Poncho no 8, Spitalfields

Advertising itself as a 'gourmet burrito' shop, poncho no 8 in Spitalfields isn't the first burrito joint in London by any stretch of the imagination; that's fine, there is always room for competition, though it may all be fruitless when the Chipotle circus rolls into town in April 2010. American burritos are better, as every expat now living in London will tell you (even if you don't want to hear it). Despite this, I think the burrito scene in London is pretty good, with Chilango and Daddy Donkey as my top choices. I'm still yet to try Luardos, though this will be rectified soon. Anyway, poncho no 8:

Barbacoa beef burrito with pico de gallo, pinto beans and rice. The meat tasted like nothing and despite being tender, was kind of glue-like. The rice was bland (I received plain rice, due to the coriander rice running out - everyone else after and before me got the proper stuff). The pico de gallo was a strong point, tasting fresh, zingy and adding some much needed flavour. The pinto beans were fine. The actual tortilla itself was basic and soft enough, though it carried some stale bits.

A pretty disappointing burrito, especially considering the recent positive write up on the excellent Good For Lunch. Perhaps I had a spot of bad luck. In fact, I'm sure I did, as both the beef and then the rice ran out as soon as I was ordering, admittedly near closing time. I'm sure they're doing well though, as one of the managers explained to another customer that they were looking at opening another store, whilst I was eating. I'll stick to Chilango, I think.