La Choza serves Mexican street food in central Brighton. Open since 2012, it has appeared on BBC Two’s Britain’s Top Takeaways and is routinely described by critics as being one of the best Mexican restaurants in the city. Its name translates to ‘the shack’ in English. The restaurant was founded by Aoife Sweeney and Annie Gelpey, who shared a passion for all things Mexico. Inspired by this, they set out to bring authentic versions of the country’s cuisine to their seaside hometown, undertaking several taste tours of Mexico to track down and record the best recipes. Since opening, La Choza has become a staple of the Brighton food scene, with diners routinely queuing around the block and praise coming from several national food critics, including Tom Parker-Bowles.
The food menu covers a lot of ground, with all the favourites from Mexican cuisines represented. Shack snacks are perfect as sharing starters. Options include calamari with chipotle mayo, ceviche tostada, and chicarrones with guacamole. There’s also nachos topped with refried beans, cheese, pico de gallo salsa, sour cream, guacamole and jalapenos. These can be made vegan.
Tortilla chips can also be ordered with a large range of dips, such as jalapeno sour cream, almond pipian salsa and naga salsa. The street food salad is a great lighter option. This is shredded red and white cabbage, radish, red onion and avocado topped with everything from pulled pork to crisy local fish.
The main course options is a choice of burrito, soft corn tacos, quesadillas, tostada or burrito bowl with a filling of your choice. Plant based chorizo, chicken pibil, slow cooked spicy beef are just some of the options. A selection of salsas complete a main course, ranging from green taco shop (mild) to naga salsa (extra hot).
La Choza is also available on Deliveroo and for click and collect orders.