Following on from a successful stint in Melbourne last February, Mexico City-born culinary concept Izamal will be heading to Brisbane for a collaborative restaurant takeover at Paddington’s Naïm. From July 3–14, Izamal’s chef Julio Aguilera will be teaming up with Naïm’s own Vince Estacio for a series of pop-up dinners that will explore the flavours of modern Mexican cooking, with a global approach to ingredient sourcing and preparation. The two chefs go back a long way, having forged a friendship while sharpening their skills working across some of San Francisco’s top restaurants. Now, the two will reunite to mix their contemporary approaches to cooking, while relying almost exclusively on Australian produce. Each sitting will give diners the chance to indulge in a five-course degustation menu (vegan options are available), sampling the likes of yellow-corn brioche with dried chilli-infused butter and fried chickpeas tossed in tajín, compressed pineapple al pastor with pork powder, barbacoa lamb tartare with endive escabeche and Australian wagyu with pickled mushrooms and a mole made from miso and mushrooms. Izamal’s director of service and beverage Matt Goodman has curated the drinks component, pairing the food with fun and offbeat Australian wines and Mexican spirits.