From Dusk Till Dawn actor Danny Trejo couldn’t be more excited at the prospect of opening a taco restaurant in London.
He spent some time in the UK when filming 2014 movie Muppets Most Wanted, where he starred as a prisoner alongside Goodfellas star Ray Liotta.
“Me and Ray Liotta – bless his soul – when we were in London, we had such a blast. Every day was fun,” Trejo, 79, told the PA news agency.
Part of the movie was filmed in Oxford, where Trejo picked up a sweater that said he went to the university. “Every once in a while, someone would be like: ‘You went to Oxford?!'” he said with a laugh.
Desperado and Machete star Trejo also remembers going to Portobello Road Market in West London with Liotta, who died in 2022.
“They have like 50 markets in one spot – we went berserk. Portobello is the only place I’ve ever seen more crowded than Venice Beach on a Sunday,” said Los Angeles native Trejo.
So it’s something of a full circle moment for the actor, as the first international outpost of Trejo’s Tacos has opened on Portobello Road.
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“It’s unbelievable – what a place for [a restaurant]. That’s putting a restaurant somewhere where everybody’s hungry.”
Trejo opened his first taco joint in LA in 2016, and said: “I’ve never had a complaint and we get five stars on Yep? Yap? Yelp! The food’s good.”
And he said it’s “unbelievable” that someone like him – from a modest upbringing, who had spent time in jail before becoming a Hollywood star – would be opening an international restaurant.
“I love the fact that we have enough room to have concerts there, because I have a record label – and we’re going to where The Beatles shopped,” he said – referencing the fact that Portobello Road is close to Abbey Road Studios, and band members were often seen shopping in the market.
“I’m dating myself here, but I remember when they [The Beatles] flew in and landed in New York [in 1964]. It was crazy, you know? I remember when long hair was not in – they had long hair. It’s so funny, three weeks later you started seeing [long hair everywhere].”
The impact of The Beatles was so huge, Trejo added: “They really changed the style.” When the band landed in America, “All the thugs started wearing high heels”, Trejo said – just like The Beatles. “Everybody got an inch-and-a-half taller.”
London marks the first international outpost of Trejo’s Tacos, but the actor-turned-restaurateur isn’t quite considering world domination yet.
Trejo said: “I don’t want to think ahead – I want to do this, and do this right.”
Trejo’s Tacos is open at 299-301 Portobello Road. To subscribe to the mailing list and for bookings visit trejostacos.co.uk.
