Mexican Food: London vs. Scottsdale

On one very chilly day on my recent trip to London, after spending the day walking from one end of the city to another, I was hungry and very cold when I found myself in front of a restaurant called Cantina Laredo in the Covent Garden area.  It was new and modern looking and most of all, looked warm inside so in I went.

The inside was indeed warm and also friendly and the menu looked very interesting with a lot of familiar dishes.  I started thawing out, unwound my neck scarf and settled in for relaxing meal.

The first thing I ordered was the house made guacamole, made table side just like at many Arizona restaurants.

I watched the server mash the whole avocado and add all the familiar ingredients and when I dug in, I felt warm all over.  It was a little taste of home so far away.


For my entree I ordered the Chicken Mole enchiladas and I was eager to see if those too were as good as the food I'm used to eating in the U.S. southwest.

I was pleasantly surprised.  The enchiladas were beautifully presented and every bit as delicious as those in my favorite Arizona Mexican restaurants.

When I decided to write a post about having great Mexican Food in London, I went to their website to gather some details, I noticed at the very bottom of the site's pages a link to "US Cantina Laredo".  I checked it and discovered that there was a Cantina Laredo in Scottsdale.  That's when I decided I should do a comparison.

The restaurant is located in far north Scottsdale in a very busy shopping area.  The outside is very attractive in a much more southwestern looking building than the location in London.  That I expected.

The inside was warm and modern like the restaurant in London with very tasteful decor and art.

I decided to order the same thing I ordered in London, the Chicken Mole enchiladas but, I skipped the guacamole.

I was just a bit surprised when the plate was placed in front of me with just one enchilada on it but, I thought maybe that was because it was lunch time.  The presentation was nice looking but I thought it was just a little less attractive.  The enchilada itself was good but it didn't wow me like the one I had in London.

In the end I decided that the London restaurant was by far the superior dining experience.  Imagine that, I found a Mexican restaurant in London that is much better than it's sister restaurant located so close to the national origins of it's cuisine.