Wahaca

Finally! A real, casual Mexican restaurant in London. Apparently someone with a clue got tired of the oversweet, bland rubbish at La Perla, and did some proper culinary research. (Mestizo on Hampstead Road is also good, but posh.) Wahaca's mole is excellent, and definitely the most authentic I have eaten outside of North America. The shredded pork and tomatillo salsa are also great, the chipotle salsa a bit too ketchupy. A respectible tequila list and churros to finish off the meal.

Unfortunately the ambiance and atmosphere are quite lacking. Like the massively overrated Wagamama chain, you sit in a very noisy canteen and struggle to hear your companions over the terrible background music. Wahaca's political slant is tired and hokey. Why not source your food from organic, free trade, low food-mile places where ever possible, and quit hitting us over the head with it?!

Nonethless, Wahaca is highly recommended.
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Chuck Farley
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 2 | Value for money 9
Monday, May 18, 2009

Popped in for a quick lunch ( there was no queue), and had a pretty good time. Food was fine, not as good as on previous visits, the beef salad was a little dull, but the Wahaca mixed platter was pretty good.

Some nice unusual and refreshing soft drinks to choose from and the service was ultra friendly and very quick, except for the drinks which came after we got some of our food.

Always good value for monet at £40 for 3 very full up people.
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Chris - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 7 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 9
Friday, May 15, 2009

For me, Wahaca scores big on concept and originality. While I'm no expert on "authentic Mexican cuisine", I do know that it's different to every other Mexican restaurant I've been to. The set-up is very "Wagamama", with quick, efficient service and our waiter was very helpful and friendly. We only stopped for a light meal and only ordered a selection from the Street Food section, but there were lots of interesting dishes on offer, and everything was worth trying. In particular, the slow-cooked pork, and frijoles were fantastic. Price-wise, pretty good - we had about 6 Street Food dishes, 4 sides and a beer each, with the bill coming to £35. Will definitely be back to try out the mains (and for more frijoles!).
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paddy - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Wow!! We couldnt book here, and its easy to see why because custom just keeps coming for this place as far as I can see.

We went here before a show (5mins walk to several Theatres). We got there early 5.15 and got a table immediately, however when we left the queue was up the stairs and out the door.

The Theme (a street market) was cool, and the atmosphere just great. They do a special menu called 'Street DIshes' (its like Greek Mezes or Spaish Tapas), basically smaller portions of the real deal so you can easily share and try out several. I have never eaten Cactus and wouldnt have blown £15 on a plateful just in case, but a £3.50 for a small plate of 3 samples to share was a fair risk and it tasted fine. 2 of us shared 3 each at less than £4 per plate.

The waiter was knowledgeable about the food, and made good recommendations that informed our decisions.

We paid <£50 for a meal for 2 including bottles of beer.

My only complaint is 'avoid the rice'. Tasted great but £2 for 2 mouthfuls (ok I have a big mouth but still......) is a rip off. A larger portion was needed, but its a minor issue which you can all now learn from.

I would definately go back as its the best Mexican I have had, I only wish there was one round our way. Get there early.
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Tim (From the East Mids)
Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 9
Monday, April 20, 2009

Went to Wahaca on a Friday evening around 5.30pm - table for 2 - no wait at all. Not sure what to order so tried the assorted platter for 2 - all arrive promtly. Very pleasant staff who were happy to recommend items. Enjoyed it so much went back on the Sunday evening - again around 6.00pm - no waiting. This time more adventurous in our choices - loved the spiced chicken in a tortilla basket and enchilladas verde. Food tasted so fresh - with the option to spice up with table salsas and chlli sauces. As a visitor to London it was refreshing to be able to access this food without prior booking. Total meal for two with drinks was just over £30 - in the centre of London - for a canny Scot - not to be missed.
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Monday, March 23, 2009

Love that we can get good Mexican food in London now - I think that the food and drinks are delicious at Wahaca and have visited regularly since it opened.

However...despite arriving at 6.00 without a queue behind me and only wanting a table for two for a quick bite, because my friend was not with me (she arrived about 7 minutes later), I was asked to have a drink at the bar. Fine but I was not able to get any nibbles or put my drink on a tab which didn't matter until my friend arrived and we were told that it would be a 15-20 minute wait for a table! A completely uncivilised way of dealing with customers and we walked out. I understand it's a popular restaurant and it certainly doesn't seem to put other people off but I won't return on principle after being treated, albeit very politely, like cattle.
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Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 8
Wednesday, March 18, 2009

we thought the food was very bland.the menu kept telling us this is how the mexicans eat theie food.well they cant be that fussy because it was either tasteless or too hot with chillies.no happy medium.would probabely try it again because we must have chosen the wrong food.and for below 40 pound,including a nice bottle of wine,its worth another go.
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j and b gilligan
Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Wednesday, March 04, 2009

The first time been there absolutely made me say 'Wooow', not only because of the exotic food style, and the spice, but also the length of the queue. After being there several times, I can now safely pass the restaurant without an attempt to join the queue.
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King - View all reviews by this user
Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 5 | Value for money 5
Thursday, February 26, 2009

Having read mixed reviews on various sites, I was intrigued ahead of my first visit to Wahaca last night. We were a group of 4 people, arrived at 6:30pm (on a Wednesday evening) and as expected, were put on a list and asked to wait for an hour for a table. So we found some space at the bar and got some drinks in while marvelling at the queue that kept on growing and the poor manager who has the tricky task of keeping it under control and allocating tables fairly!

Anyway, once seated we had a very enjoyable meal. Highly recommend the tortilla chips with guacamole and salsa - all tasted very fresh. We then shared the selection of mixed small plates for 2, plus 2 extra dishes - and that was more than enough for 4 people - we were all very full by the end!

Service was excellent and the atmosphere lively and fun - and the best bit was the bill, which incredibly worked out around £12 per person - even including a fairly generous tip!
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AJR, Surrey
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 10
Thursday, February 19, 2009

If you are in a group of more than 2 people avoid this restaurant.

They cannot cope with the demand of people queuing in the door. I hope the food is nice because the service is awful - Management attempted to sit a party of 9 on a table designed for 7 if you where lucky and 1 of the 'seats' was completely blocked by a supporting wall pillar. The obviously wanted us just to leave but did not want to say that to our faces. Arrogant and Stupid.

Atmosphere was like Wall St on a bad day and the decor was very Wagamama with lots of lime green - reminded me of Nude in Dublin but without the organisation and efficiency. I think I'll eat my Mexican in Mexico.
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Colin Nevin
Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 0 | Value for money 0
Friday, January 23, 2009