Lupe Pintos

Any talk of an ‘American Foods Store’ is more than likely to make your average Glaswegian think of the numerous candy and cereal stores that litter the city centre, all specializing in a range of borderline-legal products with obscene sugar content.

In a delicious attempt to break up the US hegemony, Lupe Pintos take the entire continent into consideration, offering a breathtaking range of hot sauces, chillies, beans, frozen burritos and many other Mexican groceries – if you're one for your spice, you'll be in good company. All this accompanies an equally impressive range of candy and baking goodies from over the pond, as well as a small but mighty range of cooking chorizos that bring in connoisseurs from all over the city. The store also hosts a now-infamous Chilli Cook-Off in both Glasgow and Edinburgh (usually held in October). This annual madness sees hundreds of culinary adventurers tour their respective cities' participating restaurants in search of the perfect variation on the Tex-Mex classic, replete in sombreros and moustaches.

Lupe Pintos has also been pretty successful in The Skinny's annual Food & Drink Survey over the years. It landed a winning spot within the Best Shops category again this year, following previous wins in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018. Check out the full list of winners from the 2019 Food & Drink Survey to find out where else to head for a bite, a pint or to carry out your food shop.