Chilango, Fleet St

Chilango: Ever since I tried the tacos at a Lucha Libre event at the Roundhouse in December of 2008 (where I was rewarded with a voucher for a free burrito) I've been a fan. They were, at the time, the best tacos I had tried in London, and they're still up there, along with the efforts by fella who has a stall on Lower Marsh in Waterloo, and those from Daddy Donkey. Unashamedly spicy and full of flavour, they pulled no punches; a refreshing change from the myriad of bland and ultimately lazy tacos and burritos available in the city, pre the recent burrito-craze. Of course, restaurants such as Taqueria and wahaca are attempting to bring a more 'Mex-Mex' (rather than Tex-Mex) slant to Mexican food in London, but Chilango's burritos remain a firm favourite. I've had a countless number of burritos from both the Angel and Fleet St stores; some have been paid for by myself, whilst others have been generously handed to me gratis, either to say thank you for being a loyal customer or to entice me in and draw my regular custom (it worked). The burritos always taste incredibly fresh: the fillings are never meagre or bland, packing a punch in both the flavour and spiciness ranks on their own. The chicken, for example, is a recent favourite of mine with its hot and spicy chipotle marinade leaving a trail of fire on my lips. That's not to underestimate the chargrilled, tender steak, a firm fallback in any situation. Additionally, the other components of the burrito are also paid a great deal of attention it seems. The coriander and lime rice is probably the best example thereof in London, whilst the pico de gallo is delicious enough to eat on its own - zingy and fresh tasting. I like that they give away free burritos whenever a store opens, and that they're always willing to support a good cause. The negatives for me are the usual in any burrito joint: you have to pay for guacamole (a mammoth 80p here!) and the tortilla wraps aren't as good as those at Luardos.

P.S. Have a look at a couple of pictures:

Steak burrito (£5.90)

Agua Fresca (£1.60 - unlimited refills)

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.