Benito’s Hat

Mexican food in the UK seems to be a bit hit and miss, and in the game of burritos you either win or you … die.
I died at Benito’s hat.
First, the good. You get a bespoke burrito rolled for you with your choice in everything. Beans. Rice. Meat. Sauce. Vegetables. Guacamole is extra. It’s a cute place. Staff are fast. I also tried the classic magararita, which was delicious. Burritos come with a fistful of tortilla chips.
The burrito itself was insipid. I was expecting some flavour from the slow cooked saucy beef or the beans, or the buttery feedback from the guac. It just flatlined. I could taste the rice, and I wound up with a mouthful of the hot sauce at the bottom. It was hot to be sure but there was no nuance in the sauce.
Utterly forgettable.
Your mileage may vary but there are so many options in the area, I think I’ll dine elsewhere.

I’m not sure how BH has gone under my radar for so long, I knew it was a thing but I was always a bit loyal to another wrapper. Having wandered around after some shopping, I finally gave it a go and while it’s a bit different than some of the other shops, it’s pretty good. The choices are largely the same but the staff seem a bit more purposefully outgoing which can either be fun or if you’re hangry, just a hurdle you have to cross to get to eating. Either way, if you’ve not tried them yet, stop in, it’s certainly worth putting on your burrito leaderboard rankings.

It took a lot of will power to try a new place and not simply go to Chipotle nearby, but what a great decision it was!
This place is fantastic! It’s slightly cheaper than chipotle, but tastes just as good and seems to have even more generous portions. It’s especially a great value since they give you free chips! And guac is only 80p more. AND everyday 5 – 7 there are 2 for 1 drinks for happy hour!
The chicken salad bowl was delicious, with huge portions and delicious and fresh ingredients. I would rate this very similarly to chipotle, but it gets an extra star for great value, better experience, larger portions, cheaper guac, and free chips!
You really can’t go wrong here, I can’t wait to go back!

This place used to be a poor mans chilangos for me. Like good but not quite on par. but then the summer special came and oh wow what can I say. The spicy shrimp with the sautéed peppers and spicy mayo. It’s ridiculously good. As a pescetarian, this is literally my dream burrito, if you’re in London over the summer definitely check it out.
I’m yet to try, but they have a happy hour with 2−4−1 on cocktails in the evening after work and margaritas look pretty damn good.

While craving Mexican in central London, I came across the Unilocal reviews for Benito’s Hat and gave it a go. For London, it was alright Mexican. But in California, they would quickly go under. The food was generally not too flavorful and the salsa was fairly bland. That said, not sure that it would get any better anywhere else in London anyway. Service was friendly, fast, and attentive — definitely kudos for that!

Can’t beat it, for twice the price! Wahaca sucked in comparison. Friendly staff and great food, quite authentic! I had just about given up on mexican in London, but a few trips to Benito’s has improved my mood substantially. 5 – 7 is happy hour, 2 for 1!!!

Great Mexican food that tastes authentic for very affordable prices!

Cheaper and with far more filling than some other chain burrito places. Plus happy hour!

So delicious! The baby burrito is perfect! Having it with a Mexican beer or just a freshly squeezed orange juice. Just perfect. Would recommend to anyone!

Visited Benito’s Hat on a Saturday evening and got a table for one person. You have to order at the till, where a friendly guy helped me selecting the carious indegrients, sauces and toppings for my food. After that was done, I selected a nice Mexican beer together with the lunch. The food was very good and tasty, the personnel was helpful and friendly, the overall atmosphere was nice and welcoming… definitely not my last visit.

Very average Mexican/​Tex-​Mex — classic London. They have happy hour from 5 – 7 where you can get 2 for 1 drink deals

I seem to write about Burrito places a lot. I think I choose them over other types of sustenance because they seem healthy for fast food, and I enjoy quoting one of my favourite lines in Anchorman over and over again.
«This burrito is delicious but it is filling!»
I stumbled upon Benito’s Hat by chance whilst doing a job in the area. I was on crutches at the time and the chap behind the counter took my order and asked me to take my seat and they’d bring it over.
My burrito was stuffed to bursting with double meat, delicious rice, pinto beans, cheese, soured cream… all sorts!
When the basket arrived at my table, there were nachos keeping my burrito company, a nice touch.
It was all washed down with a refreshing can of Ting. An unusual choice for a Mexican I thought, but it was delicious!
I’ll be working in the area about 4 times a year, I’ll definitely be visiting Benito’s Hat again!

I went into Benito’s Hat in a hangry state thinking «just another burrito chain» to get a fix. Then my burrito slapped me across the taste buds and said, «SIT DOWN, SON!»
Wait– what just happened?
+One: I got a shit-​tonne of fillings in my burrito. I get quite pissy when burrito places barely put any rice and beans. Imagine my delight here. I got TWO types of beans (real f’n refried beans), a healthy dose of rice and sauteed (not grilled-​to-​hell) FLAVOURFUL veggies. I was told guacamole was free on veggie burritos; add salsa, and a nice lightly spicy sauce… I had a stuffed-​to-​the-​gills* burrito baby looking at me.
+ Two: TORTILLA CHIPS! THEY COME WITH THE BURRITO! I was so pleased to see this! I love soft tortilla intermissions with crunchy chips. Best idea ever.
+Three: WTF– the service? AMAZING. Sorry London, but your customer service is atrocious. Every person at Benito’s Hat (Goodge St) working the line, the till, the bussers– smiling and making sure you’re having a lovely time. Such a nice vibe.
Others: I was genuinely shocked how good my first bite was. The are many hot sauces to choose from. There are evening Mexican sharing platters. Happy hour is 5 – 7.
Benito’s Hat KNOWS there are many burrito bars, but they make the effort to do it better and it pays off big time. As the person at the next table said, «I love this place. It’s unpretentious.» And I would say, I’m going to be having a lot of Benito Burrito Babies!
*I have been looking for fatty burritos since «those guys» now only have little baby-​baby fillings. Please. I’m hungry, dudes!

I’d like to start this off by saying the girls working at Benito’s Hat were super nice and helpful. That and the lime water earn two points. My burrito didn’t taste remotely like Mexican food and made me feel a little queasy. I finished it because I’m a broke student… Anyways, I consider myself somewhat of a burrito connoisseur, having come from a place in California with a taqueria on every block. I was sorely disappointed by Benito’s Hat and will have to find somewhere else to quench my burrito cravings.

Great burritos (for uk standards)… easy and take away style. I recommend this place for a lunch bite, a lot better then some of the burrito stand options in London (example: Tortilla). The meat has great flavor.
The only negative is that they are stingy with the cheese and they charge you extra for extra salsa!!! I never get beans so why can’t they be nice and give me what I want! more cheese, it was a very light dusting of cheese! what is that! I can’t even see the cheese they sprinkled on, it was that light! in the UK they just stuff burritos full of the cheap fillings (i.e. lettuce and rice) and skimp on the good stuff! meat and cheese! I also don’t see why pork and chicken are cheaper the beef?
I miss California where we have free all you can eat salsa bars with chips in our taco shops!!! its only salsa! these people need to calm down and stop being greedy! I hate places that nickel and dime their customers. Its the UK, there is no freebies in this country!

Mmm, Benito’s Hat.
In the quest for amazing Mexican in London (a never ending and nearly impossible task), Benito’s Hat is a good contender for quick, tasty food.
This is one of their smaller spaces, but in no way a bad one. There’s a counter for ordering as you walk in and then tables in the back and stools and a bar for eating right at the window.
The food here is always fresh, which I think gives them that advantage, and you can taste it. Order like you would at other fast Mexican spots. Do you want burrito or tacos, steak or chicken (or a whole bunch of other meats), lots of veggies or little veggies. I like that the tacos even come with a small side of chips and you don’t have to order them extra like you do at some many other spots. Nice touch.
My one, and it’s a small one, but my one and only complaint is that tortilla, and it’s the same complaint I literally have at every Mexican spot in this city. I’m looking for a delicious, soft, corn tortilla like they have in the states. But here, all of the tortillas seems to taste just a little bit plastic-​y. I don’t know why, I think it might be the flour. But none of them have been able to wow me yet, and I’m still waiting.
Still, a small, small, small complaint for what is otherwise a grand spot for some fresh Mex. Staff is friendly and they work damn quick to get you in and out and I come here more often than I probably should for a nice bite.

As being from SoCal, Mexican food is my thaaang. This was very good, basically like a mom and pop Chipotle, but more intimate and relaxing vibe.
The food was great, the chips were outstanding, and the service exceptional! If you’re looking for some true Mexican food in London, hit this place up!

It’s a burrito place. It’s in London. Like all the other burrito places you choose a filling. You choose black or refried beans. You pay for it, then you eat it. It’s like Subway, but for burritos. (To be fair they also have tacos, or if you want to try to be healthy, a salad, which is a burrito without the rice. However once you cover it with cheese, sour cream and guacamole, it’s probably not really healthy at all.)
It’s a pretty common business strategy. You can find the same thing under different names anywhere you go in London these days. And it’s perfectly reasonable. It’s not amazing. It’s not terrible. It’s average. But it’s quick so if you want a bit of lunch it’s not a bad place to go.
They do get a slight bonus for having horchata. So far it’s one of two places I’ve been in London that have it. They also have several levels of hot salsa you can add. The hottest one is pretty spicy. So that’s a bonus as well, as I like it spicy.

The servers were super friendly and upsold us some 2 4 1 margaritas which were yummy.
I have the braised lamb burrito and other half had the steak burrito. I asked for hot sauce, jalapenos, and guac on my burrito. The heat was mild and the flavours of the lamb were nice. Both the steak and lamb burrito were nice, but I felt that there wasn’t enough seasoning on the meat to really make the burrito stand out.

I actually didnt mind this place… unlike my other cali expats. I guess the thing is, I’m over expecting a) good service and b) food that REALLY is mexican.
This is another Chipotle/​Tortilla copycat, with some different hot sauces. I ordered a «salad» which was actually a «naked burrito» for those who know Chipotle well, which was kind of a bummer bc i wanted it to be healthy and was staying away from Carbs… but oh well. she tried to discourage me from getting the grilled chicken bc the braised chicken is so much tastier but fattier and of course i went for the healthier option, which im actually happy about. Their hot sauce, though not super mexican tasting, was super spicy. and this is coming from an indian girl used to a high degree of spice!
Hubby had the burrito with braised chicken and he was quite happy with his purchase. The boy literally scarfed it down in 2 mins! im all about happy hour so next time i do come in, i will need to take advantage of the two for one drinks.

THE fast food mexicain dont j’ai toujours rêvé ! Vous choisissez exactement toutes vos options, vos burritos/​tacos/​etc. sont préparés devant vous avec les ingrédients les plus frais qui soient et hop ! En moins de temps qu’il m’a fallu pour l’écrire, vous êtes servis. Sur place ou à emporter, c’est un délice ! Bön appétit :-)

Ist wirklich so — was Preisniveau angeht. Auch ist der Laden in meiner Erfahrung immer voll — was auch nicht überraschend ist, da das Essen wirklich Mal was anderes ist und einen gesunden Eindruck macht. Toll finde ich, dass man das ganze selbst zusammenstellen kann, also wirklich so verschiende Schritte durchgeht. Schade fand ich hingegen den Service — die haben mich wirklich «durchgeprügelt» in Sekunden, dagegen ist eine Bestellung bei McDo eine Langzeitbeziehung…
Der Imbiss Style stört mich persönlich ein kleines bisschen, ein paar Sitzplätze mehr hätte ich als sehr angenehm empfunden.
In Summe super lecker, geiles System, faire Preise — einzig der Kontakt mit dem Personal und die mangelnden Sitzplätze verhindern einen 5ten Stern…

J’ai vécu un an à Mexico et je dois dire que ce n’est pas trop mal.
Benito’s Hat, ce n’est pas exactement de la cuisine mexicaine autenthique (mole, tacos, etc), mais j’ai bien aimé.
J’ai choisi le veggie burrito (végétarien) à 5£, avec des morceaux de chayote (un légume mexicain), des haricots noir, du riz et du guacamole. La portion était énorme! Mais les ingrédients manquaient un peu de goût la première fois que j’y suis allée.
La deuxième fois, surprise: j’ai eu droit à des poivrons et à des courgettes grillées! Sympa! Le guacamole était délicieux — on né paie pas de supplément car il est compris dans le burrito végétarien. Mais le serveur n’aura pas le réflexe de le mettre, donc faites attention!
Le service m’a paru un peu rapide…(On est dans un fast food en même temps). J’ai eu l’impression d’être pressée car ils né prenaient pas le temps de m’écouter. C’est comme au Subway: le serveur attrape une galette et la fourre des différents ingrédients placés dans des bacs. Mais j’ai bien aimé le fait qu’ils parlent espagnol!

Benito’s Hat ist ein netter kleiner Burritoladen, eher Imbiss-​like, in London. Als mich Qype UK’s Community Manager Rob zum Abendessen hierher geleitet hatte, fand gerade eine Party statt, ich glaub ihren eigenen Geburtstag haben sie gefeiert. Zumindest ging es ziemlich ausgelassen zu: Der Laden und die Straße davor total voll mit Leuten, die Musik fast bis zum Anschlag aufgerissen, und jede Menge Bier. Ich war dann eigentlich glücklich die Bestellung ohne irgendwelche Missverständnisse geschafft zu haben, denn mein British English ist nicht das Beste, to say the least. Ich kann mich zwar gut mitteilen, aber der Akzent ist mir dann doch manchmal etwas fremd, wenns darum geht die Anderen auch genau zu verstehen. Wobei das in den letzten zwei Jahren Dank meiner englischen Kollegen in Hamburg schon deutlich besser wurde. Nur eben bei extrem lauter Musik nicht so ganz einfach ist.
Wie auch immer! Ich hatte dann einen Veggie Burrito mit schwarzen Bohnen und ein Bier (Dos Equis). Den musste ich zwar leider im Stehen inmitten der Ansammlung der Geburtstagsgäste auf der Straße verputzen, aber er war extrem lecker, wenn ich das mal so sagen darf. Warum ich dafür irgendwie so um die 8 Pfund bezahlt habe hab ich zwar nicht so ganz verstanden, das kam mir dann doch nicht so ganz preiswert vor, könnte aber durchaus dem Preisniveau von London entsprechen.
Jedenfalls kann ich die Location durchaus empfehlen wenn man gerne gute Burritos isst, und dass soviele Menschen kamen um mit diesen lieben Leuten zu feiern, spricht ja irgendwie auch für den Laden. Sollte ich nochmals das Vergnügen haben, das Britische Qype-​Büro zu besuchen, gehe ich bestimmt nochmal hin. 5 Sterne!