Tortilla

Let me start by saying I love tortilla! I have ever since I tried it in Wimbledon. It is probably the closest equivalent to true Cali Mexican food you can get here in the UK.
However, despite how much I love it, I don’t feel I could rate this particular branch more than a two (and that’s fairly generous).
Being near London Bridge and having tons of businesses around means it gets extremely busy during lunch with the line resembling that of children awaiting school lunches from the line of staff operation different stations to help build a perfect burrito.
Most of the staff in the construction conveyor belt are fairly happy and welcoming however there are those who just don’t care and would probably suit being in a morgue than a customer facing role. But never mind, give me that delicious Mexican food! Oh, wait… You’re hardly putting any rice… Wait only a minuscule amount of meat?! HALF A TABLE SPOON OF GUAC?! I paid extra for that, LOAD ME UP!
Ok keep calm, slightly skinny burrito is in hand. Sauces and how it is cooked/​seasoned should still make it good… Oh wait… Never mind. It’s bland… Lunch ruined.
It is still a good place to go for food but like the above says, this branch will just give you minuscule amounts of unseasoned and bland food served with a mood rather than a smile.

Service was a little slow. I got the burrito. It made me miss my Qdoba back in the states with it over flowing fillings…

Decent TexMex if you’re looking for a good burrito. It’s one of the best (and most affordable) I’ve found in London and, as an American, I know my burritos. I love the chicken burritos and no matter how many extras you get, you probably won’t have a meal over £10.

Sometimes you just need a burrito and those times Tortilla is a great place to go to. I always recommend the open burritos, here called the naked one, just because I find burritos messy. So go for a naked one and get some guacamole and sour cream on it as well! The pricing is good and it’s a great place for lunch. I also tried the frozen margarita in its cute little jar which most certainly did not disappoint. I only wish I could get a bigger jar…

Tortilla is a great place for a team lunch. For £5 you get a really tasty, filling lunch. There’s always a huge queue but it does move pretty quickly so don’t let it put you off.
I always go for a medium pulled pork burrito with tomato rice, black beans, salsa, sour cream, cheese and hot sauce. I think they do tacos too and there’s also a choice of chicken, beef or veggie.
They really do stuff the burritos full and don’t skimp on anything. The only thing I’m disappointed with is that you have to pay extra for guacamole.
Half the fun is eating a burrito. You have to make sure you take plenty of napkins as it’s really messy, especially when you get to the bottom of the burrito and you have to take the remainder of the foil off. If you’re not covered in juice and rice by the end of it, please teach me how to eat a Tortilla burrito!

Great burritos! Nice and clean, modern look. Good prices and high quality food. Simple, but safe food

9 times out of 10 I find myself in line with an American or Canadian, often lamenting the lack of affordable Mexican food in London. Tortilla fits the bill, up there with Chipotle back in the States. At £7 a pop (if you go big like I do) it’s actually quite a bargain, enough cow to last me a whole day.

Not the best burrito I’ve had but perfectly acceptable!
Pretty good price compared too many other Mexicans, but I think this reflects in the food.

You have to love a fast food place where the unmissable sight when you’re choosing your food is a grill full of proper steaks. In reality, this is pretty much a function of the small size of this outlet (there’s no convenient corner to hide the grill behind, but there you go. Also, the burritos come in two sizes, for those who want to manage their intake of the goodies. I have to say, the small steak burrito I had was one of the better ones I’ve tasted in London– but (there’s always a but), why oh why do all the chains insist on charging extra for guacamole? It’s like charging extra for butter in sandwiches just not really on

One of my favorite fast food eateries in America is Chipotle. As with most American imports, the food here is priced by replacing the $ with a £, thus making it overpriced. I patronized a London Chipotle once and vowed to never return.
Today I discovered Tortilla and finally satisfied my craving for inexpensive Mexican food! They essentially offer the same options as Chipotle, with minor differences:
— Spanish rice (in addition to cilantro/​lime rice)
— Diced onions
— Shredded AND chopped lettuce (oh boy!)
Anyways, though the food isn’t anything to write home about, I gave Tortilla 4 stars because of the price point. The medium burritos and burrito bowls are only £4.95. It’s much cheaper than it’s competitor Chipotle, and affordable on my student budget. Also this location offers tons of seating on the main level and upstairs, or you can go outside and enjoy the views of Bankside.

Very similar to other Tortilla’s, this is not my favourite from this chain.
It’s quite a small one and due to all the offices in the area, this is usually very busy sat lunchtimes.
Tasty and filling, it is worth a visit, they have a good selection of beer and you can make your dish to your own specifications.
The staff are all efficient, with the exception of one of them (the first man in the line who takes your order), so is both efficient, friendly, often funny and very approachable. He turns what could be a glum experience into a pleasant (often interactive) break from work. I hope he never leaves.

Being from California, a state that has a half mexican population, I feel as though I’m entitled to say that I’m a connoisseur of this type of cuisine. Maybe it’s because I was eating rice and beans before I could speak, maybe it’s because I have always tried every tacqueria within a 20 mile radius of every place I’ve ever called home, maybe because the more my mouth burns of salsa, the happier I am. In any of those cases, let me tell you, Tortilla is one of two restaurants in London that can call themselves real mexican food.
A few things to note: they have Cholula sauce, they have delicious fresh guacamole, they know how to do carne asada and shredded chicken very well, they give a guide on how to eat a burrito (since everybody in England eats everything from pizza to tacos to shawarmas with a fork and knife), and they make a decent margarita. All of this points to a very serious attempt to being mexican food to the flavorless UK.
My margarita is raised to you, Tortilla.

I’ve noticed that most people are giving this place a 4 star or a 2 star, but the thing is, having had to search for a decent burrito across London and Paris because my boyfriend has a burrito obsession, I have to say that this is my favourite place. Not only is the flavour the best I have had (anywhere), but the price is also the best in Europe.
£5 for a medium burrito, £6 for a large. For me, the medium-​size was enough. 50 pence extra if you want steak instead of chicken or braised pork. If you want guac, it’s 70 pence extra.
The set up is exactly like Chipotle’s: pick your food (burrito, fajita, naked), pick your meat (chicken, pork, steak, veg), pick your toppings through the assembly line of workers.
The steak… wow…so flavourful and juicy. I’ve never had burrito steak tips so tastily marinated. The cut of the meat is not as tender as the one as Chipotle, which I personally love more because it’s a bit more fatty and chewy.
There’s two types of rice: mexican (with beans) or cilantro. They ask you if you want beans or peppers (they don’t have refried beans). I opted out of the beans and picked the peppers with cooked onions. Also very flavourful!
Three types of salsa: mild (tomatoes and onions), medium (verde), and hot (roja).
Other toppings: sour cream, cheese, lettuce (iceburg AND romaine), fresh onions, and jalapeño peppers.
Also hot sauce at the table.
Oh, and, um, refillable soft drink? Am I still in London?
IMO, waaaay BETTER THAN CHIPOTLE’S
YUMMY!

If you want something out of the ordinary for lunch without having to break a tenner, then come to Tortilla. The foiled wrapped parcels of goodness won’t leave you hungry or disappointed! I would say that if you are a true connoisseur of Mexican food, it probably isn’t the most authentic tasting food. But if you’re freezing your face off, it’s Friday lunchtime and you’re stuck near Blackfriars Bridge, this place will really make you day!
Pre book your food online to avoid a huge queue!

I’m going to give these guys an extra star because not only are the burritos tasty, they’re good value and they’re always consistent. I’ve never had a bad meal here!
No, not quite as good as Chilangos or Benito’s Hat, but very good for somewhere that’s just round the corner from the office.
Took a friend here for lunch and she was more than happy. Success.

Tortilla is a great little Mexican/​Californian burrito chain with five or six outlets dotted about London and I’m very lucky to have one on my route home. This branch is on the ground floor of a modern building in Southwark Street just behind the Tate Modern. It has an additional seating area on the floor above, but this is only opened at lunchtime to cope with the swarms of hungry office types who are queuing out the door.
It’s a café like space; clean, tidy and efficiently run. You are not likely to want to linger for too long once you have scoffed your Mexican snackage but I guess that’s part of the point. You will be as happy here as a solitary diner, a couple or with a larger party — I have visited with B and on also on my own.
Anyway we popped in last Thursday night, I think it is open until 9pm, as we made our way along the Thames after sampling the delights of the Cologne Christmas Market on the Southbank. It always seems to be reasonably quiet if you drop in any time after the lunchtime rush and we received a warm welcome as we mulled over the menu on the wall by the serving area.
Like most of the Mexican grill type places you decide if you are going down the burrito or tacos route, then move onto putting together your dream filling. I’m having a bit of taco love-​in at the moment so I went for a couple of the little corn beauties, with the mouth-​watering carnitas pork which had been slow cooked to within an inch of its life. I built this up with some hot salsa, Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream and shredded iceberg lettuce. B went down the burrito route and had a bad boy stuffed with pork, rice, pinto beans, cheese and a good hit of the medium salsa. A bowl of the freshly made, very zingy, guacamole with a bag of the excellent tortilla chips on the side and we were good to go.
This is mighty, mighty fine fast food using excellent ingredients and lovingly prepared. There are large bottles of chilli sauce on the table should you need it and there a few foodie bits and pieces you can buy to take home should you fancy making your own Mexican feast.
If you are in the mood for a beer then you are in luck as they have an excellent range of both Mexican and American brews. I had a bottle of the Anchor Steam Beer and B washed the bad boy down with a lovely Mexican bottle whose name has completely slipped my mind (not the usual Corona or Dos Equis so I will have to make a return visit to check up on this slight omission!!)
Three quarters of an hour later we left wearing a couple of very big grins with our hunger nicely sated and my wallet less than £20 lighter result.

I go here quite regularly, and it’s very variable.
Everything from ingredient quality to portioning to quality of burrito-​wrapping changes from visit to visit. The quality of the guac is generally a good indicator of if it’s going to be a good day or not. If it looks unripe /​pale /​brown, get your ass out of there and come back another day.
They do a fairly good cali-​mex burrito – not quite as good as Daddy Donkey or anything you’d find in a decent Mission place in SF, but ranging from the just-​passable to the pretty-​damn-​good.
Would recommend the steak of all the meats; tends to be the most reliable. Juicy and often still slightly pink, it’s generally pretty good. Probably not worth it for the veggies out there; thanks to the way they burritos are constructed and the extra-​unreliabless of the guac and optional peppers-​and-​onions combo, you’re likely to end up with a lukewarm and unsatsifying mess.
++points for the chilli sauce, though — be sure to ask for extra hot sauce (Chilula, generally) and fresh chillis at the end if you like it hot. They don’t cost anything, but you have to ask for them specifically.
They also get points for a great North American beer selection; it’s a rare thing even in London to get Anchor Steam and Pacifico, which do go down a treat on a Friday lunchtime.

oh yum, wish i was back there now sipping on a margarita from the slush puppy machine they have. I went here the london duck tour with qype and i was impressed.
Freshly made tortilla wrap or burrito all made in front of you like subway.
Very nice staff may i add that were happy to accomodate requests for slight deviations from the set fillings.
YOU need to be HUNGRY for this as they are HUGE!!! but oh so tasty, unfortunately none near me –hint hint you need to open in wimbledon PLEASE!!! lol.
For £5.70 you get a large tortilla filled with rice, beans, meat, salsa, cheese, sour cream and guacamole. there are about 4 branches i think, once near oxford circus and one near Angel

I was lucky enough to be on a 2-​in-​1 event yesterday. Following a ride on the Duck Tour we went on a bit of a walk around Southwark to end up at Tortilla. It does exactly what it says on the tin: tortillas (as well as burritos and tacos, but you get the idea).
I must admit that I am not a big fan of food you eat without cutlery, and this is essentially a very smart fast food chain (apparently there are branches in Islington and Canary Wharf as well). What is different is that the wraps are prepared right in front of you. The ingredients are fresh and delicious, and the staff are extremely friendly and patient (I asked far too many questions as i can never make up my mind). I ended up with the perfect burrito! On hindsight I should have gone for the smaller option, though, as it may well have been a little less messy.
The theme of our event was actually a beer tasting (as illustrated by the pictures I just uploaded) as Tortilla has just introduced a selection of American beers not usually found in London. We sampled our way through half a dozen, followed by four Mexican beers. We all had our favourites, but they were all excellent and much stronger (all 5% plus) than most mainstream US lagers.
Not sure if I would come here for a night out, but I wish a branch was closer to work as the burritos make for perfect filling lunches.

In this world, you can’t go far wrong with food that starts with a flat circle of stuff. Pizza is awesome. Pancakes are awesome. A kebab can get you through in a tight situation. Pasties are quite popular, and that’s just a Cornish pizza that’s been folded in half. And I ain’t met nobody who would ever say no to a decent Burrito.
Though Tortilla was a little hard to find initially (if you approach it from one direction all you can see are the signs for the Health Club rather than the source of Mexican goodness), and it looks like the kind of mainstream chainy type place that lovers of fine lunchtime cuisine tend to avoid — once you’ve tried their burritos I almost guarantee you’ll be back.
In fact, the ordering process on the 3 times I’ve been there in the last 6 days does have me wondering what element of the presentation I’ve missed. Despite signs around showing you what the workflow & options are, I still feel like the staff are making it up on the spot. But even then, IT’S SO GOOOOOOOOD!
The food’s fresh, tasty, affordable, healthy-​ish, and did I mention tasty? I’m yet to master the art of eating a heftily-​sized burrito without sending my Mexican spicy rice distributing itself all over the table and up the arm of my shirt. The chicken and the pork have been incredibly flavoursome — with that woody/​smoky flavour that you don’t get anywhere near with «bing cuisine».
The restaurant — well you wouldn’t really call it a café? — is quite spacious, and has all the atmosphere of an airport departure lounge, although to their credit they haven’t spattered it with spray-​on Tex Mex kitsch, preferring just to get on with the business of making tasty lunchtime nosh.
These things might not even be very authentic, but damn they’re good. I’m going back tomorrow.