Beat Hotel this week? 

You mean Beat Hotel Glastonbury? 

Nope. 

Beat Hotel Marrakech? 

Nope. 

Beat Hotel Ibiza? 

Beat Hotel at We Out Here!?

Nope.

Hmm, Beat Hotel Mexico? Nope, well, sort of yes 

Think the heart of Mexico in the body of London.

Beat Hotel is debuting its very first London edition, in partnership with Ilegal Mezcal (illegal in name only), and it’s been a long time coming.

For anyone who missed the last fifteen years, Beat Hotel began as a Glastonbury stage in 2011, borrowed its name from the Paris boarding house that sheltered Burroughs, Ginsberg and Corso, and has since wandered through Marrakech, Ibiza and, most recently, We Out Here. The formula has barely changed. Serious DJs, rotating chefs, and an extensive drinks list that has always been half the reason to turn up. London has just been waiting for its turn.

This time the drinks list gets a proper Oaxacan accent. Ilegal is made in small batches by fourth-generation mezcaleros, with a backstory that involves smuggling and week-long parties at a clandestine Oaxacan bar called Café No Sé. Now that spirit comes to London, with each dinner pairing the chef’s menu with Ilegal serves, so the mezcal is part of the meal rather than an afterthought at the end.

The food comes from three London chefs who have each been out to Oaxaca and Mexico City, taken notes, and come home buzzing to put it all on a plate. Oaxacan cooking is built on fire, smoke, slow-cooked sauces and a lot of patience, and each chef is writing a one-off menu for their own room around what they brought back. That’s three kitchens, three different trips and three menus that won’t be repeated.

Tuesday 13th: Acme Fire Cult, Hackney. Andrew Clarke goes first, in a restaurant named after live-fire cooking, which feels like the right place to start.

Wednesday 14th: Tollington’s, Finsbury Park. Ed McIlroy, who also runs Bar Etna and The Plimsoll, takes over his own dining room.

Thursday 15th: Hausu, Peckham. Holly Middleton-Joseph closes the dinner run with Oaxaca-inspired dishes and more Ilegal.

Friday 16th: Carpet Shop, Peckham. Then the plates go away. Coco María, John Gómez and Ri Mistry take the dancefloor from 11pm to 3am, with the running order still under wraps.

Tickets are on sale now at beat-hotel.com.