Enormous Portions at this Kitsch Soho Mexican
When Mexican food first appeared in the UK, it was a shadow of what any of us had tried in the US. Tiny, terrible portions and horrendously overpriced. Thankfully, in the last few years, some seriously good Mexican restaurants have cropped up in London and El Camion in Soho is one of them. Already a plus is the fact that they allow table bookings so you don’t waste half of Friday night standing and waiting for one to become available.
This is before I’ve even got to the food. This is serious Mexican with the portions you’d expect. My friend and I shared a starter and then had a main course each. In hindsight this was a mistake. Not because the food wasn’t great – because it was but the sheer amount of food we were given defeated both of us. As my friend commented, it’s probably the first time we’ve ever come close to running out of actual nachos before we ran out of the toppings heaped onto them. So many restaurants are ridiculously stingy with their guacamole etc but not here. For the mains we each had an enchilada. It came loaded with all manner of toppings and accompanied by a salad and it was a good size too. I felt like I’d never eat again by the time I left the restaurant.
Unfortunately the good value on food does not continue with the drinks. £8.50 for a tiny classic Margarita. It’s so small that you could finish it in two gulps. Also, bizarrely for a Mexican restaurant that specialises in tequila, our waitress first tried to encourage us to have a Mojito and then a Gin based cocktail. Very strange.
The décor is simplistic and colourful but it fits with everything we expect from Mexican and yes, it’s kitsch but it’s quite fun. It is a little lacking in atmosphere though, which is strange since the restaurant was pretty busy on the Friday we visited. The food is worth the trip but if you’re drinking, expect the final total to shoot up, making this far pricier than it really needs to be for the experience.