It looks like we're getting transferred from Bermuda to London in the next few months. As much as I'll have to do between now and then and all the things that SHOULD be on my mind - I find myself wondering the craziest little things. For instance - how hard is it going to be to find masa flour to make corn tortillas? Do the big grocery stores have decent international sections? Is there a big enough Hispanic presence that I should just quit worrying? I already had to adapt to not having real BBQ when I moved here from Texas - something tells me this move might be a little harder. Thanks!

well, I googled "masa flour in london" and look what I came up with:

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourc...lour+in+london

looks like you won't starve.

And if all else fails -- there is a Whole Foods in kensington.

Thanks y'all!! It just occured to me that I turned to Fodors before Google - hmmm....

To be honest, mexican food is not very prevalent in London and the places I have visted have not been very good. Not sure about grocery stores, but dont plan on getting good Mexican in a restaurant unfortunately.

Wahaca Restaurant in London is supposed to be authentic Mexican, since it's owner spent some time there. Whether or not it is authentic I don't know.

Sainsburys also sells tortilla flour. It's in the section where they sell smoked paprika, pomegranate molasses, tahini, those sort of things. Maybe not all branches have it. Try healthfood shops as well.

Apart from tortilla flour ( which is maize flour isn't it?) you can get everything Odin listed in supermarkets in my home town in South Africa. So I reckon if we can have it - you should have absolutely no problem in London whatsoever!
If all else fails - there is always the internet to order from!

I'm starting to relax now- I know from experience not to expect decent Mexican in restaurants - one of the main reasons I learned to make my own tortillas! Thanks!!

oh, good luck! We've been living in London for 8 months now and still haven't found a place for decent Mexican food. Wahaca is terrible ... don't believe the hype. They make their guacamole with mayonnaise! Yuck! If you can make your own tortillas you might be okay, but I would be prepared to be disappointed. Doritos are the only chips/crisps available (no plain tortilla chips)on most restaurant-made nachos. How sad is that?! We did find some queso at Londis, but it's also the Doritos brand.

Asterodeia - I know what you mean about the doritos - YUCK!

Being from Texas, I kind of like to go see what the locals consider to be Tex-Mex when I travel. In France, the result wasn't pretty, but I had some passble Mexican food in Edinburgh. The folks that ran that place also had a place in Aberdeen, so I'm think there was an oil field conection involved.

There was a Mexican restaurant in Stockholm that I really wanted to try and somehow we were never near at lunch time. I really was curious to get the Swedish take on Mexican. Maybe next time.

If there's really a "Mexican" restaurant in London named "Wahaca" (as Asterodeia indicates -- at first, I thought it was a misspelling), I'd avoid it like plague. If it were named Oaxaca (pronounced "waHAca"), there would be a chance that it would be edible.

But Europeans really don't eat Mexican cuisine or Tex-Mex. And they really don't eat the put stuff in a tortilla variety (enchilada, chimichanga, taco, burrito, flauta, etc.). Yeah, yeah, I know there's more to Mexican than that, but (1) it doesn't quite rank in "great cuisines of the world" with French or Italian, (2) there aren't many Latino immigrants TO Europe like there are Southeast Asians in the UK or North Africans in France, (3) other than a specific restaurant whose owner or master chef trained or has a connection to Tex-Mex/Mexican/New Mex cuisine (no, can't really be more specific), I'd not really expect good Mexican in Minnesota, New York or most areas outside the American Southwest -- it's the Pace Picante Sauce theory that you're not going to find what's best done in [location] somewhere else with no connection to that culture.

BTW, how the eff can guac be made with mayo? Sounds vile -- like the equivalent of Heinz Salad Cream Mexican style.

"it doesn't quite rank in "great cuisines of the world" with French or Italian"

Maybe not, but it sure beats German, British, Swiss, Polish, British, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Portuguese and maybe Greek!

There is indeed a new chain called Wahaca - havent eaten there but not really inclined.

the best burrito is a new wrap place called Chilango http://www.chilango.co.uk/

another good one is Toritilla http://tortilla.co.uk/

There is indeed a wahaca chain here in london - havent tried and dont think i will!

The best mexican wrap I have found here is Chilango: http://www.chilango.co.uk/

Another good one is Tortilla: http://tortilla.co.uk/

I think they picked that name to be catchy and so people could pronounce it. A lot of people don't know how to pronounce "Oaxaca" so I don't think that would be a good name for a restaurant. That kind of thing isn't unheard of in the restaurant world.

The Tex-Mex in Paris is edible but not that great. I'm not that big on Tex-Mex to begin with, I like real Mexican food.

As someone who longingly dreams of proper Mexican, I can attest that there isn't much good Mexican in London! However, there is some pretty decent Mexican, if you know where to look (and where not to).

Great:
Crazy Homies (Nottinghill). It's the best we've found on this side of the Atlantic. A couple of their salsa taste a little more tex-mex (chipotle) or more Asian. But their Pico is good as are their chips and guacamole. Their entrees are great too! It's small and funky but it is always PACKED.

The Mission Mexican Grill (2 in Oxford & 1 in Reading, if you get out that way). It's good. Think more Chipotle or Qdoba.

Okay:
Cafe Pacifico (Covent Garden) Chips and Salsa were great. Can even buy them to go. Their street food tacos are nice but their nachos are terrible!

Not Good:
Nandos
Chiquitos
Las Iquanas

On the List to Try:
El Panzon (Brixton)
There are a couple more in Brixton if you google you will find them.

Fra_d: not much arguing with that. I think Danish/Swedish/Norwegian cuisine is summed up with this: http://www.fotosearch.com/bigcomp.as...574R-22115.jpg

Anyone try the Azteca Restaurant on King's Rd.?
I think?? this might be the TexMex rest. owned by a Texan friend of my bro-in-law. Bro.-in-law is going to London with husb. and myself in March and mentioned going to his friend's Mex. restaurant (who also owns one in Paris).
Tried the Mexican food at Texas Embassy Cantina in 2003 - not impressed, but edible.