Today, in the city of Puebla, Mexico, the streets are filling with brass bands, parade floats and the same chant they've kept alive for 164 years: "Viva Zaragoza." Pretty much everywhere else in Mexico, it's a normal Tuesday. People go to work. Schools open. The bigger version of Cinco de Mayo — the one with the margaritas and mariachis and Mexican flags hanging off everything — happens somewhere else entirely.
It happens in places like Camden.
So before we tell you what's on the table at Frida Camden this 5 May, here's the story behind the day. Because every plate makes more sense when you know what it's for.
The day Mexico (mostly) doesn't celebrate
Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day. That one falls on 16 September, and it's the parade-and-fireworks national holiday. Cinco de Mayo commemorates something different — and arguably stranger to celebrate.
On 5 May 1862, in the city of Puebla, a Mexican army of around 4,000 men led by General Ignacio Zaragoza faced down a French invasion force roughly twice its size. The French were better-equipped, better-fed and assumed to be unbeatable. They had been on a campaign across Europe and into the Americas. By every reasonable expectation, Puebla should have fallen by sundown.
It didn't. Zaragoza's troops held the city. The French eventually withdrew. The Battle of Puebla didn't end the French campaign — Mexico City fell a year later — but it became a symbol of resistance, of underestimation turned upside down. A small army that wasn't supposed to win, won anyway.
That's the day Cinco de Mayo marks. Not independence. A single battle, a single afternoon, in 1862.
How a single battle became a cultural holiday
If you ask someone in Mexico City whether they're doing anything for Cinco de Mayo, the answer is usually a polite shrug. In Puebla, yes — there are parades, school re-enactments, a city-wide pride. Outside Puebla, the day passes quietly. Banks open. Buses run.
The version most of the world knows — the one with the cocktails and the music — was built somewhere else. In the 1960s, Mexican-American activists in California began using 5 May as a day to celebrate Mexican heritage in the United States. The Chicano movement claimed it as a cultural anchor: a day to remember resistance, to speak Spanish openly, to show up as Mexican without apology. By the 1980s, drinks brands and restaurants noticed the energy and ran with it. The day grew arms.
That's how it got to London. To Camden Town. To us.
So when Frida Camden marks 5 May, we're not pretending we're in Puebla. We're doing what the Chicano movement did half a century ago: using the day to keep something alive. A grandmother's mole recipe. A market vendor's salsa technique. A way of cooking that doesn't apologise for being loud, generous, slow.
"Cinco de Mayo isn't a parade. It's a kitchen day."
What's on the table at Frida Camden on 5 May
If you're coming to Frida this Cinco de Mayo, here's what we'd put in front of you. None of these are "specials" — they're on the menu year-round, because the day's whole point is that authentic food doesn't need a calendar excuse. But they're the dishes that mean the most on 5 May.
To start: salsa, guacamole and a story
Every plate of guacamole at Frida is mashed in front of you, in a stone molcajete, the way it's been done in Mexican kitchens for centuries. Salt, lime, coriander, white onion, a fresh tomato. No mayonnaise, no garlic, no shortcuts. Order it with the smoky house chipotle salsa and a basket of freshly fried tortilla chips.
The main: mole, fajitas, or tacos al pastor
If there's one dish that Cinco de Mayo deserves, it's mole poblano — the slow-cooked sauce of dried chillies, chocolate, almonds and spices that originates, fittingly, in Puebla. It takes a full day to make properly, which is why most restaurants outside Mexico don't bother. We do.
If mole feels too unfamiliar, our chicken fajitas arrive sizzling on a smoked-onion skillet, served with warm flour tortillas, salsa, sour cream and guacamole. Or the tacos al pastor — pork shoulder marinated in achiote and pineapple, a recipe that arrived in Mexico from Lebanese immigrants in the 1920s and never left.
The drinks: margarita, mezcal, and what we keep behind the bar
The original margarita was invented somewhere between Tijuana and Acapulco in the 1940s — the exact bartender is still argued over — but the recipe is simple: tequila, fresh lime juice, triple sec, salt rim. That's the version we shake at Frida. Nothing pre-mixed, nothing from a slush machine.
If you want to taste something less obvious on 5 May, ask for mezcal. Mezcal is tequila's older cousin: smokier, more complex, made from any of dozens of agave varieties (tequila is only made from blue agave). At Frida, our bar leans heavily on mezcal — espadín for sipping, tobalá for the curious, and a small flight if you want to taste three side by side.
How to spend Cinco de Mayo in Camden
If you're in London on 5 May and want to make a day of it, here's how we'd put the hours together.
Late morning (11am–12pm): Start at Camden Market — it's a ten-minute walk from us. Get coffee, walk the lock, see the early stalls before the lunch crowd builds.
Lunch (12:30–14:00): Walk down Camden High Street to Frida (number 40, between Mornington Crescent and Camden Town stations). Order brunch from our weekday Breakfast & Lunch menu. Huevos rancheros, chorizo shakshuka, or a tortilla wrap. House margarita if it's that kind of Monday.
Afternoon (14:00–17:00): Camden has more weight than its share of London real estate. Walk Regent's Canal east to Granary Square. Loop back through the market. Or grab a coffee at one of the canal cafés and watch the boats move.
Evening (19:00 onwards): Come back to Frida for dinner. Order the mole, or the fajitas if it's a first visit. Pair it with a margarita on the rocks. If it's a Saturday — which 5 May 2026 is not — there'll be live mariachi from 21:00. On a Tuesday like this year, the room is quieter, the conversations longer, and the food gets the attention it deserves.
Booking advice: Cinco de Mayo evenings book up faster than a normal Monday. If you want a table for four or more, reserve in advance. Walk-ins welcome at the bar.
A quiet truth about the day
Cinco de Mayo, when you strip away the marketing, is a small story. A few thousand soldiers held a city for an afternoon, against odds that said they shouldn't. The point of the day is not to wave a flag. It's to remember that small things, done with care, can hold against bigger forces.
That's a thing a kitchen understands.
So our 5 May is not a sale, not a special menu, not a discount margarita. It's the same kitchen, the same bar, doing what it does on any other Monday — except a few more guests in the room are paying attention, and a few more conversations end with somebody asking how long the mole takes to make. (Eight hours. Sometimes more.)
If you can come, come. Stay long. Salud.
Frequently asked questions
Is Cinco de Mayo Mexico's Independence Day?
No. Cinco de Mayo (5 May) commemorates the 1862 Battle of Puebla, where the Mexican army defeated French forces. Mexico's actual Independence Day is 16 September, marking the 1810 cry for independence from Spain. The two are often confused outside Mexico.
Do Mexicans celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
Mostly only in Puebla, where the battle took place. There are parades, school re-enactments and a real local pride. In the rest of Mexico — including Mexico City — it's a regular workday. Banks and schools stay open.
Why is Cinco de Mayo bigger in the US and UK than in Mexico?
It grew as a Mexican-American cultural celebration in the 1960s and 70s, particularly during the Chicano movement in California. By the 1980s, restaurants, bars and drinks brands had picked it up commercially. Today it's a recognised cultural moment across the US and parts of the UK, especially in cities with strong Mexican communities.
What's the most authentic Mexican dish to order on 5 May?
Mole poblano, no question. It originates in Puebla — the same city the holiday commemorates — and is one of the most labour-intensive sauces in Mexican cooking. A proper mole takes around 8 hours and over 20 ingredients including dried chillies, chocolate, almonds and spices. Frida Camden serves it year-round.
Does Frida Camden do anything special on Cinco de Mayo?
We keep our regular menu — because the day's whole point is that authentic Mexican food doesn't need a one-day-a-year excuse. That said, the room fills earlier on 5 May, the conversations get more curious about Mexican history, and we love it when guests ask about the food. Bookings are recommended for tables of four or more — reserve a table here.
Save your table
Frida Camden, 40 Camden High Street, London NW1 0JH. Between Mornington Crescent and Camden Town tube. Open Sun–Thu 10:30–22:00 (last food orders 21:30), Fri–Sat 10:00–23:00 (last food orders 22:30). Book a table online or call us on +44 207 383 3733.
