Introducing… Motel Mexicana

Motel Mexicana is a bright, exciting new bar with some big ideas that is set to reinvigorate the eastern end of Newcastle's ‘Diamond Strip’. The Mosley Street location was formerly the home of renowned nightclub Bijoux, but after an extensive (and expensive) refurb, it’s now the home of all things Latin in the city. 

The team behind Motel Mexicana (Matt Smyth, Nigel Holliday and Andrew McGuigan) have extensive backgrounds in bars and hospitality in Newcastle and elsewhere (including Tup Tup Palace and Moosenwirt) and clearly have a vision for Motel Mexicana that sounds intriguing.

We kicked our our chat with Matt –  at his home in Spain – by asking why the trio had decided on a Mexican flavour for the new bar.

“Andy’s wife is Colombian and my wife is Spanish," Matt explains, "We have a pub together in London called Spit & Sawdust. We've been doing Latin food in the pub for the last for five years –  it's all tacos, quesadillas, that kind of thing. I live in Spain - I moved out here during the pandemic – so certainly with me and Andy, Hispanic culture is very omnipresent, we're just into Latin culture anyway."

"When the opportunity of the Bijou location presented itself and we were discussing what kind of bar we would like to pitch for… well, it just made sense for it to be around a Latin theme," he continues. "It's something that we know. It's fun, it's colourful, and also it just seemed to be somewhat of a trend at the moment. I didn't realise quite how much as I've not been living in Newcastle for some time, so it was only actually when we came up with the concept of Motel Mexicana that we noticed El Guapo and a lot of other places doing tacos.”

Matt clearly has an enthusiasm for, and understanding of, how special Newcastle's nightlife is and that’s help shaped their plans for the venue.

“Newcastle’s a unique city, both in terms of tourism and the locals’ desire to go out and enjoy themselves in late night bars," says Matt. "It's a place where you go out on a Friday night and see three generations out together. Everywhere has been hit recently because of the cost-of-living crisis, but compared to most other places, Newcastle is still pretty alive and well, especially on a weekend, and with Motel Mexicana, we wanted to do something that was a complete world away from Bijou and what Bijou was known for.”

Motel Mexicana opened over the Easter weekend and the team are clearly happy with the way it’s been received so far. The food in particular has been earning a lot of praise, and it’s notable that the menu is pleasingly short and snappy – basically some tacos, quesadillas and sides - which is intentional.

“I think it's best to do a few things really well, rather than try and do too much and not do a great job. It's something that we can build on,” Matt explains. “We started off with a menu we know we can deliver and because it's quite short and snappy, it's something that we can develop. You give yourself options - I think it's best to do it that way rather than start off with a massive menu and then start having to take things off.”

The cocktail menu is similarly carefully curated and short - a couple of dozen classics and mezcal specials – and there are a LOT of tequila varieties on offer. And on Saturdays, there’s a bottomless brunch offer too offering four tacos and a range of unlimited drink options.

While Motel Mexicana is already a big deal – a buzzing mix of Latin atmosphere and décor, DJs, tacos and tequila – there are some impressive plans in the pipeline, but the team aren’t rushing things.

“Again, like the menu, instead of trying to do everything at once, it's better to get to get the first things right and then in time develop the rest," Matt explains. "The plan is for a motel room on the first floor and a rooftop bar on the top floor. We’re in the planning stage and we’re waiting to see that everything gets greenlit, and then we’ll crack on. I would say we’ll probably be looking to get everything done by early summer 2025.” 

Finally we had to ask what  Motel Mexicana's Latino Bottle Show is all about. 

“We have some dancers, including one guy in particular who's from Latin America and trained in bachata and salsa and they deliver the bottles whilst doing a performance," Matt expains..

So a cross between Tom Cruise in Cocktail and a tequila girl?

“You’ve hit the nail on the head!” he concludes, laughing.

Motel Mexicana is located at 36-38 Mosley Street and is open from 4pm Tuesday to Friday (12pm on Saturdays) until the small hours, with the kitchen open until 9pm. Find out more at www.motelmexicana.co.uk.