THE BIG MOVE

Upping sticks in May, Senor Lucas have settled into new lodgings down the road…

Born as a food truck in the satellite town of Zalesie Górne, Senor Lucas became one of Warsaw’s biggest hits when it opened in the centre in 2020. Found in one of those pokey units half-submerged below street level, this one table wonder quickly earned a rep as the city’s top burrito – soon, it became painfully obvious that a move to bigger premises was immediately required.

Finally, this happened in May with the SL team shifting their kitchen 130-metres up the street. Already though, you get the idea that they underestimated demand –visit on Saturday, and it’s likely you’ll find all tables occupied within the first 30-minutes of business.

As such, a fair degree of chaos reigns with unruly queues, beeping table buzzers, loud groups and even louder music all part of the scene. Effecting the look of a busy taqueria, you order at the counter before squashing up on the central communal table, or taking your chances on the blazing hot terrace (Insider monthly prayer: some parasols for summer, amen).

Yet despite the racket Senor Lucas remains a deeply enjoyable experience, and that’s directly attributed to brick-like burritos and rolled quesadillas filled with lots of juicy flavour contrasts. And there’s tacos, as well –though significantly too oily and overloaded on our visit, these handheld pieces of goodness are up there with Warsaw’s best – a point not lost on the throngs of foreigners dribbling sauces down their chins.

And yes, let’s finish on the salsa – still needing to be amped up a notch before being able to justify its ‘super-hot’ label, the joyously rich sharpness of the house sauce makes it somewhat addictive. Not without scope for improve- ment, a further bonus would be some variety on the salsa front. Regardless, these points fail to devalue what has become one of Warsaw’s favourite Mexican treasures.