Benito's Hat

Venue: Benito’s Hat, Goodge Street

Food: Burritos

Cost: £5-6

Rating: 82%

www.benitos-hat.com

Twitter: @BenitosChat

Serving up high-quality pork, chicken and steak burritos, Benito’s Hat always has huge queues (I overheard management talk of over 500 happy customers every day) and is definitely the no.1 burrito in this part of town. Packed to the rafters with beans, rice, generous meat offerings, salad, salsa, sour cream and of course guacamole, Benito’s Hat is a staple of my takeaway lunching roster and one of my favourite spots.

Given the queues, the Hat is astonishingly rapid and efficient, with the ultimate conveyor-belt of serving responsibilities – the 6-person team includes tortilla/beans provider; meat selector; two ingredient fillers; chief wrapper and cashier. Once you learn the system, you can direct the creation of your burrito from start to finish in less than 20 seconds.

The making of the burrito is very ‘manual’ and hands-on, which extends to a few ingredients being added with hands. I once witnessed an amusing standoff between shell-shocked staff and a slightly odd female customer who asked for her burrito to be completely filled using spoons rather than hands. Quite frankly I prefer mine manual. It adds to the homemade feel.

Some additional points that should be noted:

1. Too much rice makes you bloated and drastically reduces your ability to work after a burrito. Ask for a half-spoon of rice at most to improve workability
2. The munching of complimentary taco chips is a good way to stave off hunger before you can sit down to tuck in
3. 95% of the time Benito’s Hat burritos are perfectly wrapped, which is well above average
4. Always have guacamole
5. Benito’s Hat do a wheat-free option (best to tip them off beforehand I have found), as well as tacos, salads and vegetarian options, although quite why anyone would want a vegetarian burrito is beyond me!

And to the scores…the first-ever ‘double 10’ for taste and portion size says it all. Benito’s Hat only fails to score my highest ever mark due to its workability issues (which in a sense is a compliment!) and the prevalence of burrito joints (despite standing out from the crowded market).

Taste 10

Portion size 10

Service 8

Speed 9

Originality 6

Choice 8

Workability 5

Office response 10

Value for money 7

Brand 9

Overall: 82%

Wrap It Up!

Venue: Wrap It Up!

Food: Wraps – Burritos, fajitas, roti etc

Cost: £4-6

Rating: 67%

http://www.wrapitup.co.uk/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wrap-it-Up-World-Gourmet-Wraps/112657155458071

The latest player on the Soho wrap scene, the Wrap It Up! franchise cut its teeth in the City before moving westwards and landing in St. Annes Court with outlet number four. It certainly created a buzz with opening week discounts and successful free lunch day.

Much respect to franchise owner Faisal and his expansion tactics. They have found a good location, the brand itself is strong and Internet engagement encouraging, as was witnessed by the lengthy queue of bargain hunters seeking free feeding. Given this, there is surprisingly no current Twitter engagement. My question regarding this was met with bemusement by a member of staff, who asked me “What is Twitter?”…

As I often say, ultimately a wrap is a wrap. I like the idea behind 5 different nationalities of wrap under one roof and takeaway Fajitas are a relative rarity, but on the flip side Wrap It Up! lacks the specialisation of a Benito’s Hat or Yalla Yalla. A big positive is the tiered system of sizes and prices, so rarely found in takeaway establishments of this kind. I assume this is something designed to appeal to the female market, who do not wish to be confronted by a burrito accounting for half their body weight on a Tuesday lunchtime.

Sadly, despite having many virtues, the whole package did not quite come together.  Whilst the quality of ingredients is not in doubt, I have already experienced a Fajita and heard tale of a burrito that were not warmed through enough, while a Caribbean roti (with curried lamb) had a disappointing dough, but this may have possibly been a victim of speedy mass production on free lunch day. It is also currently quite a bleak establishment (décor wise) and lacking a little soul. 

Although I can optimistically overlook the negatives and am happy to allow time for improvement before a final conclusion, first impressions from my colleagues were not overwhelmingly positive. In short, a few small improvements might go a very long way indeed.

Taste 6

Portion size 8

Service 7

Speed 7

Originality 6

Choice 8

Workability 7

Office response 4

Value for money 6

Brand 8

Overall: 67%