Cantina Laredo

My partner and I ate here last night (11/02/11) for an early Valentine's meal as we are both big fans of Mexican food. The service immediately stood out as friendly and helpful without being overbearing or false.

We opted for the guacamole which was prepared right in front of us. It was delicious and fresh and really stood out against the bland flavours other restaurants often serve up.

For the main course I had chicken fajiita's whilst my partner had steak. The steak was beautifully cooked and he felt it was easily one of the best he has tasted (and he's tasted a lot!). Meanwhile my fajiita's were flavoursome and tasted very authentic. It was all cooked to perfection with just the right size portions.

Despite being full, we couldn't resist trying dessert and so shared a Mexican pecan brownie with vanilla ice cream. It is served on a sizzling plate with sauce poured out in front of you that bubbles away whilst you eat the brownie - very effective . As a chocoholic I feel qualified to say that this brownie was divine. So often they are a disappointment but this was gooey inside without being gloopy and had enough pecan's to give it the right taste but not too much to overpower. I cannot recommend too much for you to try it !!

Drinks-wise we stuck to margarita's, I had frozen raspberry and my partner had the traditional. Very potent so be careful if you can't handle a lot of alcoholic but ultimately a perfect accompaniment to the meal. I enjoy my cocktails and this was up there with the best I've had.

I'm not one to normally write review (rather lazy like that I'm afraid) but I enjoyed my experience at Cantina Laredo so much that I am taking the time to write this. Go! You won't regret it.
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Sky - View all reviews by this user
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Saturday, February 12, 2011

Went here for a meal last week and really can't agree with some of the other over enthusiastic reviews here.

I agree with another reviewer here that the food seems as if its frozen. It definitely lacked flavour. Drinks were ok.

Service was professional, but it was like being served by air stewards.

If you're in the area I would try Wahaca instead.
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- View all reviews by this user
2 Overall rating
Food 0 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 2
Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Visited this restaurant with my wife on Saturday evening and would have to say that we had one of the best experiences in any London restaurant for some time.

Despite the restaurant being very busy we were seated very quickly and efficiently. Our waiter was very helpful regarding menu choices given our lack of knowledge on Mexican food.

We opted each for the purist margarita and have to say that these were great. For mains, our waiter recommended the camaron poblana asada for which I was very greatful. My wife opted for the seabass which she also thoroughly enjoyed. Overall, the food was extremely fresh and flavoursome.

All in all, a great find and will definately be returning soon.
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Tim - View all reviews by this user
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Tuesday, February 08, 2011

Although initially being weary of Mexican food in London, with the majority being mainly made up of cheese and grease, I decided to give Cantina Laredo a go. As my friends and I walked in, we were greeted with a smile and made to feel welcome, with the service remaining at a high standard throughout the meal. I started with the much talked about magararitas (opting for the frozen mango with no sugar) and it was delicious- so much so, I ended up having two more. We then went onto have the top shelf guacamole, which was prepared at the table by our waitress. Again, the freshness and quality of the ingredients stood out, unlike the guacamole I have tasted in other restaurants which tend to resemble a thick paste. For our main, we decided to share some of the tapas plates, namely the combo quesadillas and ceviche, combo fajitas and the camarones. All were very tasty, but the camarones with the chipotle wine sauce have since become a favourite of mine, along with the camaron poblano asada. The only aspect of the meal which I was not overly keen on were the sautéed vegetables, but these have since been replaced. Overall, I was very impressed with Cantina Laredo and it has now become a firm favourite of mine and my friends - especially the half price margaritas on Wednesdays!
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Jessica
9 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 9 | Value for money 8
Friday, January 28, 2011

Was here last Sat night ( 15/01/11 ) and thought it was one of my best finds food wise.

Great menu, helpful staff and fantastic choice of food.

Wonderful mixed platter to share which we both enjoyed. My partner had a steak dish and I had a prawn dish as the mains and both were terrific. The staff were so helpful in guiding and attentive with our being a nuisance.

Overall, a wonderful experience
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JD
8 Overall rating
Food 9 | Service 8 | Atmosphere 8 | Value for money 8
Monday, January 17, 2011

Stumbled across this place for dinner on NYE. Looked lovely from the outside and fairly busy so we took our chance and so glad we did! The waitress was very nice and all staff seemed happy to help, which makes a big difference to a night out.

For starters we had some of the 'top shelf guacomole' which is made fresh for you in front of your table. Very nice idea and really yummy! For mains we had chicken fajitas (nice but little bland) and the mushroom enchiladas which has an amazing spicy sauce on it. This place seems to have a little 'show with dinner' theme so even when we asked for the dessert to be brought discreetly out we had everyone staring at our table and our apple pie with sizzling cream etc, very cringe-worthy! To be fair, the dessert tasted lovely but I did burn my tongue a bit.....

With a lovely bottle of red, the bill came to a very reasonable £65 including service. The owner came over to see if we were happy, which was quite nice as he would have happily taken any criticism on board had I had any at the time.

Would definitely return again.
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Dipali
8 Overall rating
Food 8 | Service 9 | Atmosphere 7 | Value for money 8
Saturday, January 01, 2011

The most amazing Mexican restaurant in the UK, and we have tried a few!!! The food was mouth watering, the cocktails punchy and the service was above and beyond. Will be hard to ever eat at anywhere else on our London visits now!
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Rachel and Andy
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Had dinner there last night with my social group. From the time I made the booking until the time we left it was a fantastic experience.

Ryan & Shaun were very professional in booking our Christmas Dinner & ensuring our time at Cantina Laredo was most enjoyable.

The service was wonderful & being a New Yorker living in London that is saying something. The food & drinks are amazing. Fresh guacamole made at your table...scrummy mains and desserts that sizzle. If you love Mexican food & want to have it in a great venue get down to Cantina Laredo in Covent Garden.

It gets 2 big thumbs up from me & my group.
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T.A.
10 Overall rating
Food 10 | Service 10 | Atmosphere 10 | Value for money 10
Sunday, December 05, 2010

This was school-dinner Mexican, and not even a good school dinner. As an American in London, I never have high expectations when eating Mexican food here, but this place really was the worst that I've had.

The service was way too chatty, and he seemed more concerned with rattling off all of their upselling bullet points than in actually listening to what we wanted to order. When he repeated back my order with chicken instead of beef, I corrected him, to which he quickly replied "Yeah". Of course, it came out as chicken anyway, and when I said it wasn't what I ordered, he said "I'm sure you mentioned chicken." When, in our long conversation about animal rights? I had only said 4 words to him, and one of them was beef...

There was absolutely no flavour in the food whatsoever, and when I asked for hot sauce, the waiter seemed shocked and said he could "go in back to get me some". It's a Mexican restaurant - it's hardly like I asked for soy sauce...

As we were in a hurry to get somewhere, I told him I didn't have time for him to replace the meal. There were no apologies for getting it wrong, and certainly no removing it from the bill (and they still charged an automatic 12.5% service).

When we had finished our meals and our drinks, we sat there for a good 10 minutes while all the waiters talked to each other about 2 feet behind us, and despite several looks, they didn't get the hint that we might want something.

Certainly won't be returning, and it's little wonder - with places like this serving "gourmet Mexican" that the UK isn't fond of Mexican cooking.
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2 Overall rating
Food 2 | Service 3 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 0
Friday, November 26, 2010

Firstly, the service. It's very 'friendly', a little pushy and intrusive for my liking, but definitely a more American style than you'll find in most central London restaurants.

Our waiter made a point of telling us the Margaritas are all freshly made, so we ordered two. At £9.50 for a standard one, these were expensive compared to most places in London. They were frozen, they were large, but sadly they were bland. I like my Margarita to have a kick, and this one was a rather flaccid version.

And this set the tone for the meal. My Carnitas (braised pork shanks with a chipotle-wine sauce) were decidedly lifeless and came with some equally flavourless rice and plain vegetables. My partner's chicken tacos, served with the same accompaniments as my dish, was also disappointingly lacking in flavour.

Some complimentary tortilla chips came with two deliciously spicy sauces, but these were the tastiest things we ate all night.

And then came dessert. We ordered the two house specialities (again, recommended by our waiter). Apple pie and chocolate brownie, both served with vanilla ice cream and Mexican brandy butter ... on a sizzlingly hot skillet. This is something I've never tried before, and never will again! The brownie was delicious, but this is basically a dessert that punishes you for being such a glutton by burning your lips every time you take a mouthful. It was painful!

All in all, apart from the burnt lips, it was an inoffensive experience and the food, like the decor, was dull. With several good Mexican places around Covent Garden, I'll be giving this one a miss in future.
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Gareth
4 Overall rating
Food 4 | Service 7 | Atmosphere 1 | Value for money 5
Sunday, November 07, 2010