I am a certified burrito lover as anyone who is following me on Facebook will know. I love burritos I probably hit at least one burrito joint a week. People on Facebook are always asking me for burrito advice so here are my official best burritos in London!!!!

Chilango

Various locations
http://www.chilango.co.uk/

Winner of the Zagat award for best Mexican restaurant in London many years running Chilango is the the bomb. To many in London you cannot mention the word burrito without mentioning the word Chilango.

The staff are always friendly, the decor at all their restaurants is always vibrant & funky and the food always super fresh even late in the evening when other burrito joints I’ve visited have had their meat a little more on the stale side by that time. Never be put off by the huge queues they move really quickly.

The burritos always well balanced and fresh, my favourite is the steak burrito with black beans, medium salsa and guacamole – its always a good look. The first time I went there I could instantly tell the difference in quality from other places that I had been to at the time.

Chilango also win the social media award – their Facebook, Twitter and blog are updated regularly, especially the twitter where the owner Eric is constantly interacting with followers, running regular little competitions and giving away free zone. Look out for the new summer menu featuring their new prawn burrito & tacos which I cannot wait to try. Chilango you guys are the bomb!!!

El Camion

25-27 Brewer St  London W1F 0RR
http://www.elcamion.co.uk

I found this place by pure accident one raining day in Soho. Whilst walking up the street which was completely covered in scafholding that was covering the shop signs something caught my eye in a window (and no it wasn’t a sex shop), I saw racks and racks of hot sauces and it stopped me in my tracks and I knew I had to check the place out.

The place has a very wide selection of mexican food and drink. After I got over the initial disappointment of the fact that the hot sauce bottles were for decorative purposes only I went in on the burritos. Their steak bavette burrito is a smasher – I love it when you order a burrito and they ask you how well you want your meat cooked, I went in on the medium rare.

This is not your typical burrito, I was surprised when it arrived that the rice was on the side rather than within the burrito and also their being melted cheese and enchilada sauce on top, this is a burrito you cannot eat with your hands, it wasn’t until I tried it that I realised why they have done it this way. The balance between the absolutely tender meat, the beans and the sauce is amazing and then you have control of the amount of rice unlike some unnamed places where the rice is used mainly as a filler. Despite not being what I’d call a typical burrito. Their drinks selection is pretty dope too. This place became part of my Curzon soho movie ritual.

Chula Fused Foods

Various locations
http://www.chulafusedfoods.com/

Run by Vinod Patel who got his wealth of burrito knowledge from his time spent travelling the States and also as a manager Chipotle. He now runs his own stall serving up indian style burritos. This man takes pleasure and time in his work and it shows in the quality of food & cleanliness of the stall unlike a lot of market stalls out there. He serves up the perfect fusion between Indian and mexican with a selection of slow cooked chicken keema, lamb curry and paneer for the vegetarians out there either served in a burrito or naked, with fragrant indian rice, cutneys, vegetable and a variety of difference sauces.

Look out for him in places like Tachbrook Market in Victoria (which happens to be round the corner from my offices), Covent Garden & Waterloo. He has also recently set up shop at the original night market – Red Market. Please check his website for exact locations and dates

Benito’s Hat

Various locations
http://www.benitos-hat.com/

The holders of Britains biggest burrito award Benito’s Hat is a cool offering up burritos, tacos, salads and soups – its the spot where I can take friend that doesn’t eat loads. The decor at their Covent Garden store is pretty cool, it has a real sit down and talk social vibe. They have  a little corner by the bar with huge cushions and a sofa which is the perfect place to sit down with on a date. Their bar is dope – they serve up an amazing watermelon margarita

The food is great, their steak burrito is pretty huge, well balanced, comes with free tortilla chips (which is really nice) and is perfectly accompanied with a Pacifico beer. Speaking of which the manager there was very knowledgeable about a potential Pacifico Beer shortage that was going to occur a few years back, which caused me to go to the one shop that I knew was still selling it at the time and to stockpile bottles. This was the time that I realised its impossible to stockpile beer – after silly telling a group of friends that were around my crib that I had 40 bottles of Pacifico stockpiled in the flat it was soon curtains.

As well as their burritos the salads are great, I hear big things about their fish tacos as well. I recently brought of Groupon a load of vouchers that give you 2 burritos and 2 cocktails for £10 – I’m not going to say how many I brought but it was a load!!!!!

Cafe Chula

75 – 89 Lower Walkway, West Yard, Camden Lock Place, NW1 8AF
http://www.cafechula.co.uk/

What happens when your favourite north London venue opens a Mexican restaurant below? Cafe Chula is what happens!!! From the people that brought you the Lockside Lounge Cafe is serious and what’s more its just on my doorstep!

You know a place is serious when they have 4 different menus serving up breakfast, lunch, brunch and dinner. At breakfast they serve up Mexican breakfasts which includes their infamous breakfast burrito, with scrambled egg, bacon, ham, avocado tomato and cheese – I not a breakfast person but this breakfast is me through and through – its sooooooo necessary!!!!

Brunch & lunch serve up a series of breakfasts, tortas (Mexican Sandwiches), quesadilla, salads and tacos. The dinner menu is where things truly get serious and their full range of  amazing antijitos, tortas, sides, deserts and tacos become available.

The tacos are where this place truly shines. There are a choice of 8 different kinds and truly authentic Mexican. There is flank steak, braised pork in guajillo salsa, chicken, vegetables, Shrimp sautéed with garlic, onion, tomato and pasilla chillies (which is sooooooo necessary), and beer battered fish, chipotle-lime mayo, cabbage, pico de gallo. Their tacos are so serious, this picture to the left is me enjoying some of them whilst playing at the Lockside Lounge upstairs (who says guys can’t multitask). Every friday is Suenos dorado where tacos and Coronas are £2!!!!!

Oh snap I forgot about the peanuts – the place serves up these peanuts free which are coated in their secret recipe sauce that are sooooo good – I can’t get enough of them – they are like crack.

I haven’t started on the drinks either – being the Lockside’s little sister you know they come correct with the drinks & is the perfect place if you want to go for some drinks rather than food- there are 5 different variety of margarita including tamarind, hibiscus and jalapeno; a whole host of mexican cocktails and beers.

Cafe Chula is the perfect spot of all occasions, whether you want to get your food on, your snack on, or your drink on, its small cosy, overlooking Regents Canal and Camden Lock as well as being just below the Lockside Lounge – the place is the bomb!!!

Daddy Donkey

100 Leather Lane, EC1N 7TE
http://www.daddydonkey.co.uk

Whose your daddy? This place is one of the certified best street food places in London yet alone for burritos. Daddy Donkeys is a big look, super popular and always flanked by a large queue but worth the wait. Theres a choice between, burritos, tacos, fajitas and naked burritos. They serve up breakfast burritos but I’m neither a breakfast person nor a morning person so I’ve never been there early enough to try them. There’s a wide range of fillings and they are all super tasty. Once you see that queue you will know why Daddy Donkey is the Daddy.

Be warned Daddy Donkey being a street food stall is only open until 3pm and on weekdays. I have to mission across London taking a sneaky super long lunch break just to get a of those double D’s and its well worth the mission

Thats all for now. In the near future I may do a best Mexican restaurant special roundup

Get your food on

Tendai