El Mexicana unit at Cobham, situated centrally, amongst the customer seating in the food court. It’s a small unit which has traded from Cobham since the site opened in 2012. El Mex was introduced to Extra sites in 2012, so this was ideal timing for when Cobham opened. El Mexicana provide a range of Mexican dishes in takeaway format, with ordering broken down into various sections: the dish, the filling, the salsa and side orders. This unit was fully refurbished in 2021 to include El Mexicana’s sister desert brand Don Churro, offering customers both savoury and sweet food options. Mexican food is still a rare site at motorway services & most customers wouldn’t expect it, however, El Mexicana being provided at Cobham provides more variety with the cuisines and types of food available here. El Mexicana only have 8 locations throughout the UK, with 5 being at Extra services, so many customers will have never heard of the brand, and will more likely choose something they recognise, like KFC or McDonald’s. El Mex doesn’t have its own designated seating area, but shares a communal seating area with other brands in the food court. Pricing for El Mexicana is slightly inflated compared to their high street locations, which is to be expected. El Mexicana was fairly busy today as it’s an obvious brand here being situated in the middle of the interior, but also being a couple days before Xmas, there were more customers can average at Cobham. El Mexicana is not signposted from the M25 but is advertised at various points around the site and is included on all totem poles at Cobham.

Photo taken on 23/12/2023 by Tom Moon.

Assigned to galleries: M25, El Mexicana, Extra, Cobham