Love your quesadilla? Think tacos are tops? Then you’ll be glad to hear that Aussie restaurant chain Zambrero arrived in Ireland this week, with the opening of its first outlet on Hatch Street in Dublin.

Former Leinster rugby star Darragh Fanning is Zambrero’s general manager here, and was aided in bringing Zambrero to Europe by Shaun McCarthy, former coach at St Mary’s College.

For diners, the selling points to note are the fresh ingredients that go into the burritos and all the other staple Mex dishes served by Zambrero, the prominent part played by low-calorie, gluten-free black rice, and the chain’s social side — its Plate 4 Plate scheme, whereby for every meal bought, the restaurant donates a plate of nutritious food to the developing world.

There’s a plate counter on the wall of the Hatch Street outlet, so that customers can see their contribution make a difference. And they can bask in the knowledge that they are adding to the eight million plates already donated by Oz diners.

Unique Values

In Association with

This all explains the chain’s tagline, ‘Mexican With A Mission’, as the company sees itself as a humanitarian organisation “founded on the ethos that nobody should be hungry”.

Zambrero says its food is distinguished from most other outlets’ by its focus on freshness and nutritional value. The restaurant uses fresh ingredients sourced from Irish producers.

Founded by medical doctor and entrepreneur Sam Prince, Zambrero has grown to over 110 outlets in Australia and has recently started to expand into New Zealand and Thailand, and now Europe. Dr Prince wanted to ‘cure’ world hunger and came up with the Plate 4 Plate initiative.

Fanning said: “I first came across Zambrero playing rugby in Australia, and was immediately intrigued by the unique values and fresh outlook of the business. Zambrero is the kind of quick-service restaurant that Dublin hasn’t seen before. It provides fresh, healthy food for customers while doing its part to eradicate one of the biggest challenges of our time — world hunger.”

He plans to open three more Zambreros in Ireland this year, creating 70 jobs. The first Zambrero store created 17 jobs, with Fanning suggesting that this might grow to 27.

Photo: Darragh Fanning (centre), with Rob (left) and Dave Kearney