Nestled in the heart of Mayfair, INCA London is a restaurant deeply rooted in Latin heritage, both in cuisine and aesthetics. At first glance, the glamour and passion of the South American displays are certainly exciting, but beneath this spectacular exterior lies a culturally rich, deep, and encompassing experience. 

Damien Aiudi and Nathanael Dadoun are the young entrepreneurs who started the INCA journey together. INCA proves that they have a thorough understanding of Latin culture and cuisine, with a passion for hospitality. We had a chance to speak to them about the nature and future of INCA.

The Inspiration Behind INCA London

• How did it all start?

INCA was born from a desire to satisfy a large gap in the hospitality industry in London. We wanted a place where people could dine, dance and be wowed by professional storytelling performances.

During COVID-19, as most hospitality businesses were closed, I had a lot of free time and decided to travel across Latin America, with which I fell in love. With my partner being from the region, I had the opportunity to discover a lot of different places with a local perspective. I wanted to share what I saw, smelled, tasted, felt, and lived.

• Tell us about the food and beverage experiences at INCA London?

INCA’s menu focuses on Latin flavour, showcasing influence from the Japanese Peruvian Nikkei cuisine, with a modern touch to it. We ensure to balance heat, texture, life, sharing and joy: all the ingredients that food represents. We designed our culinary experience around the share-ability of dishes which brings people together.

With the same spirit in mind, our cocktail menu also gets its inspiration from the rich and diverse aromas of the area. We have curated a journey of innovation, using old INCA hieroglyphs, relating back to their original meaning which is reflected in the taste and raw nature of our cocktails.

Lastly, our motto is: ‘INCA brings the show to your table’. We always do our best to come up with innovative ways to add theatre to our food and beverage presentation.

INCA London’s Charity Work

• Tell us about the charity work that you do with Cool Earth.

INCA is helping fight deforestation in a simple act: offering diners the chance to “Give Rainforest Gratuity”. Cool Earth is a UK-based international NGO, that protects the endangered rainforest in order to combat global warming, protect ecosystems and provide employment for the local people. 

We believe that a people-first approach, which puts resources in the hands of people living in rainforests, who are most affected by the climate crisis, is an extremely effective way to help undo it. INCA has partnered up with Cool Earth and is committed to provide donations in the form of adding 50p cover charge to each bill. This helps with the planting of up to three trees per cover collected. 

Entertainment at INCA London

• Entertainment is a big part of Inca London—how do you select the entertainment and what kind of entertainment do you have? 

In relation to the food and beverage experience, we wanted the entertainment to be authentic Latin American. Together with our production company Visionair Events, we constantly brainstorm about shows that would transport people to a Latin world, using local beats, creating authentic costumes and carefully auditioning our talents.

Our creative direction is designed around the venue’s centre stage, with the natural progression of the evening’s dinners. This creates an immersive symphony of theatrical and acrobatic flair. Our entertainment varies from singing, dancing, acrobatics, knife throwing, roller-skating and more.

• What is next for vibe dining in London?

Entertainment as a whole is what we believe to be the future of vibe dining, not only in London but globally. Today, most venues offer some kind of entertainment, which comes from guests’ increasing demand for such experiences. I think that people are always looking for something new and are becoming more demanding with their expectations. My opinion is that social media plays a big role in that phenomenon. 

Guests are looking for ‘Instagramable moments’, to share with their entourage. Social media also gives them an opportunity to see all sorts of cool and innovative experiences on their phone, even thousands of miles away. Additionally, having so many restaurants, hotels, clubs and bars with entertainment, it became a new standard that in some ways, is expected by guests.

• What would you say to someone who wants a career in hospitality?

The hospitality industry in London is becoming more and more challenging, forcing the industry to evolve, adapt and innovate to stay competitive. It is not an easy industry but in my eyes, it is the best. Yet, whoever wants to start a career in hospitality, truly has to love it. You must be prepared to work long hours, sacrifice your weekends, Bank Holidays or New Year’s Eve celebrations. All of these efforts will be worth it, and you often find that your colleagues eventually become your friends and family. 

• Why should people choose INCA London for a night out? 

INCA is the perfect place for a night out, with the abundance of offerings we provide. Our restaurant has been thought to give people flexibility on what they can experience with us. This allows everyone to join us and have a good time. Indeed, at INCA you could have dinner, enjoy a show, savour amazing cocktails, dance until early mornings in both the restaurant and nightclub. There is no need to go from venue to venue for all these experiences in an evening, just make one trip to INCA.

The future of INCA London

• What will the London food scene look like in 5 years time?

 With the growth of social media, I believe that the food scene will evolve towards more theatrical dishes and cocktails. This is something most venues are already incorporating when designing dishes. A lot of brainstorming is usually spent on the presentation, but I expect it to go even further in the years to come. I also think that restaurants will start to follow all of the trends happening on social media a bit more as we should expect the industry to be highly represented online in 5 years’ time.

• What is next for you? 

The plan for INCA is now to expand. The short-term goal was to successfully open the venue, and make it Londons leader when it comes to dinner shows. We are now looking at expansion plans abroad; that would be the dream, bringing the show to people globally.

To discover more, visit incalondon.com

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Inca London (@incalondon)

Images courtesy of INCA and Nathanael Dado on Instagram.