PepsiCo Opens a Restaurant in Spain With Lay's Throughout the Menu
What better way for a food processor to understand foodservice, restaurants and the overall away-from-home channel than opening your own restaurant?
PepsiCo’s Spanish operations have done just that with the opening of Pilla Tortilla, a Madrid restaurant dedicated to making Spanish tortillas (omelets) with Lay’s products. (Pilla, by the way, means “catch.”)
“This new venture brings one of the company’s most iconic brands into the culinary space with an innovative approach that opens the door to new consumption moments and connects PepsiCo directly with consumers through modern, distinctive food experiences aligned with today’s trends,” the company said.
“Pilla Tortilla is the first restaurant project by PepsiCo and Lay’s anywhere in the world,” said Pol Codina, general manager and senior vice president of PepsiCo Food Ventures. Food Ventures is a new global business unit, located in Barcelona, which has been created to elevate the company’s food brands through ready-to-eat solutions that meet evolving consumer needs at home, outside the home and on the go.
“With this opening in Madrid, PepsiCo is expanding its food and culinary focus and delivering on our diversification and growth strategy in the away-from-home channel,” Codina continued. “This restaurant brings us closer to consumers by offering an innovative experience that connects the brand to its values in a tangible way.”
Pilla Tortilla launched with two business models: One is a bar-restaurant with a full menu and a delivery and takeaway service, the other a takeaway-only kitchen in a different location.
Customers can enjoy the tortilla as a slice (“pincho”), a sandwich or a whole tortilla. Each option can be customized with toppings including: Mallorquina (spicy sausage, brie and honey); Marinera (anchovies and Lay’s); Brava (crispy fried pork belly, alioli and salsa brava); Serrana (Alvalle tomato gazpacho and diced Iberian cured ham); and Ranchera (pulled pork).
Lay’s products appear throughout the menu — in starters such as fish and chips with Lay’s Salt and Vinegar, marinated mussels with lime-mayo and Lay’s, and white anchovies with Lay’s. Chips also play a part in side dishes and even in sweet-savory contrasting desserts — pairing Lay’s with chocolate, goat’s cheese with honey, and dulce de leche ice cream.
The culinary development of the project was overseen by chef Miguel Carretero, who led Santerra restaurant, which earned a Michelin star in 2024. Carretero worked with the brand team on technical validation of the recipe, bringing his expertise and creativity to ensure that the integration of Lay’s enhances both the quality and flavor of the tortilla—"striking the perfect balance between innovation and respect for tradition.”
About the Author
Dave Fusaro
Editor in Chief
Dave Fusaro has served as editor in chief of Food Processing magazine since 2003. Dave has 30 years experience in food & beverage industry journalism and has won several national ASBPE writing awards for his Food Processing stories. Dave has been interviewed on CNN, quoted in national newspapers and he authored a 200-page market research report on the milk industry. Formerly an award-winning newspaper reporter who specialized in business writing, he holds a BA in journalism from Marquette University. Prior to joining Food Processing, Dave was Editor-In-Chief of Dairy Foods and was Managing Editor of Prepared Foods.