Food feedback - Taco Bell
Published: 15 July, 2010
Coverpoint's Jonathan Doughty serves up his regular shopping centre foodservice review. This month he visits Taco Bell at Lakeside, Thurrock.
After weeks of press articles and even a Facebook site dedicated to bringing Taco Bell back to the UK, the brand has finally re-launched at Lakeside Shopping Centre.
Some of you may remember the Taco Bell brand – owned by Yum!, the operator of Pizza Hut and KFC in the UK and the US – when it appeared, and then disappeared, from our high streets in the 1990’s. Recently, the company has expanded Taco Bell beyond North America and into Europe with restaurants in Spain and Cyprus, as well as launching in India and Dubai. Lakeside marks the first re-entry point into the UK.
My wife and I decided to visit to see whether Taco Bell lived up to the high standard we had experienced on our last holiday in Florida. We visited late on Sunday afternoon hoping the ‘opening’ crowds may have died down by this point. Entering the food court we asked a table clearer to point us in the direction of Taco Bell, who looked amused and said ‘just look for the queues, they have been there all week’. The lady was not joking about the queues - they snaked back into the food court seating areas and around the side of the new, but unopened, Ed’s Easy Diner kiosk.
We decided to bite the bullet and enter the line, which seemed to be made up of the entire expat population of London who were all ‘dying for a taste of home’. We reached the front of the line and were met by a very ‘green’ team member who was shadowed by an American line manager.
We ordered a Beef Crunchwrap Supreme, nachos and a diet Pepsi (£3.89) and a Chicken Quesadilla (our favourite), spiced fries and a diet Pepsi (£3.59). We were politely asked to wait for our order at the end of the counter. Unfortunately, after waiting patiently, we were presented with our order incorrectly. Not just once, but three times. On the final occasion, we decided not to argue and made do with what we had.
The quality of the food was good and the fries were better than a number of comparable fast food restaurants, helped by the ‘special Mexican flavoured seasoning’, which was spicy, salty and hot, adding a new dimension to an old favourite. Although we had not received what we requested, the food we did have was of a good standard.
Although the service was poor, I hasten to add that once staff are trained and management in place I can see this place working. There is clearly a demand for this product, demonstrated not only by the queues but also the growth in Mexican food in the UK over the last year. The market has changed a lot in 20 years since Taco Bell’s last venture into UK, but we believe that the customer will be ready and receptive for the reintroduction of the ‘Mexican McDonalds’.
