Review of 'Lupita (NOW CLOSED)'
When we visited on a Saturday Lupita was very busy. Found in the small road leading from the Strand to Embankment station Lupita is evidently “brought to you by Mexico City's 'El Farolito', a leading Taqueria with over 45 years' experience.” It certainly seemed pretty authentic.
The interior is quite interesting with the bar and walls seemingly constructed using slats of wood and fairly dimly lit. It is quite crowded and definitely has a buzz about it. The menu is fairly small as they basically only serve tacos (£3.45 to £4.10) - three (small) soft shell tortillas with various toppings, Tortas (all £6.95) - Mexican “sandwiches” served in crusty bread with various fillings (including cheese, refried beans, as well as various meats, etc), Burritos (£6.45 to £6.95) and Quesadillas (£3.45 to £4.85). There are also various starters consisting of nachos, refried beans and others (£2.00, for tortillas and salsa to £6.95 for rolled cheese with quacamole).
We ordered the frijoles to start (£2.50) then a Cubana Torta (£6.95) and a Griga Special tortilla (£5.85). Unfortunately, all dishes arrived at once. The fijoles were more like simply beans (that is, baked beans without the tomato sauce) but were quite tasty. The Torta was fairly bland but picked up with the chorizo) and the Gringa was also quite tasty. For dessert we had Arroz con leche (£3.95) which was sweet rice - basically, a Mexican rice pudding.
It was refreshing to see that all of the food was served with a minimum of oil and also a minimum of fuss. Everything was fresh and reasonably tasty. I can't say it was truly jam-packed with flavour but it certainly filled us up and tasted good. Of course, the prices were also very good indeed. Not quite as up-scale as Wahaca, just a few streets away, but good for some light (or not so light) bites. We will likely be back…
I am not entirely happy with the location as it is quite a busy street. At one point the table next to us had a visitor come in off of the street and sit beside them - They did not know him! Anyway, he was largely ignored and eventually left. I think that this might not be an uncommon experience here particularly with what I have seen of the area late at night. Interesting, the restaurant is closed on Sunday.
Rating: “It is OK but I have some issues”
Review Date: 2010-10-23
Cuisine: Mexican
Address: 13-17 Villiers Street, London, England, WC2N 6ND
Public Transport: 
Charing Cross
Location: London (England) - Covent Garden
Map:
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Telephone: +44 (0) 20 7930 5355