Cool Chile Co.

The only corn tortillas I will buy in London. Every taco vendor I’ve asked — and I ask EVERYONE I order a taco from, incluidng Wahaca and Breddo’s — uses these tortillas.
They offer regular yellow and blue corn (but I find the texture of the blue to be too hard, which means they tear and fall apart if you try to use them for anything the requires folding — soft tacos or enchiladas).
They are only open in the market Thurs, Fri, Sat, and not often one of the early birds (some stalls open around 8a on those days). Reasonable prices and they freeze well, so load up!

Excellent selection of Mexican dried and powdered chilies, spices, herbs, chocolate and vanilla. The widest range and best quality I’ve found in one location in London (other than online shops). Getting the right spices makes a huge difference when cooking Mexican food and I was able to stock my pantry with lots of the must haves. I’ve also been happy to pick up corn tortillas, fresh poblano chilies at this stall in the Jubilee Market section and I hear they also have fresh tomatillos when in season.
They also sell bean kits, pozule kits and masa harina, which are a bit pricey and not really worth it unless you’re in a pinch — You can find much better values for these dried items from other Mexican grocery sources.
Bottled salsas are okay, I’ve had better and worse. Anyway, I think fresh salsa is so easy to make and much better tasting, I rarely buy the bottled stuff. A quick run to the grocery for onions, tomatoes, green chilies, garlic, cilantro, lime and you can make your own salsa fresh! Look up some recipes and get the spices and chilies you need from Cool Chile Co. and experiment for yourself — it’s worth it.
Cool Chile Co also runs a restaurant on Westbourne Grove called Taqueria. I walked by it last weekend and it was quite busy. If I had not filled up from the many food stalls at Brick Lane market a little while earlier, I would have stopped for some grub. I’ll definitely go and try it out soon as I continue my quest for good Mexican food in London.

Invaluable supplier of superb Mexican chillies and fresh corn tortillas. Love their Habanero hot sauce too.

I grew up in the American Southwest where enchiladas and fajitas ranked right along macaroni and cheese as your typical everyday fare. Some people seek out digestive biscuits if they’re stomach is feeling a little unsettled… I crave tortilla chips with hot picante sauce.
I therefore feel fairly qualified to rate the Cool Chile Co. with a pretty even hand. Let’s start with the good things: their whole and powdered dried chilies are a valuable addition to London’s culinary landscape… generally sooo hard to come by in a «regular» grocery store, and the wonderful layers of flavour these chilies impart leave the purely hot and slightly bitter green chilies used in much of Asian cooking far behind in the dust. Also, the fact that they carry dried Mexican black beans is a real treat… these were once one of my dietary staples (and essential for making a decent burrito), but I now rarely see these unless I’m on a trip home.
And now, for the not-​so-​great… I find their salsas and hot sauces disappointingly underwhelming… the worst part is that this was where they could have really shined, and it’s where they fell through. They may have met the mark with the tomatillo salsa (albeit, *just*)… but everything else lacks the outrageous punch of zest and tang and flavour that made this Mexican condiment such a superstar in the US.