by Adam Coghlan and James Hansen Updated Jul 29, 2021, 5:47pm BST
Additional writing from Andrew Leitch
Around 2016, it was declared that London was in the midst of a “taco revolution.” It was big and inaccurate talk. And yet, the reasoning behind it was somehow understandable. More than a revolution, it was simply the case that suddenly London had options for tacos, where all that had existed before were one or two standouts or the sub-par chain restaurant offerings that fed into a wildly inaccurate perception of Mexican food as “a blunt object... all mushed avocado and chilli and vinegary notes, wrapped up in flatbreads with ambitions above their station.” While LA, or even New York still has nothing to fear by way of competition, London’s newcomers have brought a nuanced look at what Mexican food means today and focus on quality that has helped to make things at least a little better.