The Tortilla Story

You're hungry. But you've got places to be. And you're not looking to spend a fortune. What do you grab? A sandwich, maybe? Or perhaps a kebab or a curry? This is London, after all. It's a global capital. You can get anything here.

Or almost anything. Because in California there is only one answer to that question: you get a burrito. Born in Mexico, perfected in California, this delicious creation is the simple dish that has become a national obsession. Websites are dedicated to them. Books have been written about them. Contests are held in their honor. And as their popularity has grown, Californians have carried the burrito banner, establishing taquerias in the heart of New York City and the back woods of North Carolina...inspiring burrito joints in Berlin, Stockholm, and Melbourne. And yet, you couldn't get a decent burrito in London. Until now.

We know, because we looked. Oh, how we looked. Our quest took us to every so-called Mexican establishment in London. We waited forever... we gaped at the bills and emptied our wallets... and when we sampled the food, well...it wasn't tears of joy that we shed.

Finally, we realised the disappointing truth: there was no place providing the affordable, delicious, California-Mexican fare we craved. What we were searching for was nothing like the typical "Mexican" restaurant you find in Britain - and certainly nothing like Taco Bell. We were dreaming of the authentic taquerias in San Francisco and in Los Angeles, in Arizona and in Mexico: places with fresh ingredients, where the salsa is more than mere "hot sauce," where the beans aren't always refried, and where the guacamole doesn't come out of a can. Places where the vibrant New World flavours of your choice are wrapped up and ready in a minute or two. It's no surprise that shops serving up these simple culinary masterpieces have spread from California across the US and beyond. Wasn't it time one came to Britain?

So we asked people what they thought. And we discovered that there were a lot of people out there asking the same question. Like the Britons who had gone to Mexico. And the Aussies who had explored the American Southwest. And of course those Americans desperately needing their burrito fix. We found blogs on the Internet about the lack of good Mexican food in London. And we stumbled (quite literally) upon random conversations in pubs about the same.

So when we mentioned that we were considering building a high-quality burrito joint in London, what we heard over and over was this: "I'll be your biggest customer"; "please hurry up and open"; and "what's a burrito?" So we decided to do it.

We take a lot of pride in giving you the best food and the best experience possible. So if you have suggestions, want to share your thoughts, or just feel like waxing poetic about salsa verde, don't hesitate to say hello.