A Mexican takeaway in the heart of the Lake District has scooped a top spot on TripAdvisor.
Tacos Del Sol has been hailed the number one restaurant in Ambleside by the website.
Owned by husband and wife duo Marisol and Chris Kidd, the street food takeaway opened in March and has been showered with praise from customers since.
Chris said: “We are so excited to be named number one after only seven months of being open and we are incredibly satisfied that our food has been rated so highly. We’re a tiny place so we’re blown away and quite shocked, we’ve had a phenomenal response from the locals.
“Marisol cooks the food with love everyday, I see her and watch her do it and it’s an open kitchen so people can see the colours and vibrancy, people get so excited and foodies go nuts for it, it’s absolutely one of the biggest reasons she’s in the top spot.”
Marisol gets up four-and-a-half hours before opening to prepare salsa, guacamole, rice, beans and fresh grilled meat every day.
He said: “People can’t believe how fresh the food tastes, the comments on TripAdvisor are out of this world, people’s reactions to the food Marisol makes are incredible. We only ever source the best local products from farmers, butchers and greengrocers and that’s always been our ethos.”
One customer on TripAdvisor said: “Do you know how blessed we are to have authentic tacos in the Lakes? Blows my mind every time you bite in to those corn flavoured tortillas and taste all those amazing flavours be it veg, pork, beef or chicken. Marisol is incredible at what she does and you don’t need the Michelin guide to tell you to make the trip to here.”
Another added: “This Mexican is amazing! Authentic, fresh, locally sourced produce and made as you wait, the taste of Mexico blows your mind!”
Hailing from Mexico City, Marisol uses family recipes to create authentic Mexican food, which Chris feels has contributed to the takeaway’s appeal.
He added: “Marisol is from Mexico where food is cultural, she grew up around her family having restaurants and cooking food from a very early age. It’s that authenticity that people enjoy. But It really is made with love, there’s not a microwave in sight, all the local chefs come in and love it as well. Our pulled pork tacos take 12 hours of marinating in fresh banana leaves and they sell out in an hour and a half.”
Chris said they are also popular with students attending the University of Cumbria’s Ambleside campus, who they provide with a student discount. He added that they sell up to 20 burritos a day to students and have a large amount of regulars coming in two to three times a week.
He added: “We’ve had really great local support, people love Mexican food and Marisol hasn’t gone away from her roots, she’s stayed authentic and the locals love and support it and we have a great clientele now. Some people at first walk away because we’re not a restaurant, but they keep coming back once they’ve tried the food.”
The duo have a long-term goal of owning a restaurant and are looking for support from an investor to help them expand.
