Lupe Pintos

This place is heaven for anyone who cooks Mexican food. It’s doubly wonderful if you’re American and miss a little taste of home every once in a while (they stock twinkies). The staff is also hugely helpful and shares a love of great Mexican ingredients.

I love cooking Mexican food, and I seriously love Lupe Pintos. It’s on the opposite side of town, but I will happily make the journey just to get one or two special ingredients.
It’s small and it’s quite unassuming from the outside. You might mistake it for an old newsagents. Inside however is a treasure trove of specialty ingredients. They sell some other world foods but if you come here it should be for the Mexican.
There are all sorts of varieties of dried chilies from the Cool Chile Co. There are incredible corn tortillas which, now that I have had them, mean I can’t possibly go back to Old El Paso supermarket variety. There are lots of spices and salsas, and a small deli including a selection of cheeses (some frozen, some fresh). Many new ingredients that have been incorporate into my cooking after having visited here. If you want something authentic to drink alongside it, then there is a good selection of Tequila and Mezcal.
The staff are great, knowledgeable and very helpful. They will happily talk through ingredients and help with recipes in books. Everytime I bring in a recipe with an obscure Mexican ingredient I have been pointed to it or a close alternative.
If you cook Mexican food, or want to start, this is where to come.

An Edinburgh institution. They have been going almost 25 years. If you want some authentic Mexican spices, or a bottle of great tequila this is your shop. It’s well worth checking out :)

If you need only one reason to venture to the Tollcross area this is it. An amazing deli with all things Spanish, Mexican, American. A real treasure trove of spices, condiments and fine liquor. Knowledgeable staff who are always happy to chat and advise without any hard sell. Plus great events throughout the year.

What would I do without Lupe pintos… well my chili’s would be blander and my nachos far less interesting. That in itself is a great reason for the 5 stars, but this great wee shop is a lot more than just a place to grab Mexican ingredients.
Dougie and his staff have created a fantastic spot for foodies. Their range caters for Asian and south American ingredients with a few other interesting cultural points thrown in. The place its self is small, but jam packed with goodies.
Some of my favourites are:
— the frozen burritos, I introduced an American friend to these and they now swear by them for some proper comfort food.
— The tortilla wraps, about on par price wise with a super market, but leaps and bounds in front in terms of quality.
— Chill con carne pies… yep that needs no justification
— the ingredients for nachos, last time we had roasted green tomato salsa with our usual refried beans etc and what a treat.
— the naga paste for curry makes a good curry excellent, just a teaspoon in a vat is all that is needed
Actually I could go on all day, so will leave that there.
One aspect that makes this place unique is the annual chilli cook off. All the bars in the area put on a massive pot of chilli and compete against another 9 or so local venues. The atmosphere is amazing and involves a fantastic pub crawl around Tollcross and slightly further afield. I think this is a prime example of how Lupes is not just great, but a part of the neighbourhood.
Not cheap, but a prime example of you get what you pay for. Great staff and fantastic products. Just go and see! :D

Moving from the southern United States abroad to Edinburgh means that I go missing some things I took for granted, HARD, back home. For example: tins of black beans. After searching high and low all over town, in Asdas, Lidls, Aldis, and then some, I found tins of organic black beans available at Real Foods. And that was fine – in fact, I shelled out the soul of my unborn to have a whole box of ‘em delivered to my flat. No cost was too high to get my fix.
So imagine my sheer delight when I breezed into Lupe Pinto’s for the first time and see my prize: tins of black beans. The cheapest I’d yet to see in town. Oh, be still my Southern heart! The only pain I experienced here was the labor of mentally calculating just how many I could fit in my backpack and still be able to walk home.
If you’re not as huge of a fan of beans as I am, not to worry. Lupe Pinto’s has loads of other stuff to entice you, such as a whole wall of varying spices from all over the world, as well as shelves upon shelves of delicious hot sauces and salsas from Latin America. And in the corner behind all of that, a little corner of American heaven: packets of instant pudding, Crisco shortening, Ranch dressing, and A-​1 sauce. Oh, bless it!!! (huge Southern belle fan appears, heavy fanning commences) Not only that, but they have another entire wall dedicated to more Eastern cuisines, but honestly I couldn’t tell you anything about that wall, because I’ve barely spared it a glance in my narrow-​minded pursuit of beans.
If that’s still not enough for you, let the lure of potential samples captivate you. When last I popped in, they had a wee display set up with chili chocolates, rum cake, and even some sort of alcoholic beverage. Awesome. I had a nice chat with the gentleman at the till over the chocolates in particular – I’m not sure if he’s the owner, but he’s been there each time I’ve been in before, and was super friendly both times. Little does he know I consider him my guardian angel of tinned beans.
In short, this place is my little slice of heaven near the Meadows. Thank you, gods of wayfaring Southern gals. Now, can you get me some Nilla wafers so I can make my banana puddin’ or???

I love Lupe Pintos as they have an excellent selection of Mexican food items, include proper refried beans, chipolte peppers and green chilies! They also carry PBR, which my boyfriend loves, and Mexican sodas. It is a great shop to get a variety of different cultural foods and the two owners (I am assuming they are both owners) are absolutely lovely and very helpful. Always up for a chat, and they seem to genuinely care about the items they bring in, showing they want to share them with the rest of us!
They have a good selection of American foods, i.e. Zatarans Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread mix, peanut butter, hamburger pickles! And so much more.
Definitely worth a visit the local support!

Love, love Lupe Pintos. Not only they cater for all your your chili needs but you can also find stuff form America or Asia. they also some tasty drinks in the fridge such as Jarritos, which I’m pretty you can’t find anywhere else in Edinburgh. The deli counter has a few treasures such as super tasty chorizo, home-​made salsa and guacamole, tasty manchego… Their dorritos and tortillas are excellent, I cannot go back to supermarket stuff!
Knowledgeable and super friendly owners and staff. They also do the occasional masterclass (took their paella class, was great and good fun!), wine and tequila tastings. And let’s not forget, the annual Chili Cook Off around Tollcross in September. Great, great fun.
Keep an eye on their Facebook page for event and news, as you don’t want to miss out!

Wow!!! After seeing the great reviews for how well-​stocked this place is I walked in and was surprised at how small it was since I was under the impression it would be bigger. But it didn’t matter, the stock was just as excellent as I’d been led to believe.
Immediately to the right of the entrance there are Asian specialty foods. Good basics such as soy sauces, sambal oelek, chutneys and many varieties of pastes for all kinds of sauces from Thai to Chinese to Malaysian. A bit further on you’ll see mostly Spanish (as in Spain) foods.
Dozens of hot sauces, many varieties of dried chillies, salsas, and several Mexican ingredients I’ve had a hard time finding elsewhere such as huitlacoche (corn smut/​fungus, but it’s absolutely delicious, especially in a quesadilla!) and large cans of posole/​hominy.
There is a decent selection of some American foods such as pancake mix, canned pumpkin, cake mix and peanut butters. Canadian maple syrup too. I was hoping they would stock iced tea for drinks but didn’t see any on my visit.
There’s also a small section of Jamaican and other Caribbean foods, not just hot sauces.
The refrigerated case by the till offers chorizo, various Mexican cheeses (I didn’t see any cotija on this visit but I’ll be on the lookout), some really delicious looking fresh salsa and guacamole (a mum and daughter got some along with a bag of the excellent tortilla chips to share).
The freezer by the entrance offers pre-​made burritos, ribs, frozen tortillas.
Yes, prices are a bit high generally since nearly everything is imported but for the most part they’re fair especially considering the quality and selection. Service was super-​helpful in recommending hot sauces and the right type of chilli powder for what we were looking to use it.
We didn’t get as much as we would’ve liked because we had to carry it back a bit of a ways and the visit was sort of spontaneous, but it’s a place I’ll definitely return to.

Lupe Pintos is a great wee specialty shop. I come here for all my pickle, BBQ, and Mexican food needs (refried/​black beans, hot sauces, handmade fresh tortillas, tortilla chips, sauces and did I mention hot sauces!?). Their guacamole and salsa are killer. Their sour cream is authentic style sour cream which you can buy in wee plastc cups. Also their cooking chorizos are amazing!!!
Now they are offering fresh made cotija cheese, which is unheard of! Really exciting how they constantly try to offer new quality foods to customers. They also offer cooking classes and tasting sessions. Lupe Pintos also organises a chilli cook-​off once a year which is also worth a visit.

I’ve been visiting Lupe Pintos for more than a decade and am really pleased that the place is there for me to get some of my lovely American goodies — and spices/​seasoning for my Mexican, Cajun, or Asian dishes, too.
I’ve learned how to «make do» with UK substitutes over the years, but come Thanksgiving there’s only one place to get tinned pumpkin! And hominy for my pozole, too!
The GOOD: They stock a nice selection of foods from peanut butter and Hidden Valley Ranch to cake mixes and (proper!) pickles. They also have a nice selection of American candy bars.
The BAD: They don’t carry Saltines or graham crackers because the cost of importing them is just too high.
PRICES: OK, you’re going to pay more for a jar of pickles than you’d pay in the States — and even more than you’d pay at Tesco for ones that don’t taste right — but it’s a fair mark-​up. I am happy to pay the prices they charge, which I feel are reasonable for their efforts of importing stuff and dealing with customs.
The key thing to remember is this: The more you support them, the better the turnover. And better turnover means a couple of things: 1) a wider selection and 2) potentially lower costs.
BONUS: Fantastically kind and helpful staff!

I go to Lupe Pintos occasionally to stock up on specific ingredients such as chipotle chilis and hot sauce. They have an extensive selection of products and spices from all over the world. Anything from nasi goreng spice mixes to marshmallow fluff and tequila!
They sell the best cooking chorizo as well, both mild and spicy variety. I once made a chili con carne using their recipe and it was the best recipe I’ve ever had.
The spice mix does not disappoint. I bought a packet of whole nutmeg and it was only 80p — cheaper than in supermarkets.
I’m so happy this shop exists because it’s like an Aladdin’s cave filled with treasures — you will find something interesting every time!

My first ever quick review, written via mobile while waiting on a drink, hence less words.
Hot… Sauce… Yes!
They do more, and I even scored some cheeky American Onion Dip Mix, but for sauces this place was a must.
Despite the great reviews I was a bit skeptical, it wouldn’t have been the first time a promise land of glorious things spicy fell a bit short for me in the UK, but they really did have some treasures.
Essentially if you’re an American (or anyone for that matter!) in Edinburgh needing a hot sauce fix get yourself here ASAP, you’re sure to find something you like.

Being a Mexican– American mutt and missing all my American goodies I can’t get here and Mexican food/​groceries this place is the best in the city. I can get a variety of Tequila that I can’t find anywhere else and that isn’t that Tesco garbage or Jose Cuervo ugh. They also have real hot sauce and a ton of variety so I can smother everything in it even birthday cake if I wanted. I can get all the American goodies like Root beer and make a Root beer float, or Skippys peanut butter and everything else! They even have the Mexican cheese that’s hard enough to find in parts of America! I’m drooling just thinking about it! Also have chorizo and other types of salami and meats. If you want to have a Mexican dinner party or something go here, spend the money and you won’t be disappointed!

It’s been around for years but I only ventured to it this year! Why did I leave it for so long? I don’t know why, seriously I don’t. I love the selves which are rammed full of mexican spices and various other magical ingredients! I will be coming back to this store for certain ingredients that go in some of the mexican recipes I’m going to try! It has an atmoshere of these old delis with high selves and an aromatic smell — ohhhhh love it!

An asset to Edinburgh.
Things to buy -
frozen corn tortillas
canned tomatillos
hot sauces
everything
Things not to buy
The same items off the internet (ok maybe you can get them for like 20p cheaper) BUT SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL BUSINESS!
These guys are awesome, super knowledgeable and a great addition to Edinburgh

I love Lupe’s. I was a regular visitor to the one in Glasgow’s West End so when I discovered there was one in Edinburgh, I was overjoyed!
This is the place to come for tequila but it is also brilliant for Gluten Free. Want to eat proper tortilla chips and know there is no gluten — come here. Want fajitas like everyone else but miss the tortilla — come here. The tortilla’s for fajitas are frozen, not fresh but I’ve bought them for ages and they are pretty ok in comparison to ones I tried in Asda (cardboard). The staff are great and will also advise (and provide recipe’s) on what is suitable. There are also some deli type items (cheese, meats, salsa’s, etc) available.
If you are expat American and Canadian, then this is the place to come for your treats. Lots of cereals, jars, juices and general branded products, etc but it is great for sweets and it is cheaper than places like Americandy. So if like me, you returned from the US with a peanut butter M&M addiction then this is the place to visit!
Well worth a visit, wall to wall food and drinks and its small so watch out and don’t be swinging those shopping bags about, but a wee gem.

I am writing this review from inside the floorboards of Lupe Pintos. After arriving here for a few cans of pureed pumpkin, some buffalo wing snyder’s pretzels and some other fixin’s… I NEVER WANTED TO LEAVE. ALL OF THE COMFORTS OF HOME ARE HERE!
So I stayed and I am living here.
It’s actually pretty similar to what my life is like in the US.
I sleep on a bag of Marshmallow Fluff and subsist mostly on authentic Mexican tortilla chips and Medium salsa. For breakfast I had a Goober Grape sandwich with root beer. Later on I dove into the Milk Duds as I watched episodes of 90 210 and Gossip Girl with my pet bald eagle, Jack.
For dinner tonight we’re (me and Uncle Sam, Barack Obama, Britney Spears and the entire NFL) are having butterscotch pancakes we call that one — BREAKFAST FOR DINNER. Later (for a snack) I’ll have a hamburger and fries with French’s American mustard and Heinz American ketchup.
Mostly what I do here is paint the good olé stars and bars on the walls of the basement while drinking spoonfuls of Ranch dressing and A1 sauce. After that I get in my cheerleading uniform and chew Bazooka Joe bubble gum and take body shots of BBQ sauce while sleeping with whichever foreign man that asks.
And you guys think we’re so stereotypical.

I might have to agree with Emily’s review that Lupe Pintos is the reason I am still in Edinburgh!
I am originally from California (have lived in San Diego and San Francisco) so I know my Mexican food! We told our neighbours we would cook them a traditional Mexican meal and then I realised that I could barely even find black beans in a store, let alone enchilada sauce, salsa, guacamole, etc.
Then I Unilocaled. As I usually do. And Unilocal provided. As it usually does.
And so the hubs and I headed off to Lupe’s this afternoon.
Once we arrived in this little store the smiles on our face were so big you would’ve thought we were kids in a candy store!
We bought all the necessary ingredients for a delicious Mexican meal! They have a ton of different spices, hot sauces, salsa and chips and tortillas and… I could go on forever. This place may be tiny in size but it is lined with stuff and deliciousness floor to ceiling!
Great place for decent guacamole too. I tend to be a guacamole snob and it’s kind of hard to find good guac here in Edinburgh so I was happy to taste Lupe Pintos and find out I liked it!
They also have lots of other food — Asian, American, Italian. Overall, extremely awesome place where I will be sure to visit often!

Lupe Pintos is the reason why I’m still in Edinburgh, five years later.
Ok that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but it carries all manner of wonderful and fantastic ethnic foods, including goodies from good ‘ol America. I keep well stocked in Hershey’s syrup, refried beans, enchalada sauce, Bisquick, and tinned pumpkin purée thanks to this place, and let’s not even go into my addiction to mint patties …
This place helped me through long hours of essay writing, and the transition into enjoying the culinary delights of the UK.
Every time I come in here I see the deli counter, the bowl of guac, and all of the other tasty bits they have and I know I’m missing out when I focus my attention to the wall of cans, jars and boxes. I think I definitely need to spend some more time in here and sample the full spectrum of what is Lupe Pintos.