What is a margarita?Tequila, triple sec and lime, classic or spicy, at Fiena, King's Cross

A margarita is made with tequila, triple sec (an orange liqueur) and lime juice, sometimes with a little sugar syrup. It can be shaken and served over ice, served straight up without ice, or blended with ice into a frozen margarita, and it's often served in a wide-rimmed glass with salt on the edge. The International Bartenders Association's standard recipe uses tequila, triple sec and fresh lime juice in the ratio 10:4:3. Fresh lime is the ingredient bartenders care about most: in Mexico, margaritas are usually made with small, thin-skinned Mexican limes, which are more tart than the larger limes common elsewhere.

The history of the margarita is uncertain, and plenty of people have claimed it. The cocktail historian David Wondrich links it to an older drink, the brandy daisy, remade with tequila; margarita is simply Spanish for "daisy". Daisies are a family of drinks made with a base spirit, a liqueur and citrus, cousins of the sidecar. A "Tequila Daisy" was mentioned in an American newspaper as early as 1936, and, perhaps surprisingly, a London book got there early too: The Cafe Royal Cocktail Book, published in the UK in 1937, has a recipe called the Picador with the same proportions of tequila, triple sec and lime.

After that, the stories pile up. One says Carlos "Danny" Herrera created it in 1938 at his restaurant between Tijuana and Rosarito for a customer who couldn't drink other spirits. Hussong's Cantina in Ensenada says its bartender named it in 1941 after a regular called Margarita Henkel Cesena. Many experts, including Mexico's official news agency, think the strongest claim belongs to Francisco "Pancho" Morales, said to have mixed the first one at Tommy's Place in Juárez on 4 July 1942. The first known published margarita recipe appeared in the American magazine Esquire in December 1953. Background from Wikipedia's margarita page.

On our drinks menu, the margarita is Tequila Ocho, Cointreau and fresh lime. Cointreau is a triple sec, the orange liqueur every margarita needs, and like all our cocktails it's made with a 50ml spirit measure. Ask for it spicy and we add chilli for a kick, which makes a lovely contrast with the lime. Alcoholic drinks are served from 10:30.

If you'd rather sip your tequila neat, the back bar has Patron Silver and Reposado, Casamigos Blanco, Reposado and Añejo, Don Julio Reposado and Casamigos Mezcal. Other cocktails on the list include the Bramble, the Cosmopolitan, the Negroni and the Espresso martini. See our posts on whisky, bourbon and tequila at Fiena, the cocktail list and limoncello.

Our cocktails come up often in reviews. Yasmeen wrote that the cocktails were delicious - and the pizza was yummy too. (Yasmeen, Google review) And Kiley's advice: I’d also recommend sitting outside and enjoying a cocktail here. (Kiley, Google review)

Lime, salt and a little heat suit bold, savoury food. From our main menu, try a margarita with the Padron peppers, blistered and finished with flaked sea salt, the Tiger prawns cooked with garlic, cherry tomato and white wine, or the Arancini nduja with a rich pink sauce. A spicy margarita and the Diavola pepperoni pizza, with spicy nduja, is a pairing for people who like it hot. See our posts on spicy Italian food, arancini and aperitivo hour. Not drinking? The Virgin mojito and our Fiena Signature mocktail are on our alcohol-free list.

“Unreal atmosphere & great food!!”

Sarah, Google reviews, 2026