Walking through London, the clock is ticking. There’s just enough time to grab a quick bite to eat, but not another supermarket sandwich or the same old wrap. It has to be something quick, affordable and a little more exciting. That’s when a taqueria catches your eye. But it’s not just one. There’s another across the road, another around the corner and another preparing to open next week. It feels as though they’ve appeared almost overnight.
That feeling isn’t entirely imagined. While tacos have had a presence in the UK for decades and the category has experienced previous waves of growth, the pace of expansion has noticeably accelerated in recent months. Earlier this year, Miami-born Coyo Taco entered the UK market, while Acme Taco also launched its first site. More recently, within the space of a single week, Two Twins Tacos announced a fourth London restaurant, Trejo’s Tacos revealed a new partnership with Puttshack, and Pablo’s Taqueria confirmed its expansion into all three Arcade Food Hall locations.
Individually, these developments might not have raised eyebrows. Together, however, they paint a picture of a category gathering momentum. For consumers, it can feel as though a new taco concept is opening every other week. For the industry, it raises the question: why now?
Following America’s lead
One of the clearest themes to emerge from conversations with operators is that the UK is not creating a new trend but following one that has already matured in the US.
Perhaps the strongest example of the market’s potential is Taco Bell. The chain now operates more than 8,000 restaurants across the US and has demonstrated how tacos can successfully gain traction in the UK. Despite an unsuccessful first attempt to establish itself in the country during the late 1980s and early 1990s, the brand has gone on to open more than 160 locations since re-entering the market in 2018. Its financial performance has also reflected this momentum, with Taco Bell UK and Europe Limited reporting a profit of $2.52m for the year ending 31 December 2024, up from $2.22m the previous year. The brand’s sustained expansion and improving profitability suggest UK consumers have increasingly embraced tacos, underlining the category’s long-term growth potential.
Graham Bradbury, founder of Two Twins Tacos, believes the UK is finally catching up with developments that have been happening across the Atlantic for years. “There’s been a big movement in the US over the past 10 years,” he says.
“The UK is just a little behind and is now catching up.”
Bradbury argues that London’s established Mexican operators have laid the foundations for this next stage of growth. “We’ve already had loads of amazing Mexican traders in London, it started with some really authentic taquerias coming into the city, and now it just feels like there are lots of players entering the market.”
Trejo’s Tacos shares the same assessment. Having launched in Los Angeles in 2016 before arriving in London in 2024, the Californian-Mexican brand believes British consumers are only now embracing concepts that have succeeded in the US.
“The UK is often a little behind the US when it comes to food trends, but there have been lots of great Mexican concepts over the last few years and now it seems consumers are finally ready for them,” says Jerome Armit, co-CEO of Trejo’s Tacos UK.
Favourable conditions
The current economic climate has also created favourable conditions for taco brands, with operators repeatedly pointing to value as a major driver behind recent growth.
Bradbury believes changing consumer spending habits have fundamentally altered the market. “People aren’t going to sit-down restaurants as often, so there’s more demand for a lower-priced, casual dining option,” he says. “Mexican food - and tacos in particular - fit that space really well.”
This value proposition is central to the Two Twins model. The business has maintained promotional pricing since opening, including £3 Taco Tuesdays, a daily four-taco-and-margarita for £16 offer, and happy hour cocktails for £6 or buy one get two beers.
Bradbury says affordability has become one of the brand’s defining characteristics and it is this c that he uses to justify the brand’s recent announcement of a fourth location.
“We feel there’s a real demand for the brand because we’re different from some of our competitors. Our focus is on keeping prices accessible while maintaining the highest quality possible. That combination is really resonating with people right now.”.
Trejo’s Tacos reaches a similar conclusion, arguing that tacos naturally suit today’s consumer habits.
“Mexican food lends itself incredibly well to quick service,” says Armit. “It’s fast and convenient, and people also get really good value for money, which is especially important with the current cost-of-living pressures.”
A taco boom – or a Mexican food boom?
While tacos are currently attracting the most attention, the category has not emerged in isolation. Established operators such as Wahaca have spent almost two decades familiarising British consumers with Mexican cuisine. Since launching in 2007, the brand has grown to 14 restaurants across the UK, with sites concentrated in London as well as locations in Edinburgh, Cardiff and Brighton.
More recently, restaurants including Ocasa, Perro and the Mexican chain Madre have helped broaden awareness of Mexican cooking. Since 2019, Madre has expanded to five venues across its Madre and Salon concepts, reflecting growing consumer appetite.
The trend also extends beyond just food. A new wave of Mexican-inspired bars has also emerged, suggesting demand is growing for the country’s drinks culture alongside its food. Among them are El Cenote in Camden, opened in 2024 by former La Bodega Negra and Mestizo Chelsea employee Aima Indigo, and Little Fires, created by Christian Pecoraro, Florian Schulze and Horacio Sainz, who collaborated with the team behind Oaxaca cocktail bar Sabina Sabe to develop a mezcal-led drinks programme.
Armit echoes this assessment, saying that the popularity of tacos “reflects growing interest not just in Mexican food but also in margaritas, mezcal and Mexican drinks more broadly”.
However, this view is not completely unanimous – Bradbury argues that the current growth is centred on tacos themselves: “It’s more specific to tacos. That’s really what’s becoming so popular around the world.”
In reality, both arguments may be true. The wider Mexican category has matured significantly over recent years, creating consumer familiarity and confidence. That foundation now allows more specialist taco concepts to flourish independently.
Different propositions
Although the rapid increase in taco operators could suggest an increasingly crowded market, both brands reject the idea that concepts are becoming indistinguishable from each other.
Bradbury points to growing diversity across London’s market. “You’ve got people doing different fusion concepts alongside more traditional taquerias,” he says. “Everyone seems to be trying to do something a little different.”
Trejo’s differentiation comes through Californian-Mexican cuisine, health-led menus and entertainment-led experiences.
“We’re Californian-Mexican. We focus on fresh, healthy ingredients and bring a slightly different approach to traditional Mexican food,” adds Armit.
The brand believes experiences are becoming just as important as the food itself. Its recently announced residency with Puttshack reflects a strategy of taking tacos beyond the traditional quick-service format.
Sean Kelly, co-CEO of Trejo’s Tacos UK, says: “The experiential side of our pop-up complements the brand really nicely. We’ve grown not only as a taco restaurant but as an online presence with more than 20 million followers, so becoming experience-led is a key part of what we’re trying to accomplish.”
Meanwhile, Two Twins Tacos accredits its differentiation through menu innovation, serving dishes such as smoked chicken tacos, lamb picadillo and suadero - which it says are still relatively uncommon in London.
Room for growth
Perhaps the strongest indication that the sector remains in growth mode is that neither operator believes the UK’s taco market has reached saturation.
“I still think there’s plenty of room,” says Bradbury, arguing that expansion opportunities could lie outside the capital, where the latest wave of taco concepts has yet to gain a meaningful foothold.
“I visited Manchester a few weeks ago,” he says. “There are some great places there, but it doesn’t feel like there’s as much happening as there is in London. A lot of what we saw was more of the older style of Mexican food that was popular 10 years ago.
“The newer wave of taco concepts hasn’t really reached the city yet, and I think we’ll start to see a lot more growth there.”
In the capital the signs also indicate that consumer appetite for tacos is showing no signs of slowing down. Recent research from DesignMyNight found a 261% year-on-year growth in searches for tacos in London and observed that the capital was ‘in the midst of a taco renaissance’.
It says that while central London has seen a rise in premium and international-backed openings, the independent taco scene has clustered heavily in East London, representing 70% of the city’s independent taco scene and 58% overall. Areas such as Stoke Newington, Dalston, Shoreditch and Walthamstow have become home to some of the city’s most critically acclaimed taquerias and neighbourhoods like Peckham and Deptford continue to build strong independent scenes in South London.
“Tacos are proving their worth across lots of dining trends and verticals, making it hard to ignore their impact on London’s hospitality scene,” says Katie Kirwan, head of brand at DesignMyNight.
Further expansion
Such interest means that taco players are eyeing further expansion. Bradbury says the Two Twins’ long-term ambition is to replicate its compact, grab-and-go Portobello Road format in other locations. While the brand has already received opportunities to expand beyond London, the immediate priority is establishing a central production kitchen to ensure consistency as the business grows. Once that infrastructure is in place, hey believes the streamlined, in-and-out concept could provide ‘real potential’.
Trejo’s Tacos is also looking to expand with plans to open a few more UK sites before eventually growing through franchise partners.
“We’d like to open another three or four stores across the UK, including perhaps another two in London and then cities like Manchester and Guildford before expanding through carefully selected franchise partners,” says O’Kelly.
Miami-born Coyo Taco, which recently made its UK debut at Orchard Place in London, is also eyeing up expansion with two further openings already planned for 2026. Following Kuvi Hospitality’s acquisition of the exclusive franchise and development rights for Coyo Taco across the UK, Ireland and the GCC, the long-term ambition is to grow the brand to more than 50 locations across the UK and Ireland.
Taken together, these expansion plans suggest the next phase of the UK’s taco boom will be defined not so much by more openings in the capital, but by the spread of more taco concepts into regional cities.
Whether this is ultimately remembered as a taco boom or part of a broader Mexican food renaissance, the direction of travel appears clear. Consumer tastes are shifting, operators are refining distinct propositions, and quick-service dining is well aligned with current spending habits. With London’s market continuing to diversify and brands already planning regional expansion, tacos appear to have moved beyond being a passing food trend. Instead, they are emerging as an established and increasingly competitive category within the UK’s hospitality sector.