Wahaca

GOOOOOOOOOD FOOD!

4 10/07/2011 by travelstar88

Really amazing place this is!When first went inside was good service from waiter that gave us a good insight into the menu and gave good recommendations.....When the food came it was REALLY GOOD! Go for the "Street food" little portions of heaven :)HOWEVER!When it came to paying for the bill had to wait 20 minutes to pay for my own food.......... V V V annoyed as it made me delayed in London for another 2 hours..... But overall immense food and service ok :)

Go early

4 28/01/2011 by Kajaberry

I really love this place. The food choice is good and reasonably priced. The kitchen area is open so you can see everything being prepared. Service is friendly, and you don't have to wait long for your food. Only downside is that it gets very busy, so best to go early if you don't want to wait in a long queue.

A pleasant surprise

3 18/01/2011 by BridgetM

I visited Wahaca on the weekend and was plesantly surprised. This restaurant have cleverly positioned their bar downstairs and it seems that everyone has to wait for a table (so spending money at the bar). If you have the time, it's a great opportunity to unwind and then get a delicious mexican dinner. We were seated at a table which was elevated off the floor. This was great!! Decor is very well done and creates a friendly/social atmosphere. Reasonable prices to for the area.

Fast Food

3 13/01/2011 by NalleL

Hadn't heard much about this place before going, so didn't really have any expectations. My boyfriend and I went on a Saturday night and waited an hour to be seated and managed to (only) squeeze in one drink at the bar during our wait (because the line to get served there was almost as long as the line to be seated). Their website says that Wahaca tries to create the feel of a Mexican market place. They failed at that. It is way too trendy and does not in the slightest bit resemble a market place. The crowd was very young and the music was very loud. A fun place to go with your mates, but not really the right place for a romantic dinner. The food came out very quickly (which makes you wonder if it was actually freshly made) and the coleslaw smelt mouldy. Apart from that the staff there were really friendly even though they were so busy.

The Mexican Food factory

3 03/11/2010 by LindaSweet

Talk about lively!!! The concept is great, I had to q for 20 minutes to get in. They missed out on their drink sales with us. I was seated nearly 10 minutes before I was able to give my order. When our food arrived so did our drinks only waited 10 minutes or so, It was quick on delivery with the food, and it was only (all right) pity the drinks didn't arrive sooner. because we finished the food and our beer at the same time. Felt altogether too rushed... and I lost my appetite to order more tacos. Which was a shame because the food was pleasent... but not great.

Food worth the wait

5 23/10/2010 by Drew_Hendry

Excellent place to visit for dinner, Mexican style tapas food with good choice of Mexican Beers, Tequila cocktails and food that comes when ever its ready.45 minute wait for the a table was made easier by having drinks, chips and dips in the bar, and the quality of service was also very good.Our bill of around £60 got us each 2 beers, a cocktail, 7 shared tapas and a pudding. Next time we are in London we will definately be coming back here

Enjoying growing chilli plants from the free seeds. Amazing for little ones

4 22/10/2010 by marie1980

Not a very extensive menu but a good place to grab a lite bite with the girls. Cheerful staff and food was presented quickly and was enjoyable

wahaca is cool

5 09/11/2009 by kamus

:)

Wahaca Bad Mexican Restaurant

1 08/11/2009 by rodrigocuevas

If you are Mexican or you would like to know what authentic Mexican food tastes like? Then please do NOT go to Wahaca. It is the most disappointing experience ever! The food is really bad (even if you were looking for a Tex-Mex type of food). What is more frustrating is that these guys using the name of Mexico to position themselves as a Mexican-food restaurant. Please think twice before spending your money in a restaurant like this.

Wahaca

4 05/08/2009 by Grahame

Good grub, inexpensive and fun. Enjoying growing chilli plants from the free seeds.

A Mexican Wagamama

3 09/06/2009 by amandaharrison

Hmmm, I watched 'Tomi' Myers on Masterchef and totally admire what she has done.I just wish it was on a higher notch. It's like being in a Mexican Wagamama but with more space to be fair and less of the I'm so busy service that WGMA suffers.Food is, er, OK. It sounds delicious and fresh on the menu. I had a chicken salad, and five hours later, I still can't get rid of the taste in my mouth. And I can't bear salads where you have to cut them or stuff mounds of the stuff into your mouth.Fine for a cheap and cheerful eat, but would've been great to upped it to a different level and been the Mexican Hakkasan!

3 23/05/2009 by anthonykennedy

Have been here twice (both on Saturday evening for dinner) and both times the seating part of the equation was handled well. We queued for around five minutes and were given a time to return. On our return we were seated immediately.The food is tasty, but can be hit and miss on the one plate/platter with some things being too oily/greasy at times and then not on the return. The mexican donuts are best shared, along with vanilla ice-cream.I would go here again, but will also try Taqueria based on Niamheen's comments above.

Small portions

4 10/03/2009 by achillea

I love Mexican food and it can be so hard to get anything resembling authentic Mexican in the UK. We went mid afternoon so it wasn't too busy which I was grateful for - the place is enourmous so I can imagine it would be very noisy and hectic at peak times.We had a mix of tacos and quesadillas for starter - nicely flavoured but a bit on the small side and I wouldn't say they were good value at nearly £4 a plate.Had the enchilladas for main course which were filling. Would have liked some salad to go with it as I found it a bit stodgy. They are served with tortilla chips, a large flour tortilla stuffed with rice and beans.The frijoles were nice but we had to ask for them without cheese (not sure why they have to suggest cheese on everything!).My friend likes spicy but not hot food and struggled to find something that didn't have chilli in it. In Mexico a lot of food doesn't contain chilli so not sure why they feel the need to do this. In Mexico, chilli sauce is often served separately.We had margueritas which were ok but a bit weak. At least they use half-decent tequilla.

Mexican Wagamamas

3 26/02/2009 by StarCrossd

As others have said, the fact that you can?t book for Wahacca can lead to massive queues forming outside that go up the stairs and onto the street but don?t let that put you off. Once at the bottom of the stairs your name is taken on a clipboard and you are given an approximate time of seating, which means you can either wait in the bar or go somewhere else and come back. We were told a waiting time of an hour, but we were seated inside of 20mins due to the super fast turn around on the tables. I have my suspicions that the ?non-booking? policy is a way of bolstering the bar takings (at £6 a cocktail) however the mojitos here are the best I have tried in London, Wahacca import very good tequila ? none of the usual rubbish.Once seated the resemblance to Wagamamas is evident with the menu being displayed on the placemats and orders being ringed as you choose. Also in common with Wagamamas the food is brought incredibly quickly to the table (suspiciously so) and I have to say it is a bit hit and miss. A lot of the vegetarian options are very similar so the small multiple plate options can leave you feeling a bit stuck for choice, the large enchiladas are absolutely swimming in tomato sauce, which turns the whole dish into a bit of a mush. Despite their similarity, the veggie options are actually very tasty, and the accompanying salsas give them an edge ? I would give dessert a miss however, the deep fried Mexican doughnuts with chocolate sauce left a lot to be desired.So, in conclusion Wahacca is definitely a good cheap (but not that cheap with drinks) eat in Covent Garden and is incredibly rapid (if you can get a table) and is more Mexican than most places purporting to be in London ? but its no match for the real street food thing if that is what you are expecting. Don?t forget to pick up your free chilli seeds on the way out and grow your own to use at home!

wahaca

4 16/01/2009 by T_leaves

Great place. Came all the way across the Atlantic and had Mexican...

Unlike London...

5 01/01/2009 by jmacleod

Wahaca is a great experience. There are few restaurants on this side of the pond that capture the true Mexican atmosphere. Wahaca is one of them. Great food, great beer, even better margaritas! There is now a second location at Westfield Mall...

....but go when its quiet

4 31/12/2008 by Bowgreave

I agree with previous comments about the waiting but we've hit lucky at 5pm one Saturday and 9.30pm one wet Monday.We had the sharing place, a couple of beers, a bottle of Chardonnay and got a bill fot two for £40. I thought it was great value.Unlike the local rivals, the food is not out of a freezer pre-pack and more Mexican than Tex-Mex. Reluctantly, because the queues will get even bigger, I have to thoroughly recommend it.

Oily Oily!

3 11/12/2008 by FoodStories

I?d heard so many mixed opinions about Wahaca. Back in March, it won ?Best Cheap Place to Eat? award in the OFM but then I read mixed reviews and heard negative comments from friends and bloggers. Wahaca was opened by the 2005 Masterchef winner, Thomasina Myers dishing up Mexican market food.First of all, I must mention that Wahaca has the strangest and most convoluted approach to people getting fed that I have ever come across. When you arrive, there will most likely be a queue, out the door and then down the stairs and into the restaurant. Don?t get me wrong, I don?t mind queueing (I am British after all) and I realise that often these queues move fast and are a good sign (think Tayyabs). When we get to the stairs stage however, a gentleman with a clipboard arrives and asks how many would like to eat. I (obviously), say two and he writes my name down on a list, telling me to come back in half an hour.My friend arrives to meet me at this point, fresh from work and wet with rain, i.e. in need of a drink and some grub. I bring her up to speed and so we go for a drink nearby. When we return to the restaurant, the clipboard informs me we can now queue jump and so we do. This is a bit uncomfortable however, as the other people in the queue haven?t yet had their briefing and so are shooting us suspicious and disapproving glances.I am glad to have my name located on the clipboard and we are ushered to sit down. Hurrah! Not at a table though (don?t be silly), it?s the waiting area! OK, so we sit and we talk and my friend gives me at least another three restaurants to add to the the list. We are waiting for so long that we start getting twitchy and the clipboard notices and checks to confirm we want a table for 4/6/8 (I can?t remember), ?no! (in unison), ?just two!? and with this, he finally beckons us in, much to the dismay of the two ladies behind us, whom he shoos back so that we can take their place.Once inside, Wahaca has a good buzz about it. The mixture of music and voices is loud but creates a great atmosphere, the interior is modern, a bit canteeny but in a a colourful and happy kind of way. We sit down and are joined by a waitress who tell us that the dishes we order will arrive ?as and when? - we will not be getting everything we order at the same time, we will get it whenever each individual dish is ready. I start to think about the production line system they have going on here - I can visualise the Wahaca employees, whipping up batches of tostadas and burritos, passing them down to a holding area, where they sit, expectantly, waiting to be ordered. Numbed from the hassle of getting in, we smile and order margaritas.I?d already looked at the menu and had clocked the hibiscus margarita, so I ordered that and my friend the tamarind. These margaritas are really very good actually. In the end I preferred the tamarind and my friend the hibiscus so for the next round we swap orders. The waitress gives us the wrong ones, so we swap again.So, the food? Well, it depends - on what you order. If you opt for the dishes that are most ubiquitous at a Mexican restaurant, such as burritos, enchiladas - hell, anything beef based then you are in for an oily experience. I find this odd and wonder if this is my ignorance of Mexican food. Is it really supposed to be that oily? But then that is of no consequence really, bottom line is - not pleasant to eat. If you order the ?lighter? dishes, such as the fish tostadas, then I think it makes some good eatin. Is it really good enough though, to justify the hassle?I ordered the cactus tostadas (great texture but a bit flavourless, still really enjoyable), the chorizo and potato quesadilla (delicious) and something beefy (oily as hell). My friend also found her cow-based dish swimming in the stuff. A green side salad was fine, it came with seeds, which I like and everything is accompanied by red and green salsas, which are really good actually, subtly punchy. We are too full for churros (I still wonder if this is possible?).Throughout the night, I occasionally notice the apparently declining mental state of the clipboard, as he darts frantically from table to queue, to waiting area, to table, to queue etc. The rest of the staff seem busy and move around quickly, but they actually seem truly relaxed, like they are all enjoying some sort of holiday camp. The clipboard seems to be stressed enough for all of them. I wonder how long he?ll last?So I?m mixed about Wahaca. On the one hand, the things I liked, I really liked. On the other, the staples are way too oily - imagine having to brief your dining partner/s on the oil problem beforehand - this would make for some tedious conversation I?m sure. Mostly though, it?s the entrance fiasco, which might be alright on a relaxed summer evening when the sun is shining and all is right with the world, but not so much on a rainy night in October when you?re aching for things to be easy and want to spend maximum time catching up with a friend (with whom you recently re-connected after, what, 10 years?! and she didn?t mind my taking photos). The way I?m feeling right now about Wahaca though, next summer will probably be about the time I can face going back?.

What about us Veggies?

3 08/12/2008 by a_female

I remember circling the review of this place in the free sheets and marking it as a must try. After several attempts to get a table whenever I was in the area ended in rejection. I finally made a booking. I can't say what I was expecting but it was not that I got. A long impressive sounding menu turned out to be an endless supply of samey vegetarian options. Think Mexican version of Ping-pong and therefore apply the same rules here. Small portions, the total bill is always much higher that you thought, great for groups.But seriously what happened to the Veggie options? If you take one thing from this review make it the book in advance part.

A better bit of London's Mexican wave

4 24/11/2008 by DanWilkinson

Judging by some of the other reviews on this page, we were lucky we chanced upon Wahaca for lunch on a Sunday, as we were seated immediately and found the service acceptable, if not particularly notable. I'd heard about it a little while ago when it was all buzzy and constantly in the press, and as a result had avoided it like the plague until now. You see, queueing is really quite boring, and so whereas some people seem to flock to the sorts of places they'll be guaranteed a wait in line, personally it's not my thing. Diff'rent Strokes and all that. We'd literally been on the way to La Perla for lunch and decided to give Wahaca a go seeing as we were more or less outside it at the time. There was no part of this meal which didn't thrill. I don't care for authenticity at all (and having never been to Mexico, how would I know?); the only thing that I'm concerned about is whether the food on my plate is well-cooked, from quality ingredients, and whether it works on the palate, and Wahaca ticked all those boxes throughout. Faced with a whole lot of choice, we went for the street food option, ordering two or three small plates each, and whilst I can't remember specifics, my overriding memory of the meal was vibrant, fresh, precise flavours, and in particular everyone being audibly impressed with every single dish. That said, I don't think I'll be coming here for an evening meal. The bright decor and canteen-style seating doesn't really say 'dinner' to me, but for a long-ish lunch at around £13 a head (without drinks), it's a winner, and I will be back, oh yes.

try once is enough

3 23/11/2008 by gilka

I totally agree with 'the Wagamama of Mexican food'This definitely not street market food it is a westernized version (nothing wrong with that but the current branding is misleading) We had good experience with the staff although we had to wait 1 hour for a place (didn't mind- we just went to porterhouse to have a pint) Nice if them to give you some chili seeds to plant at home!The place is over designed in my opinion.Worth a try - not more...www.gilka.co.uk

Disorganised service taints this cheap eat

3 29/09/2008 by Niamheen

Let me set the scene. A friend of mine, a new Mum, had arranged a night off, one where she could leave her house for a few hours and indulge, priorities were nice food and cocktails and some company. I had heard about Wahaca and was keen to try it, I love good Mexican food and it's not something that you can come across without some effort in London. I had heard that this was the real deal, a friend who had lived in Mexico was very impressed and highly recommended it. It's also in Covent Garden, a convenient point for both of us. Another point of interest was that it was owned by winner of Masterchef, Thomasina Miers, someone I didn't have much affection for on the TV (at the time, she has since won me over with her Cooks Tour of Spain) but her knowledge of the cuisine and quest for authenticity appealed.So, off we went, knowing the situation, our expectations were wagamama's canteen style eating and a cheap and authentic eat. We expected a queue and weren't surprised to find one. And so we queued.While queueing we noticed alot of people were passing us out and it wasn't really very controlled. It seemed the guy manning it was more interested in theatrics and having everyone finding him funny than in being professional and efficient. At first I could ignore it, but, half an hour in I was beyond frustrated. Eventually we approached him and arranged to come back an hour later. This apparantly was the system and even though he was only 6 feet away from us, he didn't approach us at any point in that half an hour to tell us so. We trundled off an had a cocktail in nearby La Perla and returned promptly for our table only to be faced with the same scenario of lack of control or knowledge about who in the queue was next or when anyone would get a table. About to leave, I expressed my frustration politely and it was handled very badly. The customer is always right, no? Not at Wahaca. Someone else took control and seated us, profusely apologising and provided drinks on the house. We had some nice mojitos and started to settle, things were getting better. We ordered some items from the street food menu and the mole. Both were very good, quite light and full of flavour, exactly what I would have expected. The ambience? The decor is bright and modern, very nice. It's full on of a weekend evening, large groups, birthday parties, lots of noise, so great for groups but not so great if you just want to catch up with a friend. Happy Birthday was sang raucously more than once in our 2 hours here (there was even a tambourine) and while it was great for the birthday boy/girl, I could have done without it.To sum up: the food is good and it's a vibrant place, nice decor, central location, but, the start of the evening left a sour taste in my mouth and did taint the experience for us. I wouldn't discount it and will try it again but for a nicer mexican street food experience I prefer the more intimate Taqueria in Westbourne Grove.

4 28/09/2008 by bingbong_uk

Great if you can get past the stage of waiting on the stairs. Like one of the other reviewers it was third time lucky for me.I think the best plan is to be organised; pop in at 6.30 p.m. before meeting friends and get on the list for a table at 8.

Great bite sized food

4 09/09/2008 by misstravelbug

This is a great informal restaurant, with yummy small portions of food perfect for sharing. Make sure you come before the huge dinner crowd during the weeknights as you can't be seated until all your party is there. So a bit of a bother with big groups, but worth the wait. The service is spot-on.

So you like to queue?

3 03/09/2008 by foodbymark

I have given this place 3 chances. 2 hits 1 miss. The most frustrating thing about this restaurant is the queue... not least, having to queue for ages just to get your name on a waiting list and then having to come back in an hour and a half. Twice we ended up having enough time to walk to Shaftesbury Avenue to see a film and come back in time to eat!So, the food... we found the street food to be generally too greasy/oily but the mains better than average. I always order Fish a la mojo and it is always good. Have it in mind that I normally have no problems with grease. I love the pork scratchings. Strangely they weren't covered in oil and are very light. Service is always super speedy... this place is about turnover and has the feel of early Wagamama's or Cha Cha Moon perhaps. It's a cheap eat... just not as convenient as other cheap eats perhaps. But it is Covent Garden.

Tasty, quick, good value

4 31/08/2008 by t0m

I finally made it to Wahaca with a few friends on a Sunday night. It wasn't too packed, but pretty busy. The food was excellent - a diverse range of flavours on offer, and the prices were good. Their 'tapas' style means you get to try a whole bunch of dishes, which is great. Service is speedy and good (possibly because they want to get the next punters in..). Just don't go here if you don't think you'll like the grease.. It's not really the superfood salads of Leon.

Real Mexican

4 22/08/2008 by Oriana

For real Mexican food (not greasy TexMex) Wahaca is fabulous. You can't make a reservation and the queue is often quite long, but it's worth it. Everything is made fresh daily and with a tapas style approach you can try loads of different flavours. The margaritas are great too!

Popular, and you can see why

3 19/08/2008 by hollowlegs

We came here early on a Friday night around 6:30 and the place was almost full. Tellingly, there was a queue going out of the door by 7pm. Be warned, you may need to share a table - this is not for romantic dates, but perhaps a group of friends.I agree when another reviewer said the staff are somewhat over-bearing. They did that irritating kneel-by-your-tableside so that you have to talk down to them which embarresses me. I have never been to Mexico, but found the food great and not at all like the ubiquitous branches of Chiquitos et al. We ordered the sharing platter from the street food for £19.95, with the lighter pork scratchings and guacamole. The pork scratchings were great - light, puffy, porky and the guacamole was delicious too. We were also given free refills. The platter was ample for the two of us. The chorizo quesadilla was fantastic, and something I'll be giving a go at home. The chicken taquitoes were tasty too. the spicy slaw, however was not spicy whatsoever. As good as the street food was, halfway through the meal I did start to have an overload of the corn tacos, tacquitos, and totopos. I wasn't a fan of the steak taco - the filling was lovely, but the taco itself was flacid and greasy. My arteries were protesting somewhat by the end of the meal; there was a lot of cheese and sour cream. Sharing platter for two, pork scratchings and 2 x beers with service came to £33 which I consider to be very good value. We were fed to the brim and out in roughly an hour later - the food is very quick but it also means it's not somewhere to linger.

Wahaca: the Mexican wagamama

4 01/08/2008 by Sprotch

I have become a regular at this place. Not because it is the best food in London, but because it consistently delivers good, satisfying, Tex-Mex food at a reasonable price and in a nice atmosphere.Wahaca offers a selection of tacos, enchiladas, tortillas and other typical Tex-Mex dishes. They are all good (but not exceptional) and get delivered quickly by a generally friendly waiter (American service style: he's your phony friend). The atmosphere is also very nice. The crowd always seems to be cheerful, nice and having a good time before going out. It's very pleasant (if you don't mind crowds, this restaurant is very successful). I've compared this restaurant to Wagamama, but that's where Wahaca comes on top: people are having a good time.Price-wise, it always comes down to £15-20 per person. Very reasonable if you consider that you just had good food in Covent Garden.

Mexican Deliciousness

4 30/04/2008 by sue

Wahaca, a trendy new Mexican restaurant near Covent Garden, is a busy place. Arriving at 6pm (pre-theatre) there was already a queue. Thankfully it was a short wait and we were soon seated in a good position with a view of the kitchen. This is not the place for a lingering romantic meal - it is large, noisy, and service is fast. Perfect for a quick meal before heading elsewhere. Staff are everywhere and several different people attended to our needs throughout the meal.Wahaca specialises in "Mexican Market Eating", serving up small portions perfect for sharing - Mexican tapas if you like. You can order a "Wahaca Selection" - a set platter with an assortment of small dishes, or make up your own selection. They also have larger meals, such as Burritos, Enchiladas or even a steak, and the various salads served in a crispy tortilla bowl looked great.We ordered a selection of dishes along with the Wahaca Selection, between four of us. The food was plentiful, cheap and delicious. Particularly loved the steak tacos and the side dishes of frijoles and esquites.For dessert we shared some Mango sorbet (icy delicious), and some Churros y chocolate - Mexican donuts which you dip in a rich chocolate sauce. Unfortunately the churros were very oily, though the chocolate sauce was mmmm good.

Great cheap eat

4 23/03/2008 by Sami

4 of us were here today for lunch and we all really enjoyed it. I don't have much to add beyond what was said - the food was lovely, really fresh, presented very nicely, and very easy on the wallet.

Decent mexican... decent price

4 07/02/2008 by chernandezg

While I consider Mestizo the best Mexican in London (see my review) and yes I am Mexican myself, I must admit I have had many a dinner at Wahaca... primarily because after 2.5 hrs of Ballet in Covent Garden I am really craving their spicy Tortilla soup, some tacos and a cold mexican beer. Great price, great location... I just wish it would stay open one hour longer for those plays that seem to drag on forever... As someone else said, it is "the Wagamama of Mexicans" (I asked... they're not related)

OH MY GOD

5 02/01/2008 by DavidMuir

This place is, outstanding.The one thing in my mind that holds London back from being the worlds finest city is the very poor Mexican food. Any Texan will tell you that.Well Houston, you now have a problemWahaca serves fantastic Mexican food and has really superb staff. My son wanted to go wandering about and he was treated really by the staff (thanks Frenchie).If you have one new year resolution, make a visit to Wahaca.

Pretty good

4 30/12/2007 by qwghlm

You can't book and the decor & style is over-trendy for my liking. And I can't comment on the authenticity of the food. But what we had was really tasty - top-class beef burrito for my friend, while I had the puerca pibil, which was simply delicious - just the right combination of citrus, spices and chilli. Guacamole was a little underwhelming but overall the food was great and the service efficient and friendly.

Ole London

3 07/12/2007 by Mez

Seeing that there is already a significant number of positive reviews on this place (except for the one from a Mexican himself which I guess counts for a few..), I won't be too long on this one since it's clearly not the way I'm going to be getting my Xmas San Lorenzo goodie bag this year!I loved the place and everything about it: the vast space, the colourful decor, the varied seating arrangement, the music. The food was varied and tasty, although not being a Mexican food expert, not much of an idea if it was close to the real deal or not.The service in general looked good and attentive (although we were less blessed with our somewhat over enthusiastic waiter. Singing loud opera whilst waiting for me to enter my pin number was a highlight I could have happily done without).Great place to organise a birthday/family/big friends' meal at. It's fun and cheerful and I'd definitely go back there again.

it is not a real mexican taste

1 03/11/2007 by mexicana

I went to Wahaca to have dinner and in my opinion it has nothing to do with the real mexican food or taste, not just because someone has tasted mexican food it means that can cook real tasty mexican food!, the service was ok, the food was not worth for the money spent, and it was a disillusion cause I was really hoping to taste a little bit of mexican food. I am mexican so I hope you take my words for it but as I said before this is my opinion.

Delicious tapas style mexican

4 24/10/2007 by lenalouise

The first time we attempted to go here, it was just after it opened and it would have been a 2 hr wait! So we decided to go elsewhere and wait for the hype to settle and we tried again recently. We were seated within 5 minutes.I was really lively in there with bright lights and colours everywhere and upbeat music so not really somewhere to go for a romantic meal! The service was efficient, if not a bit rushed but it's understandable - the turnover was really quick!!We ordered quite a lot actually (as if we usually don't.. :p). We got guacamole with pork scratchings; pork pibli and skirt steak & salsa tacos; chorizo, thyme and potato quesilladas; smoked aubergine, potato and goats cheese taquitos; frijoles tostatas; chicken tortilla soup; spicy slaw; tequila and sangrita each!! yum.The pork scratchings were interesting, apparently it's a healthy version. The texture was sort of like chinese prawn crackers but heavier and thicker. I wasn't too impressed with the pork pibli, it was a bit too dry for me but the flavours were interesting.The quesillads we had was delicious with the hot salsa that you get free but slightly bland on its own. The soup was delicious...you get a bowl of guacamole, chicken, broken up tortillas, feta cheese, chilli and sour cream in a bowl with a jug of the soup that you pour onto it. The soup was very moreish, you could really taste the tomatoes in it and it was a deep rich red colour. It was lovely having all the different textures and flavours mixing with the soup. The feta cheese and tortillas worked really well with it but next time I would get the soup without the chicken.The tequila and sangrita came in seperate shot glasses and we weren't really sure what to do with it so we downed the tequila and then the sangrita. It was pretty delicious and I had the giggles for the rest of the meal lol.

cheap, cheerful, good service, great food

4 22/10/2007 by mif

This large restaurant has an extensive menu of delicious food, attentive and friendly waitpersons, unpretentious but neat decor and lively background music that made me want to go to Mexico after the meal. You can easily feel bloated from eating too much here for around £10 per person minus alcoholic drinks. Go with a bunch of hungry friends so you can sample more of the menu!

The Wagamama of Mexicans?

4 11/10/2007 by sazzle

This is a brand new place on Chandos Place, just off the strand. Made a perfect lunch venue with friends, but I am sure it is fun in the evenings too. The space is bright and funky, as soon as we got there we were treated to exceptional service and were sitting munching 'mole before we knew it. Only when the chirpy waiter came over to introduce the 'dining concept' did the bell start clanging in my head. Stairs leading down to a large open space, simplistic decor, paper place-mats for menus ('ouch!'say the eco-warriors) listing a delightful mix of exotic... street food. Well, if the concept worked at Wagamama for Japanese food, there should be no reason it shouldn't work here for Mexican. I'm sure punters who've actually been to Mexico (and even Japan in Wagamama's case) aren't that impressed by paying 3 times the price that you'd pay at the street stalls there. But then, this is London, and it's still cheap compared to a lot of places. The food was authentic and tasty. There was a decent choice with a range of sizes, from tapas to delicious salads and platos fuertes. It was all made fresh and came very quickly. I also recommend the Hisbiscus flavour drink to wash it down with, though I am sure Corona works well too. Our service continued to be great, although one hint to the many lovely-looking waiters is that lots of gabbling ladies on a tight time limit probably don't want to be interrupted every 5 minutes. Then again, maybe some do. I'd go back, especially if I wanted a good value meal and a treat for my eyes at the same time!

Summery, filling, cheap and cheerful...but..

4 09/08/2007 by jhm0g2l

..let down by bizarre service. Air-conditioning was broken and I saw a woman having to be moved because it was dripping all over her in full view of waiting customers. I had a bowl of guacamole smashed at my feet, with glass going everywhere.However, food was surprisngly filling but fresh and light and not sodden with cheese and oil. Smoked chipotle sauce and green chili salsa was really nice. Including a table hot sauce of a very good habanero. After a 90 minute wait with queues snaking out the door (presumably everyone else had the same idea mid-week.. we ordered market starters of things that came in 2s and 3s. Meat was surpsingly good, non-organic but free-range, which I think made a difference to the flavour. To compensate for the wait and the service- they let us have us on the house, espressos, lemon margherita sorbet with tequila, amazingly thick and spicey melted chocolate into which we dipped brown sugar churros. We started queuing at 8pm and left the place after ordering 4 items..they finally noticed us at 11.30pm. Iw ould probably return, in maybe 6 months when all the fuss has died down and dining there isn't so much of a endurance test!

Mexican Food, Lancashire Cheese

3 09/08/2007 by Mexter

Very bright and airy comparable to Wagamama's with long tables set out canteen style. Some of the tacos were tiny and would be a good taster, but the burritos were enormous, tasty and very filling. Chili sauce on the table is red hot so take with caution. Tortilla chip bowls were filled up regularly and my colleague had an interesting cranberry drink called Agua Fresca, flavoured with Mexican flowers apparently.Fortunately they didn't have fried crickets on the menu as I sampled in Oaxaca (Wahaca being a pun on the real city in Mexico)Locally sourced food means all the fruit an veg are from New Covent Garden Market, cheese from Lancashire and chillies from Dorset.