Benito's hat, Fitzrovia, London

A chance look at its review in Metro led me to Benitos Hat and I am eternally indebted to the daily paper now. Benitos is quite simple a little heaven! The ambience is warm, the drinks are great and the food is quite frankly-out of this world fantastic!! Fresh ingredients, smiling faces and penny prices make me visit it every week….just want to say a big thank you to the owners and ask them- when and where are you opening your next branch??

There’s a mexican joint in W1 named Benito’s
that serves up some real fine burritos,
my 3rd in fourth days,
so a bit of a haze,
but still left me buzzing like a mosquito!

(or 'it’s a damn fine place to eat-o’ - as suggested by Mofish).

Accepted, it’s poor - but any suggestions for a better 5th line would be welcome. You try finding a rhyme for burrito!

awsome place great food must place to go

I try and mix it up when I go to Benito’s Hat so I can say that the varieties of burritos and tacos are all fantastic. I also love the way when you eat in you get nachos with your burrito.

Warning though - it is a bit addictive and I find myself planning my weeks around when I will again return to Benito’s Hat!

The Scene: Having just walked down to Benito’s Hat and purchased a Burrito filled to the brim with succulent pork, juicy salsa, re-fried beans, rice and cheese, Adam returns to his desk to work and eat.

The Action:

Bite 1: MM

Bite 2: MMMMMMMM

Bite 3: MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

””

””

Many Bites Later: “OH MY GOD THAT WAS ONE HELL OF A BURRITO!”

End Scene

Now that might seem a tad theatrical but the burritos from this place merit theatrics as the burritos from this place are epic masterpieces. At 5.00 you might think them a tad pricey, in which case I recommend the Tacos but if you can afford it go big, go blockbusting and get a few of your pals (aka Three Amigos) together for lunchtime burritos.

Heard about Benito’s Hat the other day and dragged 2 friends after a gruelling session at the gym. I was expecting more of a restaurant rather than a fast-food type place but boy were the burrito’s good. Stuffed full of flavour. We were served by two rather fine specimens of eye-candy which helped, especially as we couldn’t really understand their questions regarding filling, which we just blagged. We sat inside which was quite cramped but food was great. Not a place to aim for for proper gathering but if on the run or needing a quick fix throughly recommended

Great place and a great name! Basically, it’s a mexican Subway. The food was great - i had a chicken burritto - and REALLY fast. In fact, a little too fast! The guys behind the counter bark questions every couple of seconds, which although it’s pretty intense it does get the job done!

At £4 it’s not exactly a cheap eat but for what you get it’s worth it.

Admittedly, I’ve been an uber-lazy Qyper lately. But man-o-man, Benito’s Hat definitely required some reviewing goodness. Perhaps I’ve never properly expressed my extreme love for some fine Mexican (food), but Benito’s makes one mighty burrito and I’ve been dreaming about it since our first encounter. I can’t believe I haven’t been there earlier - I supposed that timing is everything in such relationships. Benito’s -- I heart you!

Benito’s Hat. Benito’s Hat. Benito’s Hat.

Is incredible.

On a street that seems to have an abundance of Mediterranean and Mexican eateries. This one stands out, originally because of it’s silly name and then very quickly because of the Burritos.

It’s no real looker, there’s no atmosphere worth the mention but the fact that the place doesn’t have that and still receives 4 stars? It’s because they mean business.

With almost clinical precision the staff can build a burrito the size of your head and they’ll still throw some nachos on the side. Choose from a selection of contents like a variety of meat and an array of salad it’s a little like a Mex Subway without the unlimited refills and the faint stink of health propaganda.

The lack of bottomless soft drinks is nothing to worry about either, no, for unlike subway this groundbreaker of an establishment serves bottled beer! Including Negra Modelo! Seriously there’s no better compliment to a Burrito than a nice cold Modelo, except, perhaps, Benito’s very own hat -

- Not on the menu as of yet.

I can manage a chicken buritto, a beef buritto, tortilla chips and a coke, then i need a lay down. The food is soooo good though and really fresh

There are so many positive recommendations here it is hard to contribute something new…. well done Qypers on visiting what I believe to be a Goodge street God.
I’ll keep my opinion short (for once). I loved the fact that vegetarian’s are not charged extra for guacamole, proving there are some stores that understand vegetarians deserve a little more. I didn’t like the queue running out into the winter cold, but that isn’t down to slow service, that is down to location and popularity. It seems this is the place to go if you want a huge meal for a handful of change, just make sure you have a jacket and some time to wait, because it sure is worth it!

I have been sitting in front of my pc for about 5 minutes and I still cant seem to come up with the right words that will do this little “gem” of a place justice. Dont let the wooden furniture, token cacti and large images of VW beetles put you off, as the food is unlike any mexican you have ever had.
While the menu may be simple and to the point, the ingredients are fresh and better yet, the staff have a heavy hand. I personally would recommend the burrito with the works and the pork filling - the taste has a magnetic force that will lure you in again.
And if the mammoth burrito is not enough for you, try their cinnamon tortilla dessert which becomes available after 6 in the evening.
Enough talk - need to get there now!

As a bit of a Mexican food junkie, I have been thrilled by the recent proliferation of Mexican restaurants in London and have rushed to try as many as I can. For me, Benito’s Hat is the best cheap and cheerful Mexican fix in the capital (for classic plated Mexican my pick would be either Mestizo or Green & Red).

I have been to the Hat several times and found each of the burritos I’ve tried pretty incredible: mouthwateringly tender pork, flavourful chicken (I’ve never found it stringy) and lovely chunks of meaty steak. Delicious. The black beans are as good as any I have sampled in Mexico or the States and the salsas perfection. The salsa verde is my favourite, but the salsa brava will blow your socks off. The margaritas have that fresh zingy simplicity and kick I am looking for - some of the only ones I’ve found in London which are not made from a mix.

The service is always warm and friendly and on the occasions when I have had to wait, the queue has moved pretty quickly. I love the music and the vibe. Need I say more?

Viva la Hat!

Sorry, I don’t understand the hype about this restaurant. The concept is young and funny, ok, some of the waiters might be cute, ok, they play really good music (the Cure, Oasis, well at least what I’d call good music, defenitely for the young crowd, though; it’s also quite loud, not a place for a romantic dinner for sure), ok, they have really friendly staff, ok, so everything pointing towards a 4-5 star rating.

Still: the food was simply not good enough. We paid 15 pounds for 2 burritos, chips and a beer. That’s good for London. But in that area Goodge/Charlotte street are a lot of eateries where you’d pay roughly the same, so this price seems to be normal and to be expected for the area.
And still, to come back to the point the food simply wasn’t great. It was filling, for sure, but the chicken, luke warm and stringy, not to my liking. The guacamole quite tasteless, but - here they get credit: they’ve used nice and ripe avocados. The salsa was good. But the beans, well I’ve had better ones, I found them a bit bland. Same was true for the vegetarion option burrito my friend tried. Good there were salt and pepper on the table.

In conclusion, a place to get filling, rich food, but in terms of taste not my first choice.

I’ll continue looking for great Mexican food in London.

I ate at Benito’s Hat last Friday night, so it has taken me a week to get on and write about it, but I have only just joined Qype.
Anyway, as confirmed by everyone above, the food and service are both FAB!
Best of luck to all involved and us hungry folk will keep coming back :-)

Oiga amigos, Calimex street food has well and truly descended on Fitzrovia. But no this isn’t the hood of a balmy Guadalajara suburb. By contrast, Benito’s Hat is cushioned opposite a deluxe Habitat storefront in the culinary-rich area of W1.

The happy arrival of this affordable, hearty eaterie comes off the trend of three burrito bars in the vicinity of Goodge St (the longstanding El Burrito restaurant and the excellent Freebird stall outside Oxfam, another off Exmouth Market (where there’s also a second Freebird stall) and Mucho Mas on Upper Street, Islington.

And it’s a welcome cacophony of Latin spirit and sound, as a concoction of dipping starters appear in plastic postbox red baskets. We’re ushered up to the front of the restaurant to grab our burrito (mine is of the beef variety), wrapped in silver foil and chomped hungrily as salty margaritas offset our tantalised taste buds.

Diners are able to select a bespoke combination of marinated meats, vegetables, rice, beans, cheese and fresh salsas, all wrapped in a fresh warm tortilla or served over romaine lettuce. The meals come in at a student-friendly £4 to £6 which makes the venue a strong contender for the 'Cheap Eat of the Region’ Award! Surrounded by the good company of Qypers nestled in the back corner of the restaurant, this provided the ideal spot for a friendly 'meat and greet’ however it wouldn’t get my vote for first date place. A dollop of guacamole on your lapel may not be the most enticing way to lure a potential amorado.

Nonetheless, refreshingly crunchy cinnamon sticks with vanilla ice cream rounded off (quite literally) a Latin infused evening leaving me rather more rotund but quietly content.

Love this place for the occaisonal decadent lunch (like I had just a few minutes ago). Its a close to a real mexican burrito as I have found in the UK. Go for the extra spicy sauce and the guacamole… go on, you only live once.

Benito’s burritos are fantastic.

I’m sure the rest of their meal choices are too, but that’s what I went for - a chicken burrito with refried (baked) beans, rice, salad, cheese and a tomato and onion salsa. It all gets made up in front of you and packaged up into a foil wrap, put in a basket with a few tortilla chips and off you go. There’s no waiter service but that was one of the things I loved about the place - you just choose what you want, pay and away - fast food but it’s great quality.

The staff almost guide you through your choices too, so if you feel a little nervous about selecting incongruous ingredients fear not! Don’t let the sauce choices fool you either - there was a lack of spice in my chosen salsa (which is what I wanted) but the whole burrito was still full of flavour and textures. They’re pretty big too, so will fill a hungry stomach up pretty nicely.

As mentioned by other reviewers, the cinnamon crispy tortilla strips with ice cream were amazing, and well worth sampling even if you don’t normally 'do’ desserts.

A nice smooth Mexican beer washed the lot down, along with a few Margaritas and Palomas. I have to be honest, I couldn’t tell a great deal of difference between the two, but the Margarita maybe had the edge in strength. Palomas are essentially tequilla, lime juice, grapefruit juice and soda. Very nice, and it was great to be able to try something new and different from the usual choices found in the smaller restaurants and bars.

From the outside it is minimalist and unassuming, but once you get inside there is a really good atmosphere, one that is clearly being shared by both punters and staff alike. The honcho, Ben, made sure we were happy throughout the evening and I applaud him for what he’s achieved with Benito’s Hat, it really is somewhere a bit different - equally suited to a quick but cool bite or a sit in with friends and drinks! I would definitely head back there when I’m in the area.

Benito’s Hat is great for a healthy fast food fix. You design your own burrito so you can pile on as many toppings as you want. You may feel like you cannot eat another thing after this but make sure you leave room for dessert - the buenlos with icecream are divine.

I love beans! Aren’t they great? Benito’s does their burritos with your choice of black beans or baked beans - no Mexican food should go without Mexican beans. (Try saying that ten times fast hehe)

No really, I enjoyed my super-sized, had to hold with both hands, filled with guacamole, salad, chicken and a medium spicy sauce, burrito - it was definitely worth it’s weight in pennies. They are served informally in a coloured basket, which also works as a hat so long as you haven’t spilt half your burrito in there beforehand, or things could get sticky!

The margaritas washed it down nicely, and the cinnnamon sticks with ice cream for dessert was a winner.

The place itself has a friendly vibe, and the production line speeds up the burrito-making process. There isn’t heaps of sitting room but we got the funkiest booth at the back :-)

Visited this fairly new establishment on a Tuesday night and was amazed to see bums on all seats throughout. It’s clearly very popular both as a takeaway destination and eat in - they do some great margaritas and have a little outside section for lovely evenings and dirty smokers (like me).

As more and more Mexican places open up, it’s good to find one that does it right. Mexican food shouldn’t be about waiters wearing sombreros and colourful blankets, bringing prettily-presented dishes and toilets with cheesy signs saying 'senoritas’. It’s about serving fresh, convenient, simple, non-greasy and flavoursome food. Benito’s certainly ticked all of those boxes for me.

There’s a bit of a glut of new Mexican places in central London right now, but that doesn’t mean we’re necessarily spoilt for choice. There’s always room for improvement when you’re dealing with burritos I think and Benito’s Hat is on to a real winner.

The place itslef is really nice, cool decor, a bit of a vibe about it and the staff are excellent, recommending you beers and cocktails as well as guiding you through the various burrito filling chices (and Ben, the guy behind the whole venture is a good laugh too and not afraid to get stuck in behind the counter).

I went for the pork burrito with refried beans, sour cream, guacamole and the hot sauce and it was very good indeed. No greasiness, very tasty and fresh, and the hot sauce was spicy enough to make my beer disappear a bit quicker but didn’t overwhelm all the other ingredients.

But Benito’s hat really does save the best for last…Mexican dessert! Tortilla cinnamon crisps with vanilla ice cream, awesome stuff and a fantastic end to a fab meal.

I have a new favourite burrito destination!

i love this place. Food is delicious - burritos done the right way. Proper steak or chicken, guac, veg and firey salsas. Perfect for a quick bite and a drink. Atmosphere v cool…

After just discovering this place yesterday, I was incredibly pleased with my lunch there. The soft tacos with steak and guacamole were amazing and I thought the nachos were some of the best I’ve had since leaving the Southern US (a much better location for Mexican food).

Overall, I thought that for a 6 pound mexican meal in Central London, it might be the best option. I still prefer Wahacca in Covent Garden for a proper Mexican dinner, but for lunch, this place is an amazing option.

omg!!!!! just went to get my first takeaway meal from Benito’s Hat and it is awesome!I got the tacos with spicy chicken,sour cream, guacomole,tomato and onion salsa and a spicy chilli sauce.My first bite was an explosion of mexican flavours that will linger on for the rest of the day and until i get my next dose

I was very impressed with the boys at Benitos’ Hat. Often eating mexican in London I have found the food can be too greasy and it doesn’t really fill the void. However, I think the food is that bit fresher at Benito’s which leaves you feeling satisfied after hammering down a well-earned burrito. Think it is a good place for a few quiet ones after a long day at the office as well.