When I heard unlimited horchata top-ups were on the menu, I knew I was going to love DF/Mexico.

Hackney Gazette: The swanky fit out at DF Mexico.The swanky fit out at DF Mexico. (Image: Archant)

The sweet cinnamon-tinged rice milk drink is one of my favourite things about Wahaca, DF’s sister restaurant set up by the same team.

While Wahaca concentrates on Mexican food, pure and simple, DF is fusion food, the idea coming off the back of Wahaca founders’ - Thomasina Miers and Mark Selby - road trip around Mexico and the US.

The name refers to Distrito Federal, the locals’ name for Mexico City, and it’s basically healthy fast food, with an Americana influence.

Quite a lot of what’s served up overlaps with Wahaca, to which I can’t stop trying to make comparisons, but one big difference is the chilli con carne gracing the menu in various ruses.

Hackney Gazette: DIY Mexican Board: Carne Con ChileDIY Mexican Board: Carne Con Chile (Image: Archant)

It comes with the “DIY Mexican board”, where you make your own tortilla wraps with guacamole, and is also served up in the “NYC torta” - a burger-style brioche bun, which also comes with a pork, mushroom or fish filling.

I opted for the latter and the texture of the soft bun next to the crispy MSC fish batter was really good, set off with a bit of gherkin, mayo and red “slaw”.

The tasty pepper burrito comes with feta cheese and habanero black beans, and unlike some tortillas which can be messy to eat as the contents spew out, this one was not too packed out.

It’s nice to do something for veggies other than the standard roasted pepper offering, and we tried the mushroom version of the DIY Mexican board, although not being strictly veggie I think I’d go for the chilli next time round.

Soft scoop ice cream that you collect from the counter rounded off our meal and went down a treat, with toppings ranging from peanut brittle and passion fruit and caramelised coconut to Dulce de leche, priced at £2.95.

A lot of work has obviously gone into the concept, from the patterned sheets of paper the food sits on to the swanky urban concrete fit out.

The restaurant has been billed as an “experimental residency”, but from the looks of the huge queue outside as we left, despite it only having been open a few days, it won’t be long before the chain is rolled out near and far.