Fakeotle

It’s certainly no secret that one of my favourite things about the USA was Chipotle, and to say that I miss it dearly is quite an understatement. It surprises me that they haven’t opened up any chains over here, let alone anywhere else in the world – as it was always so popular in New York!

Still, that hasn’t stopped people copying their idea, and of course, I’m always lured by the promise of a generic alternative. So far, we’ve eaten at two of them in London, and here’s what I thought of them.

• Ninteen Ten Mexican Kitchen: Seemingly exclusive to Westfield outlets. Nicely flavoured meat, but the guacamole is a bit bland, and the hot sauce is medium-mild at best. Still, easily the default choice should we have to dine in the foodcourt. gerrod.com rating: 7/10.
• Tortilla: Very strongly influenced by Chipotle, right down to the same ingredients offered to you on signs of the same colour and written in the same font. Very tasty, and they weren’t mucking around when they labelled the “hot” salsa! The guacamole is also very nice, and I appreciated having two choices of rice. Still not quite up to scratch, but definitely warrants another visit. gerrod.com rating: 8/10.

I thought there was a third restaurant when I started this article, but it turns out it was another branch of Tortilla that I ate at, late one night with Todd. Oh well!