With three sites in London – including St Paul’s, Spitalfields and Leadenhall – Poncho 8 serves up high quality Mexican food in a great environment.
Poncho 8 was set up by friends Nicholas Troen and Francis Yeung and provides the perfect location for diners to eat in or take away.
Commenting on the Poncho 8 brand, Poncho 8 Director, Nicholas Troen, said:
“At Poncho 8 we serve up fresh, Mexican food, including very high quality burritos and salads. Our aim is to elevate the current quality and perception of Mexican food above the usual clichés, to provide great cuisine within a fast, casual environment.
“All of our sites are located within London and this is where our focus is at the moment, however we are looking at expanding our portfolio within the next two years and I expect that we will look at opening some new sites outside of the Capital in this time.”
The most recent site is Poncho 8 Leadenhall, which opened its doors in early December 2012 following a six-week refurbishment scheme. Prior to becoming the latest Poncho 8, the building formerly housed a small sandwich shop.
Work began on the project in October 2012 and saw the building stripped back to its shell in order to accommodate the new restaurant. Walls were re-clad, new floors and ceilings were installed and the site benefitted from a brand new lighting scheme, along with new plumbing and associated pipe works.
Delta Bravo was the main contractor on the project, whilst London-based Cada Design Group provided architectural services on the site.
Nicholas said:
“The first thing that customers will notice upon entering Poncho 8 Leadenhall is that the site is very clean and very light, which reflects the fresh and healthy food that we serve. The walls include a few dashes of colour and incorporate our signature tessellating pattern, whilst the floor includes an interlocking design which is inspired by classical ponchos.
“The design is very abstract, giving a flavour of traditional Mexican life, so there are no sombreros, cacti or flags; instead Poncho 8 is very modern and very contemporary. Each site has its own unique personality, with a common theme running through each restaurant to create a brand familiarity for customers and each site has between six to 14 covers.”
Poncho 8 is the first venture in the food trade for co-creator Nicholas however business partner Francis is quite familiar with the industry, coming from a family with interests in the restaurant trade. The pair set up Poncho 8 whilst Nicholas was completing his dissertation in burritos at the London School of Economics, and the duo has not looked back since.
Nicholas commented:
“Our plan for Poncho 8 is to grow a business which demonstrates that we offer the best Mexican food in London. The Evening Standard Magazine awarded Poncho 8 with the accolade of Best Burrito in London, which was wonderful and we want to build upon this important recognition as we develop the business. We believe Mexican food should be better, even healthier and we want more people to be able to experience our passion for our food.”
Nicholas added:
“The feedback for Poncho 8 Leadenhall has been great and customers have already commented that the design of the shop is unlike anything that they have seen before. We are also very pleased that we are elevating the look and feel of the surrounding area.
“To date this is the best looking site in the Poncho 8 portfolio and that is thanks to the hard work that was undertaken by Delta Bravo and Cada Design Group. This was the first site that we have worked on with Delta Bravo and we hope to continue this great working relationship on future Poncho 8 sites.”
Located at 9B Cullum Street, London, Poncho 8 Leadenhall opens Monday to Friday between 11am and 8pm. For more information on the site, as well as the Poncho 8 brand please visit: www.poncho8.com.
