Wahaca (Westfield)

I was very excited to visit Wahaca; after hearing glowing reports of the food and the general dining experience, and given my general love of Mexican and Spanish, it had to be a hit.

I can't speak for other Wahacas, but sadly the Westfield Wahaca restaurant was very poor. The food was mediocre at best. If there were any culinary points to make about the food, good or bad, I might write them here, however the fare was average to stodgy. My experience of Mexican food in London has been very good, and the style of eating and tastes always make me smile. This restaurant made me depressed. The wine was way overpriced, and all-in-all the meal was a let-down.

Furthermore, the service at this restaurant was haphazard and careless. I felt like a table number, not a person. Orders were missed and had to be repeated 20 minutes later, and the food was plonked in front of us. They even took a plate away before we had both finished. Sadly this happened so quickly it wasn't even possible to say "excuse me, we haven't all finished". Major faux pas.

I don't recommend this restaurant. It failed on so many counts, there's no way it could have just been a bad night.
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Mat S
2 Overall rating
Food 3 | Service 1 | Atmosphere 3 | Value for money 2
Saturday, August 29, 2009

Love Wahaca! Best Mojito I have had in a long time. My husband and I had the 'Wahaca selection' which is a set selection of some of the most popular plates. The food was brilliant & as it was our first time it was a great introduction to their different types of food. Service was a bit slow so it is probably not the best place to go if you are in a hurry, but definitely worth a try! Can't wait to go back!
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Eloise
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 6 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Saturday, August 08, 2009

We had wanted to visit the Covent Garden branch for ages but didn't have the patience to stand in the queues so were excited to be able to get a table without waiting on an early midweek evening. The restaurant is on the outside terrace at the Westfield Mall. Cool interior and nice ambience.

The menu looks interesting with a mix of smaller dishes and more substantial dishes. We went for the more substantial since we were hungry.

We ordered the chicken enchiladas and steak burrito with chips guacamole and salsa to start. Guacamole was OK but a bit off green colour. I was hoping for some nice fresh pico di gallo with fresh zippy flavours but the two salsas we got were a bit dull. A chipotle one and a tomatillo, I think.

My chicken enchiladas came quite quickly which was good. The chicken filling was OK but the tomato sauce on top was a bit soupy in both taste and appearance. The green rice with fresh coriander that sounded so fresh and interesting on the menu appeared to be 'easy cook' rice that was definitely undercooked and rather dry and hard with green flecks but no taste of fresh coriander. Overall nothing special and not very substantial either.

My partner's steak burrito was OK but a bit strange. The flavours didn't seem to be Mexican at all somehow. Also the same dry, hard rice inside.

Overall we were a bit underwhelmed and felt it wasn't particularly good value for the money.

Having lived in the States for 10 years I have been spoilt by the huge range of Tex mex and Mexican offerings over there, not all great but many are really excellent and great value for money with fresh, zesty flavours that you expect in Mexican food so it can't be that hard to do.
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Steve B - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Friday, June 12, 2009

We'd eaten in the original West End Wahaca before and enjoyed the experience, so after Sunday shopping the Westfield branch was a natural choice. The food was disappointing but our pink-haired waitress was a delight. Overall I rather felt that the place was coasting on the reputation of the main branch and could be a lot better for the price.
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Stan - View all reviews by this user
6 Overall rating
Food 5 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 4
Sunday, June 07, 2009