My half and half – half chicken, half steak – weighs in at a whopping 560 grams and once it’s unpacked it’s like an exploding Mexican food bomb – one thing you get at this City burrito joint is great tasting fresh food, quite a bit of it, and excellent VFM (Value For Money). I’m at Burrito Mama whose premises are a Mexican Jumping Bean’s leap from St Paul’s Cathedral.
The concept is fast, hot Mexican food with the option to eat in their 30-seater funky restaurant or take it away.
There’s even an app for both iPhone and Android which allows you to order and pay for a swift collection and you can even get free food with the online loyalty reward scheme. Inside, you’ll find two self-service ordering tills and a human if you get stuck.
The restaurant is the little sister of Wahaca and the brainchild of Thomasina Miers (Mama) and it’s inside the shopping centre, One New Change, you’ll find both. The menu isn’t exhaustive in a really good way, which means customers don’t hang around deciding what they’d like. Choose from a Burrito Mama (£6.50) stuffed with Mexican green rice, black beans, guacamole, crunchy slaw, crema, melted cheese, salsa and a meat filling of your choice.
All this is wrapped in a griddled flour white tortilla or the choice of wholemeal. For those who want a little variety there’s the half and half which allows you to choose from 2 fillings;
there’s a lighter option in the Mexican Mama which is packed with more slaw than rice; Baby Burrito (£5.00) is the Burrito Mama but slightly smaller; a Burrito pot (£5.00) comes sin Tortilla and has rice, beans, slaw, crema, salsa and a filling of choice (if you don’t choose the chorizo that weighs in at under 500 kcal); crispy leaves, black beans, slaw, salsa fresca, crema and a filling of choice is the Naked Mama (£6.00).
The fillings include Pork Pibil (outdoor reared pork, with their secret marinade, slow braised); grilled chicken (higher welfare chicken seared over a charcoal grill; British steak (chargrilled) which is an additional 50p; there’s a grilled spicy chorizo and roasted red onion and a vegetarian option (chargrilled mixed peppers, onions, courgettes and sprinkled with Mexican oregano) you can deduct 50p from your bill if you choose this. There’s a mild, medium and hot salsa. If you have room for sides, there’s guacamole or salsa served with tortilla chips (£2.00); Mama’s scratchings dusted with chill and sugar salt (£2.00); ‘Manomasa’ bagged tortilla chips in three flavours (£1.00).
If you fancy something a little sweet then there are small bite-sized sugary desserts freshly made on the premises include Chocolate Tres Leche Cake (£1.00) dense chocolate cake soaked in a mixture of three milks and topped with crunchy peanut; Mexican vanilla panacotta (£1.00) and a rice crispy crunch cake (£1.00) which has been made with chilli infused chocolate from the South Devon Chilli Farm.
Drinks include Mexican beer and soft drinks.
I loved the food, quick, filling and very, very tasty and all for under £10 – bargain!
Burrito Mama, One New Change, London, EC4M 9AF
Opening hours: Monday – Friday 11.30am — 9pm, Saturday — Sunday 12 Noon — 6pm
