I recently wrote about a disappointing burrito at Poncho no 8 in Spitalfields. In that review I explained I had previously heard good things about Luardos, a van selling Mexican street food on Whitecross St. I had to try it ASAP. A bright, sunny day (one of the first of the year) was all the convincing I needed: I'd phone Samantha and get her to buy me a burrito. She's good to me. She said she couldn't see the front of the queue, and had heard from others standing there that the wait would be anything up to an hour and half. 90 minutes for a burrito! In the end, it was closer to about twenty minutes, though by the time she got to the ordering, there was only the chicken option available - they usually have slow-cooked beef, the aforementioned chicken and carnitas. Additionally, there is a vegetarian option which comes with free guacamole. None of these are over a fiver.
Chicken and chorizo burrito (£5). The chicken burrito costs £4.50 usually, but add some chorizo for 50p extra to turn a decent burrito into a great one. The flour tortilla here is superlative, probably the best of any burrito joint I've tried in London, with good blisters and tasting homemade. The fillings were hit and miss: decent pico de gallo; great spiciness from the oily chorizo; good flavour but a dry and mealy texture to the chunks of chicken breast; fairly judged rice. They did work well together, and with the great flavour of the tortilla (something a lot of places don't pay enough attention to, I feel) it was a good burrito. I'd say that Luardos is one of the top burritos in the city, along with Chilango and Daddy Donkey, though you have to be quick to beat the queues and have a choice of filling.
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