Benito's Hat Mexican Kitchen to open third London site

Restaurant firm Benito's Hat Mexican Kitchen is set to open its third and largest site in London next month.

The new restaurant will be on Great Castle Street, just north of Oxford Circus. It will seat 40 diners in the main ground-floor restaurant, with capacity for a further 20 diners downstairs.

Benito's Hat started out in 2008 with its first restaurant on Goodge Street in London. Its second is in Covent Garden's New Row. The new site will specialise in made-to-order Mexican street food with a menu including freshly-made burritos, tacos and soups. Cocktails will also be a key part of the offering, with a focus on tequila-based drinks including Margaritas and Palomas.

The company was founded by 31-year-old Ben Fordham, formerly a tax lawyer in the City. He said: "When we first opened with Goodge Street we really were pioneering the Mexican food movement in London; three years on and the scene is now very much more established, with demand for great-tasting, authentic Mexican food on the rise."

Chef Felipe Fuentes Cruz, from Puebla, Mexico, who opened the Goodge Street restaurant with Fordham, will oversee the kitchens of all three sites. The new restaurant will be located at Great Castle Street, W1.

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By Neil Gerrard

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