Salsa brand Conchita’s to open taco and burrito bar in Selfridges

This article was written by Restaurant Online Magazine. Click here to read the original article

The brand, founded by Javier Vera-Abbassi, will open the 14-seater dining area in the London outpost of the department store on 23 September with dishes available to eat in or take away. 

Conchita’s salsas (pictured below), which are based on the 100-year-old recipes of Vera-Abbassi’s grandmother Conchita, will be at the heart of the offer, which will include a menu of classic burritos, tacos, and salads.

It will open for lunch and dinner with the all-day menu to feature a line-up of tacos, including: tinga – chicken cooked in a sweet and smoky chipotle, sauce served with avocado, red onion and coriander; cochinita pibil – slow-roasted pork shoulder cooked in achiote and spices, served with habanero and pineapple escabeche; and portobello – garlic roasted portobello mushrooms, bell red peppers, avocado, goat cheese, and jalapenos.

A burrito menu will include the jackfruit, cooked in Conchita’s adobo with black beans, cheese, pico de gallo, pineapple and guacamole; and beef birria – beef brisket cooked in guajillo peppers and Conchita’s chipotle sauce, guacamole, rice, black beans, sour cream and cheese, served with birria consommé for dipping.

All the burritos are available as rice bowls without the tortillas.

Salads will include the nopale – cactus leaves, tomatoes, onion, goats’ cheese and coriander lime dressing; the watermelon and pepita, made with watermelon, red onion, mint, ancho roasted pepitas; and the roasted beets, featuring roasted beetroot, avocado, greens, queso fresco, and honey mustard dressing. 

On the desserts menu will be churros with dulce de leche; and tres leches cake.

A breakfast menu is being launching in the next few weeks offering breakfast burritos, made with scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, pico de gallo, shredded cheese, guacamole, tomato, and Conchita’s chipotle; conchas, a Mexican brioche-like sweet bread; and fresh fruit dusted with tajin, a spice mix of lime, and salt.  

“These salsas have been on my kitchen table since I was a little boy,” says Vera-Abbassi.

“My grandmother fed this to me every chance she got. Luckily, she left the secret recipe with my mother… now it’s my mission to put it on everyone else’s table.

“It’s been incredible to see the reaction to our retail Conchita’s salsas so far and now I can’t wait to take it to the next level and reach even more people with the launch of our Conchita’s Mexican Kitchen at Selfridges.”