve never had real Korean food either, i would love to try that.

  15. I love Mexican food…but in LA we get some really, really good Mexican food.

    Will definitely note Santo for next time. That seems like a whole lot of food! How many rounds were there? 🙂

    1. Haha if memory serves right, there were 4…and we actually refused dessert because none of us had any room left 🙂

  16. That is a great deal on the yoga classes. Nice find. I can’t wait to see what other classes you try. I tried hot yoga a few months ago and really enjoyed it. I also love Mexican food, although the place we go to is a complete whole in the wall. It’s authentic though and it’s amazing. I wouldn’t trade it for anything.

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