What started as a street food trailer serving Tex-Med food developed into its very own destination this week with the opening of a new restaurant at The Lizard.
Chimichangas can now boast the title of the UK’s most southerly restaurant serving Tex-Mex food, thanks to husband and wife team Ben and Marynes Bradford.
They started their food trailer at Ruan Minor in 2020, built up a loyal fanbase and have now gone to the next level by taking over the former Regent Café in Lizard Village.
In the kitchen is Marynes, who hails from Guatemala, and is bringing the flavours of her Central American roots through fresh Cornish products, while Ben runs the front of house.
After a packed-out launch party last weekend, they started serving weekday food on Tuesday and are now preparing for a busy weekend of bookings.
They describe themselves as ‘An authentic taste of Latin American and Tex-Mex food in Cornwall’ and the menu offers just that.
We paid a midweek visit on Thursday, for a review of the new restaurant at The Lizard before the weekend rush.
There was a lot on the menu I liked the look of, but of course I couldn’t go to Chimichangas without trying the dish the whole place is named after. Before long, one beef chimichanga was sitting before me as I eyed it up greedily.
For those who don’t know what a chimichanga is (I didn’t beforehand!) it is essentially a filled tortilla made into a burrito and then deep fried until it’s crispy. Inside mine was tomatoey minced beef, together with refried beans and cheese, and topped with red sauce, salsa verde, sour cream and jalapenos.
It came with a deliciously creamy sweetcorn salad (there is also the option of refried beans instead) and a huge portion of rice, which was in a very light tomato flavoured sauce.
The burrito was the perfect size, generously filled with beef mixture that was flavoursome without being spicy (provided you push the jalapenos to one side of course!).
The sweetcorn salad (think potato salad but with sweetcorn, is the best way I can describe it) gave added interest as an accompaniment and I enjoyed the sprinkle of coriander in the rice, although the portion size had me beaten!
Other dishes catching my eye for next time were the loaded fries and nachos (particularly the Chimi’s hot pulled ribs served on cheesy fries and lime slaw – yum) and the VIP beef burger featuring a burger, melted cheddar cheese, chorizo, Chimichurri and chipotle mayo.
There is also Tex Mex burger with melted cheddar AND nacho cheese sauce plus a load of other tasty sounding additions including crispy onions, guacamole and chipotle mayo. Both dishes use Boscarnon Farm burgers, made using beef from cattle grazed on the heathland around nearby Coverack.
The Chef’s Special is a Guatemalean fusion, featuring grilled chicken breast with a Guatemalean Pepian sauce, served with a flour tortilla, rice, pico de gallo (tomato salsa), sweetcorn salad, guacamole and slaw.
A selection of tacos and burrito bowls complete the menu.
The restaurant, which is dog-friendly, is currently open for lunchtime and evening service Tuesday to Saturday - although the couple hope to expand their opening times as the season progresses and their team has built up.
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