Migue's: the pioneer of Colombian fast food in London.
- Carolina Ciro
- May 11, 2017
- 4 min read
London, the city which has been catalogued by food connoisseur’s as the gastronomic capital of the globe, is indeed one of the most diverse and exciting food centre’s in the world.
From Lebanese to Vietnamese, Thai to Chinese, the diversity which our city holds, has definitely placed London in the radar of top chefs and Michelin starred restaurants around the planet.
But there are still many cuisines which aren’t as popular as the local Chinese take-away or the Turkish kebab restaurant usually found down the road
If you haven’t tried Colombian style burgers, I’ve got news for you...Migue’s, located in South London sells the best “hamburguesas” and “perros” (hot dogs) Colombian style.
So if you are a burger fan prepare yourself to indulge on a new burger experience, this time with a Latin American touch. But you’re probably wondering what the difference is? Surely burgers are burgers and have the same ingredients all around the world…
Well, according to Migue’s Co-founder, Viviana Urrego, 42, from Brixton, the main difference between Colombian street food and burgers in the UK are the dedication and love put into them. “There is a big difference with British beef burgers or even burgers in American-style diners which consist of a bun, beef mince, a slice of tomato and some fried onion,” Viviana says.
The Colombian born says that it’s the same with their hot dogs. They go the extra mile to add a unique touch which includes fried onion, mozzarella cheese, crisps, there particular pineapple sauce amongst others and a fried egg. “We treat our street food with more love adding a particular touch,” Viviana proudly states.
Migue’s has been running now for 11 years but actually started off as a small food cart, which sold street food, the American style, along Brixton Avenue, 13 years ago and it was only after 3 months that they got bigger and had people working for them as full time employees.
“Miguel wanted to do burgers with a Colombian touch here in England so he had the idea and I must say I didn’t have a clue of any of this at first but I stood beside him and I supported him specially because it was our own little business,” Viviana says.
“We decided we wanted to do more than burgers and fast food so we started doing lunch menus and then came the idea of the “patacon con todo” (plantain with everything) and the arepa con todo,” she said.
This was a boom in street food in Colombia around 10 years ago and the couple decided to bring the idea back with them to London.
Yes, you did read well, the famous arepa which traduces cornbread are typical in Colombian brekkie and are also a tradition in next door neighbour country, Venezuela.
“On one of our trips to Colombia we saw this was a new thing in street food which consisted of shredded beef, pork or chicken with different sauces on top, including guacamole and our typical pineapple sauce. Extra toppings would include cheese and chorizo.”
“Our sales started to increase and the business was going really well. Unfortunately nowadays, profit isn’t as good as it was back then but we are happy that the business has grown and we have developed a brand, not only because of my husband’s name but also because of the food quality and our good customer service,” Viviana says.
Financial engineer, Sebastian Fernandez, 30, from Colombia, who has been travelling the world a lot recently was living in Paris, another famous food capital, before landing in London.
“Even though French cuisine is one of the best in the world, I definitely miss my Colombian fast food and having found this place in London, makes me feel like I’m back home, ” Sebastian said.
“I tried the burger because it's what they are most known for but I think I might go for a hot dog as well”.
Asked whether or not there is competition in the Colombian fast food market, Viviana replied that there is a bigger market now days but that they have successfully created a brand around themselves so the Latin American community know and prefer Migue’s when it comes to burgers, since they’ve been around for a few years now.
“The burgers are definitely our main sell, especially because we have got a wide variety and we’ve recently changed the menu so we’ve now got the Mexican burger, the Classic, the Hawaiian, Chicken burger and the Super Burger”.
Migue’s is open every day of the week from 12pm to 11pm Sunday to Thursday and have recently launched a cocktail bar on Fridays and Saturdays, from 10pm-3am.
“So far it’s going quite well and people have welcomed the idea. There is a wide variety of cocktails and spirits and the music is cross over. It’s been a month already but I reckon we still need to work on publicity so the Latin American community start visiting us not only for food but for drinks on a Friday night as well”.
Comments