Real California Street Food in Dubai – Tortilla

by rashida · Published August 19, 2016 · Updated September 28, 2019

Lunch tasting today was at the recently opened Californian Mexican joint – Tortilla in Dubai Festival City. Yes, I know I pass by the restaurant almost everyday, but it definitely deserved a special visit. After 10 years and 37 outlets in the UK, Tortilla has entered the Middle East with its first outlet in the 2nd floor food court, Dubai Festival City.

Highlighting the street food from California, Tortilla prides itself on its fresh locally sourced ingredients, homemade sauces, salads and dips and impressively healthy dishes. Their one page menu not only justifies the street style offering but keeps the confusions at bay.

Read on to find out all about the menu offerings at Tortilla and why this restaurant should be a part of every food court in Dubai.

The restaurant, although located amidst a food court, boasts its own chic decorated space which shouts out “different” and gives the eatery a distinguished, welcoming look.

Offering the perfect way to cool off this summer, the homemade lime Margarita at Tortilla is such a refresher. Chilled and tangy, it’s like having lemonade on streets of California on a summer afternoon. This cooler makes the perfect accompaniment to all that Mexican goodness.

Feel like skipping the carbs?
Try the absolutely wholesome Burrito bowl at Tortilla. This Mexican street favorite has a fancy process of preparation where each item that goes into the bowl is added as per your preference.
It start with a rice base and you get to choose between coriander or tomato rice. Given my love for variety, I obviously asked them to give me a little of both, like all the other ingredients that followed.
Next came a little of each, pinto beans and black beans. For meat, I went with part grilled chicken and part steak.
This was followed by dollops of sour cream and guacamole as well as some shredded Monterey Jack. It was then topped with sweet corn salsa, Pico de galo, as well as verde and roja spicy sauces. And the finishing touch was a crispy lettuce along with cilantro onion garnish and a squeeze of fresh lime.
Already tempted? Head to DFC and order a burrito bowl at Tortilla! You won’t be hungry for a long long time after eating this healthy filling bowl of goodness. It’s definitely a must have.

Tune in to the Taco trend at the home of real Californian Tacos – Tortilla.
To start off with, we chose one soft tortilla and two hard taco shells. The soft taco was filled with shrimps that were oh-so-delicious (I’m definitely going back for them), along with guacamole, spicy sauce and a cilantro onion garnish. For one of the hard taco shells we chose grilled chicken, sour cream, Pico de galo and jalapenos, while the other one was filled with braised Barbacoa beef (extremely tender and juicy), sweet corn salsa and shredded cheese. All off then came with a lettuce base.
The taco shells, all homemade were absolutely crunchy and such a treat. The concept of customizing the filings as per your preference (also so you get to try different flavors) makes it a winner.
You know what, I’m craving them right now!

To check out the video showing the preparation of these tacos and to take a look at what goes inside these delicious and crunchy Mexican delights, visit my Insta-blog here.

I also got a chance to attend the Grand Opening Celebration of Tortilla organized on 31st August at Dubai Festival City. It was a grand event with famous RJ Kris Fade from Virgin Radio coupled with prizes, vouchers, a trip to California, and of course FREE burritos, which attracted a lot of crowds.