Taqueria by Qmex

Authenticity
over pastiche

The starting point was authenticity over pastiche. Coro's approach drew directly from the visual language of Mexico, its bold graphic traditions, its layered street culture, its unapologetic use of colour and material, and translated these into a space that feels genuinely rooted rather than themed.

The floor sets the tone immediately: a large scale Aztec sun motif rendered in monochrome directly onto the concrete, its geometric precision anchoring the entire room. From there, the design builds upward in deliberate layers:

• Seating. Burnt orange leather booth seating lines the perimeter, warm and inviting against the raw-finish concrete walls.
• Ceiling. Above, woven rattan pendant lights hang in a loose constellation across a deep indigo-painted exposed ceiling, threaded through with festoon bulb strings that shift the atmosphere from casual to electric as the day turns to evening.
• Feature wall. The feature wall is the room's centrepiece, a floor-to-ceiling open shelving system in distressed lacquered wood, merchandised with spirit bottles, fresh produce, ceramics, and live plants, punctuated by neon signs reading Tacos, Cerveza, Ron, Mezcal, and Tequila.

Two rhythms,
no reconfiguration

The brief called for a space that could work across two distinct rhythms, and the layout was planned accordingly. By day, the room reads as relaxed and social, varied seating configurations move from intimate dining tables with blue-lacquered chairs and solid timber tops, to high bar stools along the kitchen-facing counter, to generous leather booths for groups wanting to settle in. The natural material palette keeps things grounded and unhurried.

After dark, the neon comes into its own. The festoon lighting drops the mood, the bar counter takes centre stage, and the room consolidates around the energy of the drinks wall. The transition requires no reconfiguration, it's designed into the bones of the space.

End to end, with almost
every piece made for the space

Coro delivered end-to-end: spatial planning, material and finish specification, custom floor graphic, lighting design, and an extensive programme of bespoke furniture, from the dining tables and bar counter to the shelving unit and booth seating, every piece was designed and made specifically for the space, with the exception of the upholstered chairs. Equal emphasis was placed on customer experience, operational efficiency, and design aesthetics, ensuring the space performed as well functionally as it did visually.

This extended to the kitchen and bar, both designed from the ground up to support smooth service flow and high-pressure operations, not as an afterthought, but as a core part of the design intent.

One site that led
to four more projects

Taquería by Qmex opened in 2017 and proved the concept from day one. The success of the project saw Coro go on to design three further QMex Bar & Grill locations across Beijing, as well as the group's office headquarters, a body of work that grew directly from the trust built here.

Planning a restaurant
or bar with real identity?

If you are opening a venue that needs to work by day and come alive at night, the place to start is a call with our commercial team. We will talk through the site, the brand and the operation before anything is drawn.

More completed venues on the commercial projects page, and how we work with operators on our commercial design page.