Bloodshot at The Dairy, restaurant review: Robin Gill's 1am dinner club is worth staying up for

15 The Pavement, London SW4, £150 for two, everything included

The price includes all drinks as well as food and no one goes home hungry

And so, after seven years of reviewing restaurants, we come to the end. I had wondered where to go for my final outing and suggestions included returning to the first place I reviewed and the newly reopened Fat Duck. The former idea didn't seem much fun and the latter, while probably amazing, is impossible to get into and costs £255 a head before wine, so seemed a tad unrealistic.

What I really want to do is celebrate the amazing creativity and camaraderie I've seen over the years – through recession, staffing crises, rent hikes, food scares and more, Britain has a dazzling restaurant scene and some marvellous characters.

One of these is Robin Gill, chef/owner of The Dairy, in south London. I reviewed his first place (he now has three, and a deli) back in 2013 and I was delighted when Mike Higgins, the editor of this magazine, chose Robin to be one of the guest chefs who have shared their fabulous recipes over the past few weeks.

Robin's a gregarious fella, and hosts something called Bloodshot at The Dairy on the last Saturday of every month, in which a visiting chef creates a menu. There are two twists: one is that it takes place at 1am; the other is that it's designed for other chefs, who finish work at their own restaurants around midnight and are looking for fun and good food. But Bloodshot is for the rest of us, too, if we're feeling brave and wide awake, which I am after a late finish at my workplace.

Clapham is thronging with a post-pub crowd as we arrive; some stand outside The Dairy, gently swaying, trying to figure out why music is blaring out in an almost-empty venue.

February's guest chef is the American-born Brad McDonald of the always-excellent Lockhart and Shotgun; the theme is Mexican, hence the soulful caterwauling and frenzied strumming on the soundtrack. (Next chef up, btw: Richard Foster from Chiltern Firehouse; then a collaboration between Tomos Parry and Smoking Goat in April; then the Sticky Walnut guys doing May.)

Robin greets all guests with a polystyrene cup brimming with margarita. Uh oh. There's a palpable excitement as folk arrive; I can see food writers, publicans, chefs and front-of-house staff from other restaurants, and a few clusters of enthusiastic amateurs like me. Swaying above the pass is a Donald Trump piñata, more of which later.

The price includes all drinks as well as food and no one goes home hungry (nor, I suspect, sober). The menu has 11 dishes and they all come out of the kitchen just the right side of pell-mell. Humble guacamole and chips, in McDonald's hands, is substantially elevated – there's pistachio crunch, a deft whack of jalapeño and avocado leaf added.

Cactus salad is less successful – I applaud the idea but cactus is slimy and stringy by nature and one for aficionados. But the next three dishes are brilliant: scallop ceviche with mango, habanero and coconut tastes vibrant and fresh. Yellowfin and sea urchin tostada is laced with mojo, that garlicky, citrus sauce that duffs up but doesn't overwhelm the fishiness. Then there's Blackface lamb tostada. Raw lamb has never quite caught on like beef tartare – not sure why. The breed is known for its tender meat and, although the tortillas are too heavily laden for comfort, grace notes of chocolate mint make it worth nibbling.

Of course, there are tacos. Tacos are having a moment: René Redzepi of Noma loves them and has cooked with them extensively in recent months; Tacopedia is a recent Phaidon book crammed with recipes, travelogue and essays about the street snack.

Here we have self-assembly brisket tacos. The tacos are grabbed at and I manage only one before I'm called away to take my turn at the piñata – blindfolded, of course.

Back at the table, my ears ringing with the baying of the guests as I fail to land many blows, I take a tiny bite of "tamales surprise", but the surprise is that it has four different salsas and might just singe my eyebrows off. I leave it and decide it's time to go. It's 4am and the rest of the guests are still carousing.

Bloodshot is the most fun, and not really about the food. The bonhomie and energy are what carry it; if you're fascinated by chefs' lives, it's a must.

NB: I found Donald Trump's arm in my bag the next day. Must be stronger than I thought.

8/10

Bloodshot at The Dairy, 15 The Pavement, London SW4, £150 for two, everything included

Four more things I'm looking forward to

Alice Hart

The New Vegetarian is her latest title, and I can't wait to start cooking delicious (while stealthily nutritious) dishes from it.

Frenchie

This new Covent Garden restaurant has had glowing reports from two of my most discerning friends.

Sticks'n'Sushi

Witty names, delicious food: love their take-out, looking forward to eating in (three in London, coming soon to Cambridge).

Natoora

After ordering once from the online store that supplies restaurants, keen to be a regular. The best, most diverse choices.