Miami’s Elite Cult Taco Spot Arrives in St James’ Park
When street food transitions from cult Miami status to a highly anticipated London residency, the standard playbook involves a fair amount of fanfare.
A standard corporate launch was never going to work for a brand known as a late-night haunt for the global elite. Instead, the opening brought the raw, high-energy culture of Miami straight to London.
This week, Coyo Taco, the Wynwood-born phenomenon widely recognised as a discreet favourite of the Beckham family, officially unveiled its flagship UK location. The brand chose the striking architecture of The Broadway in St James Park to establish its permanent central London home.
Courtesy Coyo
Opening Party
The atmosphere inside the new Orchard Place venue leans heavily into the raw, sensory energy of the brand’s original Florida roots.
At the back of the space, a secret door reveals Bar Coyo, a late-night speakeasy concept complete with personal tequila lockers for regulars and a DJ booth built directly into the bar structure, a layout that mirrors the deep connection to underground music that defined the brand when founders Alan Drummond, Sven Vogtland, and chef Scott Linquist launched it a decade ago.
At the centre of the main room, the focus remains entirely on the theatre of the open kitchen. Operating under a strict todo es fresco philosophy, the culinary team hand presses heirloom corn tortillas to order.
Courtesy Coyo
Birria, beats, and margaritas
The standout of the opening menu is the signature Beef Birria, where the fresh discs of dough are dipped directly into a rich, slow cooked broth, loaded with tender shredded beef, sharp white onion, and fresh coriander, and then finished with a brittle, deeply savory melted cheese crust.
For the vegetarian offering, the kitchen presents grilled cauliflower tossed in a deeply complex, glossy pumpkin seed mole. Served inside a cheese-crusted flour tortilla, the dish is balanced with the sharp saltiness of aged cotija cheese, bright pickled onions, and a rich layer of fresh avocado.
Courtesy Coyo
The ultimate transatlantic culinary cult
To complement the heat of the comal, the beverage program focuses heavily on artisanal mezcals and precise, clean frozen margaritas that arrive perfectly frapped and balanced against the citrus.
While the launch marks a significant moment for the St James culinary landscape, the underlying scale of the operation is considerably more ambitious.
Led by Kuvi Hospitality chief executive Shereen Ritchie, this sleek flagship is the first step in a major transatlantic expansion, with plans to introduce up to fifty subsequent locations across the UK.
For its opening week, however, the focus was kept remarkably intimate and centred entirely on the simple luxury of a perfectly executed taco.
You can see more about the new Coyo Taco venue here.
Courtesy Coyo
