Does Canterbury’s newest fast-food contender live up to the hype?

Tortilla is the newest fast-food shop to pop up on Canterbury’s high street. But now the excitement has died down, how good is it?

Wednesday morning marked the restaurant’s first day which featured a massive turnout as the Mexican-style chain provided free samples to customers.

I decided to try it out at lunch’s prime time and see if its debut was a fluke, or if it had a well-deserved reception.

The queue on Canterbury high street for the new Tortilla 'Real California Burritos & Tacos' restaurant. Some major FOMO going on here?! ?? pic.twitter.com/tnwIh9j27v

— Robert Thomas (@CTrobertthomas) November 30, 2022

As the city’s Christmas market is in full force plenty of people stopped in to check the buzz for themselves.

 

Initial Impressions

At first, the queue was long, but it did move along rapidly. The workers didn’t break a sweat over the flurry of incoming customers whilst maintaining their friendly faces and attitude making for a good customer experience.

The interior design was quite rustic, with wooden beams and plants placed around creating a relaxing environment. Neon lights were also on the walls around the building, intensifying the atmosphere even more.

The Food

A medium burrito with barbacoa beef was my choice for lunch, which saw generous helpings of rice, beans, and salsa all wrapped up in one tortilla.

I paid a total of £7.75 for my food, which include the 80p extra for the beef. This is about average for Mexican cuisine, so overall it wasn’t too bad.

Throughout the packed dining area, I found somewhere to sit and enjoy my meal which was largely clean and tidy.

Opening the tin foil, I was met with a burrito that was too big for itself and had started to open as it was too small for its contents. Had I known, I would have ordered the larger size to accommodate the extra baggage.

The wrap itself was warm but after tucking in, the filling was slightly colder than I had anticipated, but otherwise tasted nice.

Furthermore, the meat and beans were both delightfully soft and the salsa was chunky and tasty and was much like you would expect from a burrito.

Its shortcomings show from it being poorly wrapped along with a lack of napkins provided which slightly soured the experience – especially with a messy meal like this one.

 

Conclusion

Overall, the experience was pleasant, and eating in was enjoyable due to the excellent staff and calming ambiance, paired with some appetising, filling food. If I were to have it again, I’d definitely go up a size.