UK'ers - Mexican Food?

BrewerGeorge
BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
edited October 4 in Food and Nutrition
A question for people in the UK...

How much exposure, if any, do you have to Mexican food? I have some UK visitors coming next week for meetings and I need to arrange the lunch catering. Normally we'd do a Mexican buffet for one of the days. Is that going to be totally unfamiliar to these folks?

Sorry if that sounds like a silly question, but although I've been all over Europe and Asia I have not yet been able to make it to the UK. We have a lot of Japanese visitors - being a Japanese company - and they always seem to like Mexican, but I don't think I'd feed it to Frenchmen or Italians.

Funny aside: When we have smaller groups we take them out for lunch instead of ordering in catering. The Japanese always ask for "traditional American" food when we ask them what they want for lunch. It's hard to explain to them that there isn't really any such thing! :happy: So we take them to Mexican, Indian, or Italian restaurants. The closest thing we have to "American" food is Cracker Barrel. :laugh:

Replies

  • tkacomet
    tkacomet Posts: 73 Member
    american: burgers and fries and a cold beer!
  • TDGee
    TDGee Posts: 2,209 Member
    It doesn't get anymore American than Barbecue. Can you get them so good Q?
  • Crystal817
    Crystal817 Posts: 2,021 Member
    It doesn't get anymore American than Barbecue. Can you get them so good Q?

    Ohh good idea!
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
    It doesn't get anymore American than Barbecue. Can you get them so good Q?
    IME, they don't seem to like it very well for some reason. When I first started, I used to take them to a pretty good place, but they're generally ambivalent about it. They're too polite to actually say they don't like it, but you get to be able to tell.

    What about the Mexican for the Brits?
  • Gigi_licious
    Gigi_licious Posts: 1,185 Member
    It doesn't get anymore American than Barbecue. Can you get them so good Q?
    IME, they don't seem to like it very well for some reason. When I first started, I used to take them to a pretty good place, but they're generally ambivalent about it. They're too polite to actually say they don't like it, but you get to be able to tell.

    What about the Mexican for the Brits?

    It seems like you're set on the fine American food called Mexican, so I say take them to mexican.
  • Mski02
    Mski02 Posts: 28
    Hi There,

    Yes, we do have exposure to mexican food. We have a few national mexican food restaurant chains (Chiquito and Chimichanga) and mexican food kits (Fajita, Enchilada etc) are sold in all supermarkets.

    A lot of British love spicy food (me in particular) so that shouldn't be a problem. The only thing I would say is that our mexican restaurants and supermarkets haven't quite decided whether or not Chili is Mexican or American....!

    My other half works for an American company and often has to go over to Texas and loves it when he does as he gets to eat at an 'all you can eat' BBQ place..... he loves it, but always comes back heavier!

    Sounds lovely though - I'm sure your visitors will love it!
  • Mski02
    Mski02 Posts: 28
    To give you an idea of what is sold to us as 'mexican' food, have a look at the menu on this web-site:
    http://www.chiquito.co.uk/site/menus/
    It's not sold as exclusively mexican, but this is the sort of thing we have!:smile:
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
    It doesn't get anymore American than Barbecue. Can you get them so good Q?
    IME, they don't seem to like it very well for some reason. When I first started, I used to take them to a pretty good place, but they're generally ambivalent about it. They're too polite to actually say they don't like it, but you get to be able to tell.

    What about the Mexican for the Brits?

    It seems like you're set on the fine American food called Mexican, so I say take them to mexican.
    Sorry, we got a bit off track. I have been talking mostly about the Japanese not liking BBQ and liking Mexican etc. I don't have enough experience with Brits to judge which is why I asked the question.

    Thanks for the responses so far.
  • it_be_asin
    it_be_asin Posts: 562 Member
    In Australia, I don't think we have a lot of authentic mexican food, but I sure love the 'mexican' food we have here and the 'mexican' food I make at home (and I am having some tonight! Yeah!)

    If I was in the US and someone offered me a mexican buffet, I would be thrilled.
  • Frances_C17
    Frances_C17 Posts: 64 Member
    We get loads of 'Mexican' food over here in restaurants, pubs and supermarkets. Most British people are happy to try anything new anyway, we're too polite to stick our noses up at something.
    Only thing I would say is don't bother giving them Indian food. We like to think of ourselves as curry experts and are often disappointed if we go for Indian food in the US. I'm not saying we are experts on authentic Indian food, I'm sure many Indians laugh at the mild stuff we serve up, but a lot of British people are quite particular about their curry tastes.
  • LilMissFoodie
    LilMissFoodie Posts: 612 Member
    It doesn't get anymore American than Barbecue. Can you get them so good Q?
    IME, they don't seem to like it very well for some reason. When I first started, I used to take them to a pretty good place, but they're generally ambivalent about it. They're too polite to actually say they don't like it, but you get to be able to tell.

    What about the Mexican for the Brits?

    I agree with this (sorry!) but I guess somehow a lot of stuff in America tastes weird? Like, it has the same name as the same dishes in the UK or Australia or any other country I have been but it just tastes so much different, not really sure why. I had a hard time finding anything that I didn't think tasted a bit on the greasy or plastic-y side. A lot of Americans I have met have made the same complaint about our food! (that it just doesn't taste the same). I've not had Mexican in America but there is certainly lots of Mexican around in the UK, not sure how similar it is though!
  • Crystal817
    Crystal817 Posts: 2,021 Member
    I had a hard time finding anything that I didn't think tasted a bit on the greasy or plastic-y side.

    You must have ate at some horrible, horrible places. :frown:
  • LilMissFoodie
    LilMissFoodie Posts: 612 Member
    I had a hard time finding anything that I didn't think tasted a bit on the greasy or plastic-y side.

    You must have ate at some horrible, horrible places. :frown:

    I know, right? We really should have looked up good places to eat before we left! We found one ok thai/japanese place but other than that... I can't really remember the names. We ate at Applebees once and Olive Garden once... I think. Oh and at the two Hiltons where we were staying.
  • kezpot1407
    kezpot1407 Posts: 27
    UK person here and we have some lovely mexican restaurants here. I live in Rugby and we have one called the Casa Loco and you have to book a month in advance to get a table, it is always very popular.
  • nothingisred
    nothingisred Posts: 292
    Mexican is relatively popular here (although not nearly as much as Indian, Chinese or Italian), I think most Brits immediately think of fajitas and enchallidas and not a lot else though. But as someone else has mentioned we do have both Mexican chain restaurants and Mexican packs in supermarkets. We don't really have much in the way of Mexican fast food though (although saying that a chain called Mission Burrito opened up in my city last month, their food is wonderful, not traditional cheap greasy fast food but properly cooked stuff).

    I would err on the side of caution with spice though. Yes we are known as curry lovers but I think the majority of people here will go to an Indian restaurant and order something mild like a tikka masala or a korma, it's only the real foodies (and drunken 'lads') who generally tend to venture into burn-your-tongue territory. You'll find a lot of Brits seem to have relatively 'delicate' stomachs (unless they've had copious amounts of alcohol), although as someone else has said we're so polite we'd probably eat it anyway and just suffer the next day!

    I always associate Mexican food with cocktails, all the Mexican restaurants I've been to over here are very big on cocktails! Not sure if that's the best of ideas for a business meeting though!!
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
    "Mexican Restaurant" ?? Chiquitos is neither. microwaved greasy garbage devoid of any cooking.
  • MrsSpinks
    MrsSpinks Posts: 274 Member
    Mexican food is my absolute favorite! I would love a mexican buffet at work!!!
  • Eliz_99
    Eliz_99 Posts: 85 Member
    I'm from UK and love mexican food. I make Chili con carne quite often and fajitas are quite popular. Not sure if it is the same as the mexican food eaten is america though.

    Same as PP mentions Chiquito's is a popular mexican chain restaurant here.
  • netchik
    netchik Posts: 587 Member
    Definitely go for the mexican - what we have here is completely tailored for the British market... very few places do "real" mexican food, even the mexican chain restaurants!
  • BrewerGeorge
    BrewerGeorge Posts: 397 Member
    Ok, thanks Everybody. It kind of sounds like UK "Mexican" is at a level similar to what it was here in the Midwest when I was growing up - all run by gringos :wink: and friendly-ed up with lots of big, frozen alcohol. Once the immigrants start moving in and opening their own restaurants, the food gets A LOT better. At least I know that they'll probably know what's being served and will probably be open to trying it. Mexican, it is.
  • kyle4jem
    kyle4jem Posts: 1,400 Member
    Hi George,

    UK calling... yes, Mexican food is popular here too and it's very similar to the US version of Mexican food.

    I've been to Arizona and eaten authentic Mexican as well as Tex/Mex during my visit. Even went to the Mexican ranch market in Phoenix which was freaky and cool in equal measures :laugh:

    I'd say your UK visitors will really appreciate a Mexican buffet... something quite different to what they would normally have a lunch. Just don't take them to Taco Bell :laugh: When most Brits go out for a Mexican the food's almost superfluous to the cocktails and Tequila slammers :drinker:

    But please don't offer Brits American chocolate because...and I don't mean to be disrespectful... it tastes like wax. The only candies I really loved in the states were M&Ms especially all the weird and wonderful varieties such as pretzel etc. Now they are the mutts.... but off the menu at the moment of course :cry: (because 35g is never enough :laugh:)
  • Crystal817
    Crystal817 Posts: 2,021 Member
    But please don't offer Brits American chocolate because...and I don't mean to be disrespectful... it tastes like wax.

    :huh:
  • RAQUELINATOVAR
    RAQUELINATOVAR Posts: 221 Member
    I love vietnamese, chinese, japanese....all asian food really....and i'm mexican.
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