The Chequers has undergone a bit of a renaissance since the new owners took over last year. What was once a sleepy village pub that felt like a relic of the past has been invigorated with a broader beer selection, live sports, and a rotation of food vans every Friday night.

Starting this year, the pub decided to trial food vans on the last Saturday of every month – perfectly timed for just after pay day! Tonight’s guest was Eat Ya Fajita, a Mexican street food van I haven’t featured on the blog before, so I had to head down and investigate.

It was a dark, cold evening, so apologies in advance for the rather bleak photos. The pub itself is quite dimly lit, which didn’t help the photography but did add a warm and cosy atmosphere to the evening.

The menu offers a predictable but solid selection of dishes, featuring the usual favourites like tacos, fajitas, nachos, and loaded chips. You can also catch smash burgers, meatball subs, and Korean fried chicken from their other van, so keep your eyes peeled for those.

I didn’t get to try the nachos myself (that pleasure went to my son) but they looked fantastic. Loaded with cheese, salsa, lettuce, and onion (both fresh and dried), they had everything you could want. The grated cheddar slowly melted over the stack, adding a great texture as we ate.

Beef Pulled Tacos

The beef tacos were absolutely beautiful. Served as a pair, these soft shell tacos were loaded with braised beef birria. The meat was succulent and incredibly juicy – the kind of texture I genuinely enjoyed sinking my teeth into with a great depth of flavour.

Unpopular opinion: I usually prefer crispy taco shells to soft wraps, but since these were fried on the outside, they had a much more robust and complex flavour. I couldn’t recommend these enough and many other places could learn a thing or two from doing this (are you listening, Carpenters Arms?).

Pork Fajitas

We ordered one vegetarian and two pork wraps. The pork is spit-roasted and marinated, giving it a texture that is both crispy and tender. The fajita was about the size I expected – substantial enough to satisfy most, though if you are a big chap like myself, you might benefit from ordering an extra side. Crucially, the whole thing held together well with minimal mess, which was a relief considering we were eating in a busy pub.

My sister tried the vegetarian and commented on its spicy punch that worked with the overall flavour rather than overpowering it. The cauliflower was also crunchy and added a satisfying texture to the bite.

Sunny food on a miserable evening

Eat Ya Fajita offers fun summer food exactly where you need it most – on a bleak evening in the middle of winter. All the classic dishes you would expect from a Mexican street food van are here, and everything is executed well. Sutton has been crying out for a regular food van pitch, and seeing the entire pub chowing down at the same time certainly proves it.

Thanks for reading!