Tacos in London from Danny Trejo

My kids grew up watching Spy Kids and he became famous for playing the role of Machete in those movies. I’ve driven by Trejo’s Tacos in LA a few times but have never stopped. I’m going to be in London in May so might be a good idea to finally try his food!

I always thought that Tack-o was the "right" pronunciation over here.

I always thought that Tack-o was the "right" pronunciation over here.

Stuart, I'll give you your spellings of colour, splendour, favourite and so on, but we get first dibs on the pronunciation of tacos. 🤣🤣🤣

Hang on, surely the Mexicans get first dibs on the pronunciation of taco?

Ya’ll are funny!

Oh thanks Mardee, this will be an opportunity!

When I was living in England, I used to miss "tack-os" - as all my British friends called them. So when I visited my girlfriend in London, she would (kindly) go along with me to Taco Bell in Earl's Court. Never understanding the attraction, of course.

When I visit her in May, perhaps I'll offer to take her to Trejos Tacos so she can see what tack-os are supposed to taste like!

Johnnew52, oh yeah, they get first dibs. But they pronounce it pretty much like the Americans do (but with a bit more panache) so I consider us one big joint pronunciation team. 😉

CJ, oh yes, your friend is in for a treat! I’m definitely going to try them out when I’m there.

I’m still laughing at the episode of the British Baking Show where they made tack-os, and half the contestants had no idea what they looked like. I was about ready to double over. 🤣

I’m still laughing at the episode of the British Baking Show where they made tack-os, and half the contestants had no idea what they looked like. I was about ready to double over. 🤣

Mardee, have you seen this? My First Time Trying Tacos!

Mary, thanks so much for sharing this. I love Trever Noah (I’ve seen him do stand up and he is hilarious) and after the very rough month I’m having I needed the laugh.

Don’t forget to put some “chilli” sauce on your “tack-o.” Two “L’s” in chilli, same as in “tortilla.”. How’s that last word pronounced in England?

Of course the flattened corn or wheat tortilla is not the same as the egg dish in Spain.

Mary, no I hadn't!! Hysterical! I do love Trevor Noah!

Cyn, oh yeah! 😂

Personally I would pronounce tortilla as tor-tilla with the second syllable being almost but not quite pronounced as in tiller-the steering mechanism on a small boat.
Whether I am right or wrong, even in England, I don't know.

As I understand it American useage has a much harder 2nd syllable.

Brits do generally say tortee-a but it’s always tack-o. Tay-co would be like speaking in a fake American accent! You can tacos easily enough in a big city these days but I only had them for the first time about 8-9 years ago. They’re a relatively new import here.

Just devoured a couple of those tacos earlier this week.

Besides a stand at the venerable 3rd and Fairfax Farmers Market here in the Land of La he has a cantina on Cahuenga ( try sounding that out folks) and Selma.

Walkable for me.

However, my preferred taco place is the Yuca Hut. Google.

And folks the pronunciation is “talk owes.”

Half latino so speak the truth. Muy Buena

And it will all be about what maize is used for the tortillas.

Whilst London has a wealth of excellent restaurants from cuisines all over the world it is pretty poorly served for Mexican restaurants. There are plenty which purport to offer an authentic experience but virtually none do. Wahaca, which is a small chain, makes a valiant attempt at authentic Mexican fast food.

Maybe this guy’s place will be authentic but generally the history of celebrity restaurants doesn’t augur well.

Thank you, Claudia..”talk owes” and I don’t go to Europe to eat something that I can get much better at home. Bend has Hola Tacos, the best even if the line is long.

margie….

I don’t go to London or anywhere else for tacos.

Throughly enjoy the carne asada ones I get at the Yuca Hut in the Silver Lake neighborhood of LA.

I hope Trejo’s Tacos does well. We had a favorite, tiny place in Notting Hill that didn’t survive the Covid pandemic. As an aside, will anyone in London refer to it as “Tree-Joe’s,” not “Tray-ho’s?”

Wahaca sounds like an earnest restaurant chain, even with what’s likely the phonetic spelling of the city and state of Oaxaca in Mexico. The city is fantastically beautiful, and it’s a chocolate haven. I visited there more than 50 years ago - I hope it’s just gotten better.

More power to Brits having Mexican food offerings. Just as long a mushy peas don’t get substituted for guacamole. In Bologna, Italy, we stayed a few blocks away from an ersatz Mexican restaurant called Sombrero. Didn’t go in, and they weren’t busy the times we walked by. This fall, in Norway, we learned that Friday night is now basically Taco Friday for the entire country. Grocery shelves are packed with Old El Paso products. The things routinely put into tacos by Norwegians include kiwi fruit pieces and feta cheese. ¡Que extraño!

There's a well respected Taco restaurant in London (they've also opened two in Oslo), Breddos Tacos (https://breddostacos.com/clerkenwell) Started out as a taco shack in Hackney but have moved up in the world. They've even published a cook book which I have with some great authentic recipes.

Whilst Mexican food doesn't have much of a presence in the UK primarily due to migration demographics I have no difficulty buying mexican ingredients online with the exception of cotija cheese however I find a good wensleydale makes a fine alternative.

I had a nice selection of tacos at Padre in Borough Market when I visited last month.
While i currently hail from Louisville, Kentucky, I spent my early years living in California and have returned to visit family and friends many times, sampling varieties from from all over the state and Baja California.

I enjoyed those I found in Borough Market. (a short line to get them was a bonus. It was endless when I tried to get them in September)

I'll look for Danny's joint next time I'm in London

We lived in Germany for four years and traveled quite a lot. It was rare that a restaurant offered Mexican food. However, whenever we did, the food was so bland with little spicy seasoning that it was always terrible.

However, we never had tacos in London and perhaps if copied from LA they might be good.

Well, I sampled a couple of the tah-cos from Trejos and I liked them very much. A bit pricey at £6-7 each, but that's comparing to street food prices rather than a restaurant.

The young owners of the commercial building happened to be sitting next to me - after just having closed their purchase of the building next door - and indicated confidence that the place would make it. With just the 3 of us, plus a couple at the next table, I hope the traffic wasn't representative. The nearby street food alley had a lot more takers, even outdoors on a rainy Friday afternoon, while I was happy to be at a table indoors.

CW, interesting! And I'm glad to know they were good. I totally forgot about it by the time I got there and missed trying them out. :-(

That's pretty neat about the couple. What are they planning on doing with the building?

I wonder how anybody who has been to both would compare them to DF Tacos? We go to the TCR - Tottenham Court Road - very convenient for a snack or two after the British Museum.

What are they planning on doing with the building?

They told me they'd bought it from a wealthy family for whom it was the only commercial building they owned. That family didn't want to be in the commercial real estate business.

The new owners will fix it up and rent it out to another business.... probably one run by another wealthy person - such as Trejos Tacos - who can afford the soon-to-be-higher rent, regardless of whether they turn a profit.

The last thing I would ever order when not in Arizona is tacos!

Well then you might be missing out because these were delicious!!

Interesting story about the building and couple, CW!

Suki, there are delicious tacos all over the world. There is a place in Cincinnati about a mile from my old house called Mazunte that has the best tacos ever. The owner is American but lived in Mexico for about 5 years and learned to cook there. He then moved to Cincinnati and brought the wonderful food ideas with him.