Tex-Mex Restaurants in the UK

Tex-Mex cooking was born on the northern border between Mexico and Texas in the late 19th century, when Mexican families adapted their recipes to American tastes and available products: more beef, more yellow cheddar cheese, generous cumin, wheat flour for tortillas, and the invention of iconic dishes such as fajitas (originally grilled skirt steak, now also chicken and vegetables), nachos (attributed to Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya in Piedras Negras, 1943), chilli con carne (a beef stew with chilli powder, traditionally without beans in the original Texan recipe) and burritos (not purely Mexican — they're a northern borderland creation).

In the UK there are 41 verified Tex-Mex restaurants, concentrated in London, Manchester, Birmingham and the South East. The ones in our directory have been verified for their regional authenticity: they use the right ingredients (wheat tortillas made in-house, good-quality cheddar, refried beans cooked from scratch), have a specialised menu and don't water down the proposition with sushi or burgers on the side.

Key difference between Tex-Mex and traditional Mexican: Tex-Mex uses wheat flour (not nixtamalised maize), yellow cheddar (not fresh cheese or Oaxaca cheese), cumin as the main spice (not used in traditional central Mexican cooking), and formats that don't exist in Mexico such as chilli con carne, loaded nachos with everything on top, or the deep-fried "chimichanga" (a fried burrito).