Hailing from California and New Zealand, the team behind La Boca Loca is committed to bringing the best Mexican food to the people of New Zealand. At our restaurant we aim to re-create the flavours of our childhoods. Using fresh, responsibly produced, sustainable cuisine, our seasonally-changing menu presents delicious updates to classic dishes, served in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Our product range and cookbook emerged from our desire to make it easy for New Zealanders to create fresh, traditional Mexican dishes at home using the very best, ethical and organic ingredients available.

	Lucas Putnam Born in New York, Lucas moved to California as a child and grew up eating Mexican food. Previously an editor at Pixar, in 2001 Lucas moved to Wellington to work at Weta Digital on the Lord of the Rings trilogy. The films kept coming, he stuck around, became a citizen and now calls New Zealand home. But he never lost his love for Mexican food, and eventually, he realised the way to bring the flavours of his childhood to his adopted home was to open a Mexican restaurant in Miramar. Lucas has long been an advocate for changing the world by changing what we eat, and he’s committed to sourcing the freshest and best organic, ethically and sustainably produced ingredients. **UPDATE: our flagship restaurant is closed. But Boquita.nz, opened in 2016, is still going strong.
	Marianne Elliott Lucas opened La Boca Loca with partner Marianne. Marianne is also a human rights lawyer who until 2007 worked for the United Nations in Afghanistan, and she has written about her work in Afghanistan in her memoir, Zen Under Fire. Marianne moved on in 2017 but was integral in the formation of La Boca Loca.
	Tanya Shearer Wellington born and bred, Tanya’s working life has included primary school teaching, working in kitchens and catering, making pottery, and the admin and management of her own businesses. Tanya is passionate about food, wine, art and interior design and she played a key role in creating the look of La Boca Loca.

Our Values

We use organic produce whenever possible. We combine sustainably raised and sourced beef, pork, chicken and seafood with carefully sourced traditional ingredients like dried chiles, handmade tortillas, and salsas. We are a Conscious Consumers Business and we're proud to be part of New Zealand's Sustainable Business Network.

La Boca Loca is a Living Wage employer. We believe everyone deserves enough income to thrive rather than just survive, and that our customers want their food to be prepared and served by happy, well-resourced people who can afford to care for themselves and their families.