Our Patch September 2016 | Page 16

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,”