T mailed me when she got an email asking her to come along to a relaunch. I wrote back in approximately 0.00001 seconds “Are you kidding? Of course!”
Tortilla hasn’t reached our sleepy corner of Hampshire and only came on the scene after T pretty much left London, so it was new to her to be honest, and she hadn’t realised that it was my “occasional treat lunch” from my office in Hammersmith, so I thought I’d better enlighten her. (Ed note: What? Treat lunch? I need to have a word with you Barrow)
Their formula is pretty simple: combining tasty fresh Mexican-style food and giving you the choice of how it gets put together.
They have 10 Tortilla Truths they live by
– number 5 is a bit suspect, but the rest work. And perhaps we could live by 5 too, if it always tastes that good.
The prices are very reasonable too, at around £6 for a burrito (Ed’s note: you’d better explain what a burrito is here, everyone makes them slightly differently) made to your exact specifications.
Their burritos are:
- Choice of tortilla (small or large, nothing fancy with herbs in it thank God) There is also a ‘naked’ version with just the fillings.
- Choice of rice (2, so not exactly tricky)
- Choice of 2 sorts of beans (ditto)
- Onions or peppers (or both)
- Choice of meats: beef, chicken or pork in a variety of styles (what they have on depends on what’s ready as it’s all cooked fresh, but there’s always been a minimum choice of three when I’ve been)
- 3 types of salsa ranging from mild to WOW…..
- Cheese
- Sour cream
- Guacamole on top.
All tightly wrapped in foil and put in a nice paper bag for you
Not my best picture ever, but you can see a few things here – first, that they have loads of people working, which has always been my experience; no-one hangs about! Second, that the ingredients are right in front of you – you know exactly what you’re getting. And third, you can see how the burrito looks when it’s about to disappear into its paper bag. That foil roll on the left.
Don’t be put off by that – it’s packed tight to retain heat so that when you get back home/office/the table two steps away, it’s still steaming and yummy.
I’m sure that set of ingredients makes an awful lot of possible combinations – I reckon you could order something different pretty much every day for a year.
I do think it’s reasonably-priced too, by my maths you could feed a family of four for £30. Everyone can choose what they want and it’s finger-food, which kids love! Hint: take wet wipes 😉
I know no-one who reads this blog ever drinks, but they do serve alcohol too, in case you have friends who drink. Beer and tequila (soft drinks as well, of course). I can’t guarantee you’ll have your tequila served by a restaurant manager like we did, but I now know the difference between some of the different types of tequila (Estate was the nicest of the ones we tried), and I know that Mezcal isn’t for me.
So next time you’re out, stuck for lunch or light dinner options, give Tortilla a try, you really can have it exactly the way you like it.
Mexican food comes in all shapes and sizes, but for me it’s burrito-shaped and it lives at Tortilla.
You can find your nearest restaurant here.