Benito's Hat Review - ON IN LONDON

We visited Benito’s Hat in Covent Garden on a particularly cold November evening, looking for a ray of Mexican sunshine. Having no idea about what makes a good Taco, I was accompanied by my friend Matt, who spent a year living and working in Mexico. Upon our arrival we were greeted by the shift manager who was absolutely lovely and looked after us throughout the whole evening.

As our first pair of drinks we chose a Watermelon Margarita for myself and a Classic Margarita for Matt, both of which were of a good bar standard, and the mine was a delicious twist on the classic cocktail. We then dug into chips with salsa, which were so filling I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stomach the bottomless tacos – but luckily, tacos don’t go in the stomach, tacos go in the heart.

And so we filled our hearts with sautéed vegetable tacos, grilled and braised chicken tacos, super-slow braised pork tacos, chipotle-grilled steak tacos, beef brisket barbacoa tacos and the restaurant’s Christmas special (which comes in a burrito but we were given an amazing sample taco-size), the pork belly with cranberry salsa and crackling.

Luckily, there was still enough space in our hearts for dessert (two, to be precise), tresleches, a kind of cinnamon cake and churros with chocolate, both of which were insanely sweet and to die for. We finished the evening off with a Tommy’s Margarita and Pomegranate Margarita, which somehow seemed a lot stronger than the original two we had.

The tacos were absolutely delicious, with the beef brisket and pork belly making it to the top of the list, although we certainly wouldn’t have been offended if they were spicier and less-cheesy (although you can say no to cheese when they’re being prepared!).

Benito’s Hat certainly lived up to our expectations, and if you can impress somebody who used to eat tacos for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the place has to be worth a visit. Make sure you take your friends though, this is no place for a first date. No lady-like way to eat a taco. But perhaps if your new fella can watch you demolish bottomless tacos, he could well be a keeper.

Not a moment to waste as this offer is available now and running until the end of the first week of January. So grab a couple of amigos and head down to Benito’s to fill up on endless Mexican goodness, with the option to add drinks, chips and salsa and even dessert if there’s room!