Oaxacan-inspired mezcal bar opens in London
Little Fires will serve up a range of artisanal mezcals as the spirit booms in the UK. And despite hospitality ventures facing a slew of economic challenges, the bar’s founders aren’t worried: “Some more generic concepts will die out, but that’s natural selection,” they tell Amelie Maurice-Jones.
A new late-night cocktail bar, pledging to have London’s “most exclusive agave menu,” has opened to the public today (Friday 25 July).
The trio behind Little Fires – Christian Pecoraro, Florian Schulze and Horacio Sainz – have teamed up with the Oaxaca-based bar Sabina Sabe, featured on the World’s 50 Best Bars list, to create a mezcal-forward cocktail programme.
“Our driving force is to have the most exclusive agave menu in London. So, we don’t focus much on volume, but on quality,” co-founder and director Pecoraro tells the drinks business. “We have more than 70 different agave spirits that also contain Tequila as well. But we would like to challenge anyone who thinks they have a better agave selection.”
We can’t say whether any London bars will rise to meet that challenge, but Meximodo restaurant in New Jersey might like to have a word. Last year, the eatery pledged to have the most extensive library of Tequila brands on the planet, with more than 1,000 different kinds of agave spirits on offer.
Still, Little Fires’ drinks list will feature plenty of contemporary riffs on classic agave-based serves.
The venue has also secured an exclusive UK partnership with Asunción Mezcal, offering a curated selection of rare, small-batch mezcals served both traditionally and through modern interpretations.
Mezcal meet Hi-Fi
And Pecoraro is “super proud” of the Little Fires concept, inspired by Japan’s listening bars that rose to prominence in the 90’s, characterised by exceptional audio and a laid-back atmosphere.
Set within a Grade II-listed building just off Shoreditch High Street, the venue spans two floors. The 85-cover ground floor bar and dining room will feature timber flooring, ochre-toned walls, and a marble-topped bar, with warm low lighting and natural materials.
Downstairs, a Hi-Fi vinyl listening bar will offer a more immersive mezcalería experience, with a late-night licence and a focus on ambient, jazz, dub, and lo-fi electronic sets curated by Mauricio Díaz.
Explaining the mezcal boom
Mezcal is on the rise in the UK, with several specialist bars opening up in London, correlating with a consumer shift towards premium spirits. UK mezcal sales are set to hit around £24.71m by the end of 2025, and forecasts suggest the market will achieve a 6.9% compound annual growth rate (CAGR) and exceed US $60.9m in value by 2035.
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Speaking on the trend, Pecoraro said: “Mezcal is a very interesting spirit, because it’s quite clean. If you go into high-purity, 100% mescaline agave, it’s taken well by the body, so it doesn’t give you that extreme headache.
“So it not only has the flavour, but it’s quite digestible, and it makes you feel better the next day.”
Mexcian-inspired menus
An Oaxacan-inspired small plates menu has also been crafted by Rodolfo Castellanos, winner of Top Chef Mexico and chef-owner of Oaxaca’s acclaimed Origen. Dishes will include tostadas, elotes, and ceviche.
And the seasonal drinks menu also incorporates Mexican ingredients. Cocktails include the Chimichurri Martini, Corn Colada made from Cazcabel Anejo, corn syrup, coco lopez, pineapple juice and lime juice and a Clarified Coffee Negroni.
Pecoraro explains: “We brought different ingredients from the kitchen into the drinks to create a correlation of taste and flavour and submerge people in a music experience.”
Tough trading conditions
Recent data from Christie & Co revealed a resurgence in London’s pub and bar property market, with the report highlighting a growing demand for venues that offered a unique, experience-led environment.
Nonetheless, the UK hospitality sector is battling economic headwinds, with soaring operational costs, staffing shortages and tax hikes creating a challenging trading environment.
This week, BrewDog announced it would axe 10 bars, and pubco Oakman Inns went bust. Iconic Bristol nightclub, Motion, also closed its doors, with Night Time Industries Association CEO Michael Kill warning night-time operators were “hugely worried”.
What if the mezcal trend dies out?
But, co-founder and director Florian Schulze is not one of them. “It does not worry us, because we have a quality concept,” he tells db. “People always eat, people always drink and consume. The question is, where do they gravitate towards now? Some more generic concepts will die out, but that’s natural selection.”
For instance, while gin was trendy a decade ago, its popularity has now died down. Now, he points out, mezcal is all the rage. “As long as you go with the consumer trend then you shouldn’t be worried.”
But what if mezcal falls out of fashion? “The cocktail list will also have rum and whiskey cocktails, and we have wines as well, so yes, we’re a mezcal specialist bar, but not only dependent on one spirit,” says Schulze.
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