Taco Bell in London

April 11, 2008 1:32 PM

Taco Bell in London. My pregnant wifey is desirous of the taste, but there are, alas, no branches here. Anyone know of anywhere that has a similar taste here or some recipes that actually do approximate their burritos etc? Apparently the hot sauce is to die for (?)
posted by Mossy to food & drink (22 comments total)

Top Secret Recipes purports to have a copycat recipe for the Taco Bell Burrito Supreme. It includes a copycat for the Fire Border Sauce as well.
posted by Partial Law at 1:45 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

Being that there's a Taco Bell about 4 blocks away, I haven't had occasion to make this recipe for their sauce, but the ingredients sound about right (especially the vinegar).

Worse case, I'll mail you some packets. A preggo wife and her hot sauce must be reunited.
posted by jamaro at 1:48 PM on April 11, 2008

Amazon could help.
They also sell the "make at home" kits in the states at Target and Walmart. Do you have any family that could mail?
posted by doorsfan at 2:04 PM on April 11, 2008

If the hot sauce is the major thing she's craving, you might want to see if there's a place that sells Louisiana Hot Sauce nearby. I love Taco Bell's hot sauce, and Louisiana has a similar vinegar-y quality that's very satisfying.
posted by arianell at 2:58 PM on April 11, 2008

Donner Kebab?
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 3:10 PM on April 11, 2008

There are various kinds of peri peri sauce that might work. What precise strength of taco bell sauce does she like?
posted by By The Grace of God at 3:39 PM on April 11, 2008

You could be in luck if you check the west ealing area. When I was in London 4 years ago, I was shopping at the West Ealing shopping mall and across the street there is a building that houses stores like T.K Maxx and a photography studio and on the first floor you'll find a genuine Taco Bell. For your sake I hope it's still there....

If not you can make your own taco sauces....this site has some interesting recipes...haven't tried them myself though.
posted by greenspice at 3:46 PM on April 11, 2008

For some reason the link didn't come through on my last post....here's the website for the taco sauce recipes.

http://www.grouprecipes.com
posted by greenspice at 3:49 PM on April 11, 2008

Supermarkets in the states have those taco kits branded by Taco Bell that contain shells and beef seasoning + sauce. I wonder if they are also stocked in London supermarkets?
posted by OpinioNate at 3:54 PM on April 11, 2008

Ebay might help, also.

And, I could have sworn I ran across a website that sold only fast food sauce packets. I can't seem to find it now.
posted by jabberjaw at 4:00 PM on April 11, 2008

You can buy an 'Old El Paso Taco Dinner Kit' at most supermarkets... don't know how it compares to Taco Bell though
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 4:07 PM on April 11, 2008

There used to be one just by Leicester Square, but it's a TGI Fridays now sadly!
posted by kenchie at 4:13 PM on April 11, 2008

per the all-seeing wikipedia:

Currently, there are only two Taco Bell locations in England, both operated by AAFES on air bases RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath, they are not accessible to the general public.

The United Kingdom was the first European country with a Taco Bell, two stores including one located on Coventry Street in London, between Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus were opened in the 1980's. The stores underperformed and were shut down, today the Coventry Street site is occupied by a branch of the sit-down restaurant chain TGI Friday's. There has been speculation that Taco Bell could return to the UK because of the success of supermarket brands like Old El Paso, growing tourism travel to Mexico and Florida and popular American TV shows which promote Mexican food. This speculation began in the 1990's when the university food provider Compass New Famous Foods announced plans to open stores in its university and college sites, few of these stores were actually built and despite their popularity none remain today. [11]. Taco Bell has now announced plans to trial in the UK within the next few years, no time scales are yet given.[citation needed]

Know anyone in the RAF?
posted by pupdog at 4:28 PM on April 11, 2008

I also wouldn't mind sending over a few packets of the sauce. I frequently ship books overseas so no big deal.
posted by junesix at 5:01 PM on April 11, 2008

How about Nando's? I've found them to be OK, for a chain restaurant. And they sell bottles of their spicy sauces (varying strengths) in the restaurant (as far as I recall).
posted by idiomatika at 5:09 PM on April 11, 2008 [1 favorite has favorites]

You may want to join the Mexilondon mailing list, which painstakingly reviews the Mexican restaurants and burrito bars in London.

There is a list of restaurants on Nickster.com which has been generated from recommendations made on the Mexilondon list. It even has a list of Mexican food suppliers in the UK.

From personal observation, Tortilla in Islington, Mucho Mas in Islington, Green and Red in Bethnal Green, Mexicali in Soho and Chelsea and Wahaca in Covent Garden are worth checking out.
posted by skylar at 11:48 PM on April 11, 2008

idiomatika: Nando's is great, but it ain't Tex-Mex...
posted by robcorr at 3:12 AM on April 12, 2008

Thanks all, I'm about to try the recipe indicated by Partial Law now, shall report back on my findings..
posted by Mossy at 4:32 AM on April 12, 2008

Try the recipe and then experiment to make it taste to your liking. I am pretty sure that Taco Bell uses MSG also.

Do not be disappointed if you can find an actual Taco Bell, they are the lamest interpretation of Mexican or Tex-Mex food you will ever find. Of all the fast food restaurants that is the one I refuse to patronize unless there is no other choice. However, here in the States there are a lot of better alternatives. I don't know about London. Now of course, your wife is pregnant so quality is not really the issue is it. I remember coming home one day to find our freezer filled to overcapacity with frozen egg rolls. To each his own. Anyway, you can get some of the stuff mail order.
posted by caddis at 7:12 AM on April 12, 2008

Result:
Sauce: nothing like the hot sauce, needs work
Burrito: thumbs up, tortillas are a bit small in this country!
posted by Mossy at 8:00 AM on April 12, 2008

If your wife likes Taco Bell's bean burritos, a tin of Old El Paso refried beans with some finely diced onion and a splodge of tomato puree is a good approximation. Top with Encona Hot Pepper sauce.
posted by highrise at 11:10 AM on April 12, 2008

Revised result:
Sauce: tastes exactly like the hot sauce once refridgerated :)
posted by Mossy at 9:41 AM on April 13, 2008