The Tapestry Tapas Bar in Mortlake, Richmond has celebrated a recent five-star food hygiene rating, a score which owner Jackson is proud of after more than two decades running the pub-restaurant. 

Jackson, who is originally from Brazil, has been running The Tapestry alongside his sister Lucia for the last 23 years and has told Richmond Nub News it has not been easy. 

"We change the offerings and we've been adapting like any business that has been running for very long. It's very difficult to keep it fresh but you always have to," says Jackson. 

Known for being a traditional pub with a Latin fusion, which is apparent as soon as you walk in, Jackson admits most customers pop by during the weekends or when local community groups come together. 

He explains: "We are very much part of the community as a pub restaurant.   

"Everyone around Mortlake knows us as the local pub and we feel very much part of Mortlake after being here so long. 

"Even yesterday we had wake reception of someone that I've catered for, for her son's 20th birthday, her son's 30th birthday, her daughter's 20th and her daughter's 30th birthday and yesterday her kids decided to have a wake reception here at the pub."  

The Tapestry is a fusion of a traditional pub and a Latin tapas restaurant (credit: Cesar Medina).

Jackson continues: "That actually shows that we very much are not only here as a bar restaurant, but as a hub for the community to celebrate different things. 

"There is a development here that has issues with the Council...their planning permission and stuff and the meeting is done here for the local community group (Mortlake Brewery Community Group)." 

With a small team of seven, The Tapestry has seen changes throughout the times in order to survive and stand out. 

It was Lucia's idea (who is an artist) to paint the walls and add Latin decorations to bring the pub to life. 

"A friend of mine once said that The Tapestry is very much a metamorphosis, Jackson says.  

"All the time when he comes in, something is different because, well, one, because Lucia Day is my sister and she is an artist and she keeps adding things and changing things (the friend) said, 'I've never been somewhere that every time I go in there's something new on the wall.'"  

Jackson in front of The Tapestry's recent five star food hygiene rating (credit: Cesar Medina).

Jackson adds: "Because it's like any job isn't it. When you do it for so long you have to find things that motivate you." 

The Tapestry's signature Spanish paella, Brazilian feijoada and menu is another reason why locals keep coming back to the pub-restaurant. 

Still, in the digital age Jackson admits that he has had to do more to make his pub reach a larger audience. 

"The restaurant industry has a I think maybe people that are between 45 and 60 that have been doing this for a long time and they're not really accustomed to this digital world," the pub owner says. 

"It's a new way of doing business and it is amazing in that there such a big necessity such a big necessity (to make videos)."

Despite hoping to retire some day in the future, Jackson and his team still aim to provide the highest quality pub experience every single day – which is why the recent food hygiene inspection was a welcome surprise. 

The artwork on the pub-restaurant's walls are by Jackson's sister Lucia Day (credit: Cesar Medina).

The Brazilian tells Richmond Nub News: "It's something that we constantly need to monitor and constantly need to check and make sure that we are offering something that is very high standards. 

"It's actually quite rewarding for the chefs too who push these standards forward." 

Ultimately, the success of The Tapestry Tapas Bar in Mortlake, Richmond has come from treating the pub like his own child Jackson jokes. 

He says: "Well, 23 years. It's like if it was a my other child really. It's like a little plant. The pub is the same thing. If I come here and I don't pay attention...it's not clean and stuff. 

"You don't pay attention, or you don't tell them what is right or what's wrong customers will notice as it grows." 

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