Annie Gelpey has a theory about opening restaurants: “Paint it pink and they will come!” she laughs.

Few can have missed the appearance of Brighton’s first Mexican street food restaurant in Gloucester Road – its exterior is as exuberant and loud as a Mariachi band.

But after witnessing the struggles others had making the site work, Gelpey and business partner Aoife Sweeney were determined their new venture would not go unnoticed.

It seems to be working. By 7pm on a Thursday night, La Choza (“The Shack”) is packed and a queue is forming outside the door.

A few diners are even sizing up the outside seating area. “We’re getting blankets in the next couple of weeks,” Gelpey tells them, handing a couple of bottles of Modelo Especial to a pair of grateful workmen.

Thursdays are supposed to be one of the quieter nights, she says when she finally sinks to her seat – not that she’s complaining. The pair are thrilled at the reception the restaurant is getting.

Both had developed a taste for Mexican street food while travelling (Gelpey spent four years sailing the Caribbean coast with her daughter) and on returning to Brighton, they spotted a gap in the market.

While a few years ago many people were only familiar with Tex-Mex (“and we’re not Tex-Mex”), interest in Mexican cuisine has since grown and the women felt the time was right to open a restaurant in Brighton.

The emphasis at La Choza is on simple dishes, brilliantly cooked. Diners choose a base (tacos, burrito, quesadilla, or tostadas), a filling (slow-cooked beef, pit-smoked pulled pork, pan-fried prawns, or spicy squash with feta) and a mild, medium or hot salsa, effectively customising their own meal.

A range of Mexican beers and lagers are on hand to accompany the meal, while desserts include the traditional churros (long, thin doughnuts) with a dulce de leche dipping sauce, and warm chocolate and chilli brownies.

How authentic is it? “It’s as authentic as we can make it,” says Gelpey. “And the number of Mexicans we get coming in suggests we’re not too far off.”

A specialist Mexican supplier is used for items such as tortillas and chillies, while much of the meat and veg is sourced from within the city. Their biggest seller, the pulled pork, comes from the critically-acclaimed BBQ Shack on London Road and the vegetables from a stall in Diplock’s Yard farm market.

Much of the décor – fluttering paper bunting, gaudy vinyl table covers and Lucha Libre wrestling masks – was bought from nearby Blackout in Kensington Place, where one of their waitresses works. Sweeney’s degree course covered kitsch art, providing her with the perfect background to design the restaurant.

The specials board changes daily and the menu is tweaked on a monthly basis depending on what is in season. “We spend a lot of time researching and finding the best suppliers,” says Gelpey.

As well as eating-in, customers can order on the phone and collect from the restaurant, and there are plans to launch a delivery service over the next few months.

Watch out, too, for events planned for November 1, when Mexico holds its annual Day Of The Dead celebrations. “We’re planning something really special to mark that,” Gelpey smiles.

  • La Choza is open 11.30am to 6pm Tuesday to Wednesday, 11.30am to 9.30pm Thursday and Saturday, and 11.30am to 4.30pm Sundays. Call 01273 945926 or visit www.lachoza.co.uk