Cafe Pacifico

Absolutely love Cafe Pacifico. Admittedly, it's not the sort of place I'd head to for a 'formal' evening, but if you're looking for great drinks (I adore their raspberry daquiris!) and decent food, then it's perfect. We were told we would have a 1hr table wait, but it ended up being about half an hour, which was fine.

The service isn't fantastic, and it IS crowded, but those are the only bad points I can think of.
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Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 4 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 5
Friday, June 20, 2008

I have been coming here for over 20 years now, started as a partying single and now come here with my children. The food is great as always but the service standards have slipped considerably. We were unfortunate to witness a shift change recently around the time we ordered the bill. We waited for 43 minutes and reminded various staff members both new and old shift 5 times that we needed the bill quickly the children are restless. During this time there was continuous chatter amongst staff and non-stop kissing of cheeks and general self-congratulation. Eventually after 43 minutes we thought if we began to leave they would bring the bill - not a chance they didn't even notice. I explained to two girls by the door that we waited for almost three quarters of an hour and were leaving without settling the bill; they both smiled vacuously and said have a nice day. I then explained again and one of them said "sorry did you say you had a coat". Pretty girls with empty heads I love them. Best value ever which is why I have given a 10, it should be off the scale. Four of us had 3 courses 2 jugs of Sangria and at least 3 cocktails each- all on the house. Give it a try if you don't believe me.
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Graham Green
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 10
Friday, June 06, 2008

My friends and I dined at this restaurant on Tuesday night for a birthday celebration and were bitterly disappointed with most everything! On arrival (5 minutes late) we were told that our table was about to be given away and reminded of our 1.5 hour table turn around- news to us! The person who made the booking questioned this and was rudely informed 'well we're telling you now'. We sat down and were brought our menus and then ignored. The restaurant was relatively quiet and yet no one came to take drink orders, we eventually got a waitresses attention and she rudely took our order and when we tried to order a glass of Riesling we were asked 'what is that' and then told they don't have it and haven't heard of such a thing so we settled for sangria. The food was fine, certainly nothing special and you can find much better Mexican in London or more specifically Covent Garden. Thankfully the company was excellent and we all managed to have a nice night despite the poor service and average food. I certainly won't be back and nor will my fellow diners, one of the worst experiences I have ever had in a restaurant.
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Overall rating
Food 6 | Service 0 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, May 27, 2008

My friend and i ate here last friday. Very noisy place, bit of a wait for the average food, and pricey cocktails. All in all an average experience, not better or worse than most london resturants. The difference however was when it came time to pay the bill. The bill arrived in 2 parts. The till reciept which had the subtotal, optional tip cost, and total amount. The other larger part was hand written and only had the total amount which included the "optional" tip. On handing over my credit card, the waitress left coming back a minute or so later with the credit card machine. Also in hand was only the torn off slip from the larger written part, showing the total including the aformentioned "optional".

"Please type you pin in please". I held the machine, looked at the figure and it was higher than i had expected because without asking, they had entered into the machine, the total amount including the "optional" tip. I questioned the amount to be told "thats the way we do it here, dont you wanna pat a tip". "I have" I said "ive just given the waitress a £5 note".

Unlike in 99% of resturants, i wasnt given the option of a yes or no button on the machine, I was just expected to pay. I refused to pay the "optional" figure and demanded the correct amount be entered. She went away. The couple sitting next to us then leaned over and said their waitress "tried" the same thing with them, and also added that before they had sat down and were waiting at the bar the barman had given them a bill for two drinks with "optional" tip included!!!

Our bill for the correct amount arrived, I paid and we left.

I will now chose the "option", never to return again to such an average dishonest place.
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Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 2 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 3
Monday, April 21, 2008

We stumbled upon cafe pacifico by walking out of chiquitos in leicester square by accident, of where the service was appalling. It was easter bank holiday monday during the day. We were immediately shown a table, where we were given a bowl of nachos with a tasty salsa dip. The staff were very attentive, and brought our drinks over super fast. There were three of us of which two ordered fajitas, and i ordered Taquiza. The food was excellent and ample amounts of tortillas, of which i have experienced in other restaurants, they seem to be a bit tight with the bread. Ok they do charge for the cheese and jalepenos, which does seem a bit odd, but for an extra three pound between three people i can handle that. We all ate everything we ordered and came out of there, feeling quite bloated and very pleased on our accidental find. Well done to the chefs and waiting staff.
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Debbie kearney
Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 6 | Value for money 6
Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Cafe Pacifico must possibly feature some of the worst customer service out of any restaurant I have visited in London. Whilst the food is very good I can say the staff are arrogant and pretty unattentive. You can't book a table in weekends and if you do want to just rock up, don't bother. You'll just be told there is a two hour waitng list to get in and you have to drink in their small over crowded and dingey bar as they will not ring you if you decide to go elsewhere to kill time. Once you sit down for the meal I can only decribe the atmosphere as something akin to a zoo, in attentive staff that take ages to deliver what you ask for and still get things wrong when they do. As I said the food is very good but the trauma of getting to eat it isnt worth it.
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H
Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 7
Monday, March 03, 2008

Having visited Cafe Pacifico in Amsterdam and found it to be the best Mexican restaurant i had visited, I visited Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden with high expectations. I was not dissapointed! The atmosphere was vibrant, the staff friendly and the food excellent. The wait for a table was fairly short, despite the restaurant being incredibly busy. The wait was made to feel very much like part of the experience, due to chatty bar staff and delicious cocktails! The food arrived in good time after ordering and was delicious and plentiful! we had planned to visit other bars that evening but ended up staying in Cafe pacifico all evening, chatting to bar staff and sampling their fantastic array of tequilas. Cafe Pacifico offered a fun, friendly and delicious evening out!!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 12, 2008

As a Texan, looking for a little-bit of home while living in London, Cafe Pacifico got it just right! Maybe if you're British or from any part of the world other than Texas, you might not like Cafe Pacifico. But if you want to experiance what real Tex-Mex food is like, Cafe Pacifico is as close as it gets in London. I don't remember the exact name of the dish but my favorite item on the menu is a burrito with marinaded brisket wtih sour cream, cheese, and avocado. Delicious!

Even after moving back to Texas and returning to London for a visit, Cafe Pacifico was my first food stop!

The critics must just not like Tex-Mex!
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Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 7
Friday, January 25, 2008

Poor all round. We we told to wait 40 mins for a table even though the place was empty. After 45 mins I questioned when the table would be ready and I was told the table is ready - even though no one had been sitting on it during my wait. Note they did not inform me table was ready

Service was poor. I ordered a chicken steak fajita combo and they brought steak only, twice before getting my order corrcet. Pieces were far too chunky.

Overall, terrible service and overpriced, the most expenisve mexican restaurant in london I have come across
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Overall rating
Food 1 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 4 | Value for money 1
Friday, November 30, 2007

The food at Cafe Pacifico is definitely not worth the price. I had the grande chicken burrito (>£10) which was served covered in an italian-style tomato sauce and with a side of refried beans that looked like they had been sitting in the kitchen overnight (they had developed a crust). The guacamole was decent as were the cocktails but seriously overpriced and over hyped. Service was ok but not exceptional, atmosphere was subdued cantina style. This can in no way be called the best Tex-mex In London.
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Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 5
Sunday, August 05, 2007