OUR PATCH SEPTEMBER 2016
MEXICAN
RAVE
PARK YOUR DIGNITY &
The new food experience
in the Bush is hot, fresh,
spicy and uber-cool... but
just don't think of trying to
pay with anything as oldfashioned as banknotes or
coins, says Tim Harrison
S
treet food just came indoors.
A new addition to the
Shepherds Bush vibrant
dining scene is Killer Tomato,
an uber-cool taco joint
serving Mexican favourites
with a twist.
Launched in July at 18 Goldhawk
Road, opposite Brewdog, as a 32-cover
eatery, it’s fresh, provocative and
sparky. Rather like owner Matt Paice, a
16/17
former BBC commissioning editor and
Bafta winner. “It was for a kids’ show,”
he adds, modestly.
This is fun dining. Park your dignity
at the door; we’re talking hands-on
food, packed with colour and flavour
and dripping lip-smacking sauce.
Do not be tempted to invite Lady
Farquarson-Smythe with her pristine
white gloves and ballgown. Tacos split,
bits dribble out, your napkin is on
perpetual standby and the dinky metal
dishes are a delightful mess by the end
of it.
But you won’t get fresher
ingredients, cleverer combinations or a
more satisfying eating experience this
Try the cheeseburger taco:
deconstructed into ground
beef, onion, cheese, peppers,
lettuce, wrapped in a tortilla
side of the Yucatan peninsula.
For 40 years the premises have
limped along as a kebab takeaway, but
Matt had a vision of how he could
change its fortunes, and Killer Tomato
was born.
He cut his catering teeth selling
street food in achingly trendy districts
like Dalston Junction, and now has
a sassy team turning out brisket
croquetas, guacamole, quesadillas and
beefy burritos from an open kitchen
area squeezed behind a corrugated ironfronted counter.
Days before opening he made an
extraordinary decision; he wouldn’t
take cash. Instead, waiters take your
order via an iPad and transmit it to the
chefs. When you ask for the bill, you
tap, swipe or insert your card using a
device whipped from a staff member’s
pocket… and you’re away.
“The wasted time in a restaurant is
between asking for the bill and paying,”