The story of Los Cardos

It all started on a road trip in Colorado in 2004. With a love of burritos and a desire to return to Scotland, the “simple” answer seemed to be to open a burrito shop in Edinburgh. Six and a half years later, Los Cardos opened its doors.

From those early Colorado days, we wanted to blend cultures and cuisines and we knew we had to think big. What could be the ultimate fusion cuisine? We knew that if we achieved one thing, it had to be introducing the world to the HAGGIS BURRITO.

When we told our friends and family in Colorado, the news was greeted with a resounding “eewwww!” However, our peeps in Scotland were intrigued. We knew we had some culinary convincing to do, but felt that if we could get the more traditional burrito fillings right, and provide fast and friendly service, that people would trust us about the haggis. Since opening our doors in April of 2010, we’ve gained a loyal following for the “chieftain o’ the puddin race” burrito, while winning many fans of the tried and true styles too. Our carnitas, in particular, have quickly become a huge hit.

As co-owners, we have a lifetime and the better part of twenty years experiencing Mexican cuisine and have sampled our way through Colorado’s wealth of eateries, in addition to various regional interpretations from Texas, California and Arizona to New Mexico. With this background, we endeavoured to develop a menu that captured the idea of fresh-mex soul food, with authentic flavours and high quality ingredients.

In choosing a name, we also felt that we wanted to capture the idea of cultural blending, so we took the flower of Scotland and translated it into Spanish which is, of course, Los Cardos. The name, as it happens, is also part of a well known region in Mexico.

We strive daily to make the sort of salsas, burritos, tacos and quesadillas that originally inspired us and hope to convert the foodies of Scotland one fresh-mex meal at a time.

Guac and Roll,
Neil & Kim