Chipotle

I'm told that there are three Chipotle outlets in London ( the newest opening on St Martin's Lane , just round the corner from here on the 17th of July). For those not familiar, this is an American chain, to the point where store openings and training are done by a team flown over from the US. What goes with that is that the food is thoroughly Tex-Mex, with the flavours dampened down. And I have to say that the formula hasn't travelled all that well.

On my last visit here, it was a busy Saturday lunchtime ; there was a queue of a good 15 people, all of whom, it has to be said, were dealt with efficiently. I noticed three points:

1 - Every single person in the queue ordered a burrito, not a taco or a salad - is this because we Brits don't really know about tacos I wonder ?

2 - The menu is exactly the same as in the US - the sole difference I noted was that the prices were of course denominated in £ not $. So , what in the US is a $6.95 burrito is......50% more expensive here. Oh dear.

3 - Even more oh dear, the barbacoa burrito I had was a good 50% smaller than it's US equivalent. And it smelled vile - not off, just not good.

So , in essence, we're being bilked. Not good - up the portion size, reduce the price, but as it stands, it's somewhat overpriced and not great food.

More Tex Mex than real Mexican -as 'burritos' are only really eaten far up North in Mexico-  Chipotle is very very tasty! I could quite happily eat there everyday! Mind you, portions are for big appetites! 

If babies could talk they’d be saying Burrito! That’s because the burrito you will get here is only suitable for toddlers under 18 months (as long as they are on solid food). For all of us who know what a burrito at chipotle looks like, this is just a joke. Chipotle gives you TWO scoops of meat not one. At £7 this place is a DAYLIGHT ROBBERY!!!

Best veggie burrito around! Really tasty and fresh.

I love burritos, even if I usually make a massive mess eating them. I wanted to try Chipotle when I first heard it was coming to London, and have now been a couple of times. I usually have the chicken, or steak, depending on how rich I'm feeling. I love the flavours of the Chipotle burrito, and it seems to fall apart less than Chilangos.

Honestly, it's good food, but I would make a trek there. It's a place I go for good fast food in central London, but at the end of the day, it is just a fast food joint.

Europe's first Chipotle! Naturally I had to check it out, since I absolutely love Chipotle and eat there as often as possible when I'm in the States.

The restaurant is average sized with a nice furnishing - the usual you can expect from a fast food joint.

The food is excellent - just as it is in the US. You really get what you expect. I'm getting hungry just thinking about their awesome guacamole.

We've been to this restaurant twice - first time the service was very good, no problem at all. The second time though I had a few problems communicating, the lady behind the counter didn't seem to understand that I wanted two tacos instead of three and she was weird in general. But it all worked out in the end and we left the restaurant well fed both times.

I really hope this won't be the last restaurant in Europe - it would be awesome if Chipotle would open a restaurant in Germany.

Loving the fact the city is getting into Burritos. Finally got down to Chipotle and was my favourite place when I was in Kansas. However as you can imagine that was twice the size of the Burrito I received in London. I got a decent sized Burrito for London standards.

Went for the Spicy Beef and was tender and nicely spiced. I added Brown Rice, Black Beans, Medium Salsa, Sour Cream, Cheese and salad. Very very good salsa and the brown rice choice threw me and love my brown rice. I only tend to get brown rice when visiting a health food shop!

I enjoyed this meal thoroughly and would go back again.

Finally - America's best Mexican takeaway in London. Fantastic burritos!

This was my second visit to a London Burrito joint, the first being Benito's Hat last year.

I see people have commented how pricey the Burrito's are however you have got to realise you get what you pay for - in this case ethical, free-range and organic ingredients though I do agree with other reviewers - the Guacamole is far too expensive and though I am more than happy to pay extra for organic/free-range meats, I do expect a similar meat portion size which in this case looked to be under.

For this visit I plumped for a Chicken Burrito with hot sauce, brown rice, black beans, cheese and lettuce and took a beer to wash it down.

It was superbly wrapped meaning it didn't fall apart as I demolished it and the flavours balanced out nicely with the kick of the sauce intensifying near the end though if you want more sauce, you can help yourself to Tabasco brand varieties at no extra cost.

For me this was a great Burrito experience along with the space but if you're still undecided which Burrito palace to visit or simply want more, then I suggest you read the 'Burrito Diary' of GirlCheese who's reviewed a LOT of places along with the different types of Burrito's in each http://girlcheese.posterous.com/tag/burritodiary

Enjoy!

Meh.

A burrito beats a burger, especially if it's in the same price range (£7) as it's healthier.... But I felt very much like I was in a mexican Subway.

£7 for a tortilla, some rice, cooked beef/pork/chicken, plus £1.40 for a dollop of guacamole.

If the bathrooms were clean, had paper, and the water temperature of the hyper-sensitive automatic taps wasn't set to scalding hot, I might have considered going back. As it stands, I'm perfectly capable of cooking a bit of meat and rolling it up in a fist-sized lump.

Moral of the story: Beats Subway. And costs more. That's about it.

I first discovered Chipotle when I was in New York a few years ago which is why I was very excited to here that the chain was coming to London. And I wasn't let down!

The restaurant is larger than some of it's London competitors (chilango, Benito's Hat) in terms of seating space but the food is just as good.

Price-wise, not too expensive but I guess if you add on a few drinks it could end up a bit more dear than your average burrito meal.

The quality of the ingredients is something that you can taste from the first bite. Guacamole is particularly good here.

I am a huge Chipotle fan from the states, now living in Germany.
I visited London and we ate at Chipotle on the first day. Boy did it hit the spot. All the right flavors, textures, and everything.
We ended up being in the neighborhood the following evening so we went back and told the manager making the burritos our story of coming all the way to London to get a decent burrito and he paid for our burritos!
Can't beat that!
Now if we could only get some Chipotle in Germany....

Mmmm, after many months of missing my Chipotle back in America, I finally decided to see how England was faring with its burrito-tasticness. I still haven't tried any of the other venues in London, although I can say that I'm pretty satisfied with this one. While it is more expensive than in America, the taste is still the same, and it seriously hits the spot when you haven't eaten all day. The service was quick, and pretty standard for London food service. I had the vegetarian burrito with pretty much all the fixings and the hottest salsa, and let me tell you, the guacamole is fantastic! I think even if I ate meat I'd go for the vegetarian just for the free guac (and the lower price ;D). I'd definitely come back for a quick bite which is sure to get me full and satisfied.

I must have eaten 50 burritos here since I discovered it in June, but the guacamole is far too expensive which is why it gets 4 stars instead of 5.

Chipotle have incredibly friendly staff, always smiling and happy to be there. You get the feeling that they love burritos as much as you do.

Their burritos are assembled with military precision, despite being the UK outpost of an American corporation, and Chipotle ranks with Benito's Hat and Chilango as one of my top 3 london purveyors of fine burritos.

Great value mexican food - would reccomend the tacos! You can ask for crispy shell or soft (how they do it in Mexico!).

Very tasty stuff and very filling too!

Fast service so good for a quick pit-stop!

Sometimes a bit too busy though so you have to hang around for a seat or queue for a while.

I popped in here for a quick lunch as I had heard from a colleague that it was quick and tasty. I thought it was brilliant, service is simple and friendly with great portion sizes. I was stuffed!

I can definately recommend the steak wrap but my colleague is wheat intolerant and loved the amount of stuff she could eat so convieniently located near to work!

We'll be heading back there again soon.

Jen Richardson

This self described Mexican grill is a comfortable enough spot to slide into for a quick bite. During my visit, counter service was friendly and efficient while constructing the day's “featured” burrito for me. The ample and sturdy wrap of :higher welfare: chicken (whatever that means) with coriander-lime rice, pinto beans, roasted chilli-corn salsa and sour cream set me back £6.60, which seemed pretty good value given the Central London location and the quantity of food.

Did I like it? Sure. But I wouldn't go so far as to say I loved it. Will I return? Well, stranger things have happened. Such swift and smiley service could possibly come in handy when hungry and in rush. Still, there are better Mexican style options in town and I doubt very seriously Chipotle will ever pull me away from Daddy D, Chilango or Wahaca.

Great! Simple Mexican food done well. Really quick and clean and fresh, crisp ingredients! Will definitely be back for more!

I was incredibly excited to see a branch of US burrito chain Chipotle open up in London. They're a little behind the curve though - so many burrito places have opened up recently that they're not the big guys in town. Burritos here are pricier than at other outlets (Benito's Hat, Chilangos, etc) and a lot more expensive than the burrito trucks (Luardos, Daddy Donkey). Burritos are about the same size here as other places in London (but smaller than the burritos I remember from back in the US). If you're ok with paying 7 quid for a burrito (add guacamole for 1.40!!) then I guess this is the place for you - otherwise, while the quality of the ingredients is maybe a bit higher than the other places, you might still end up feeling a bit ripped off. A few positives - the carnitas I had was full of porky flavour and there was a nice selection of Tabasco sauces to amp up the spice. There's also pretty decent seating, which makes it a good option for a fast, sit down meal in this part of town, where you can still get out for under a tenner a head. I wish I loved it more - I'll just have to go back to the ones in the US to get my proper Chipotle fix.