I liked the food, although it's not really what I expect out of Mexican fare. Eh, what is reasonable to expect at this distance from Mexico? I'm use to my Mexican food being a little less pretty, but this can do the trick at a craving. Good vegetarian options, good healthy options and a yummy horchata. Menu and atmosphere reminded me of a sup'd up Chipotle. It's definitely a good Mexican alternative to those places where the waiters are forced to wear sombreros. read more

I'm a native Californian and a current NYer and I will never forget when I first discovered Wahaca almost 5 years ago. I was living in London for a few years and my friends and I were constantly looking for go-to Mexican place. I'm glad to see the city has improved in it's selection, and Wahaca still remains the gold standard for Mexican fine dining (well, by Mexican food standards). I highly recommend the mushroom quessadillas and the salads. I know, I know, a salad sounds boring, but they really do pack a punch!! The quac is a bit pricey, but well worth it. The classic margarita on the rocks is my favorite, but they really do know their tequila so feel free to explore. The waits can be long, and the servers/hosts can be a bit lax, but if you press them a bit you'll have a more delightful experience. Highly recommend! read more

I was quite excited about going to eat at Wahaca after seeing their website and the fact that I love Mexican food. A rather large group of us came her for a birthday dinner recently and I had a great time. The food is so reasonable at £3.60 for a Quesadilla. Yummie! and we all know how filling Mexican food is! The staff are very friendly but were a little slow on that night as the place was full. I'll be back for sure! read more

Wahaca seems to be very popular at the moment. It recently won an award from the Observer for its food and every time I've tried to visit there's been a long queue and I've been turned away disappointed. But on Saturday things were different. We turned up early and managed to get a table in what looks remarkably like a Mexican version of Wagamama's. I decided to go for the grilled fish of the day rather than snacking on the little tapas-like antojitos on offer. This was a decision I came to regret, not I hasten to add, because the sea bass was horrible, but because all the people sitting around me seemed to be eating even more delicious food! Ah well. You always want what you haven't got! Anyway, food-wise I can't really fault Wahaca. It's freshly prepared, arrives quickly and provides an interesting alternative to the chain restaurant offerings bunched around Covent Garden. My only criticism is that at times the service, although charming, sometimes bordered on the over efficient . When I finished my main course, the plates were whisked away within seconds and replaced with the bill. I felt pressured to vacate my table immediately. I suppose the staff wanted to fill my table with two eager people in that long queue! read more

Back to Mexican food, one of my new favourite palces to eat in central London Wahaca is a great place to find some tasty food. The staff are friendly, service is prompt and the food is fresh in this restaurant run by past Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers. It is well situated just at the bottom edge of Covent Gardens, making it a very convenient choice if you don't mind nipping to a local drinking establishment whilst you wait for a table to become available. Food has a feel of being well prepared and is always presented very nicely. The main idea here is to order lots of food and share out the goodies, this is not a difficult challenge since the food here is actually very cheap for what you get. Check it out if you get the chance, definitely worth a look. read more

Fresh, affordable mexican that's not a burrito? This is the place to get it. Of course, you might need to fight the queues, but at least you'll have a chance to taste some really nice Mexican food. Supposedly served street style, they have enough little plates to share amongst friends, tapas style with plenty of flavour and enough variety to impress even the fussiest of diners. My favourite dish here is the pork pibil. Even though it's a main dish, the pork is super soft, tender, and filled with flavour. It's smoky, spicy and juicy since it's wrapped in a paper bag to keep the moisture in. Service is variable and sometimes inattentive, but on the whole is a great experience. read more

Concept: Think Mexican Wagamamasneed I say more!? Food and atmosphere is great, if group take the sharing platter (one between two); get a great selection of all the street market food. Value for money: Good Strongly recommend it! read more

Un-pretentious, lively, great food, great tequila and great value!! We've been planning on eating at Wahaca on our next visit to London, so on Saturday took our place in the queue at the top of the stairs. 10 minutes later we had reached the bottom and were told the current waiting times were just under an hour - it's a Saturday night so we couldn't complain. Instead we nipped around the corner for a few cocktails and returned to Wahaca shortly after. Whilst we waited for a table to become available, we chose a few drinks from the tequila menu. Tequila's not a spirit I've ever drank correctly so was pleased when the bartender offered to talk me through the options, it was really appreciated and I've found myself a new drink to explore! On being seated, our waitress (Ania) talked us through the menu and snacked on nacho's whilst we waited for the food to arrive. The nacho's were really good, nice and crunchy compared to the fragile thin ones you'd get from a supermarket. Not sure whether wahaca buy them in or make them but they were nice all the same. When the food arrived (a selection of tacos, tostadas and an enchilada) both my fiancée and I took a bite and said wow. The meat in the tacos was marinated, shredded and packed full of flavour. I did ruin my taco's slightly by adding some of the fantastic South Devon Chilli Company Habanero sauce - I loved the flavour, but it was a little too runny which made the taco soggy. Maybe I should have dipped instead of poured? The tacos/tostadas/etc themselves are fairly small, maybe two or three bites per item but with three (tacos) it's not an issue. Just make sure you follow the guidelines of ordering 2-3 dishes per person. There is a sharing platter (for 2) too which works out fantastic value for money, but does limit your choice slightly. In total, the bill with drinks came to under £40 for two of us which for good food, great atmosphere in the centre of London I certainly can't (and won't) complain. All the staff I encountered were friendly, lively and seemed genuinely pleased to be at work. I absolutely want to go back and eat again, with so much choice I feel it's my duty to tastebuds! read more

I love Mexican food so I don't really want to put on downer on this place but.... We found the food overpriced, underportioned and the waiting staff were well...a bit thick to be honest!. My brother is allergic to Avocado, so he can't eat Gaucamole. When I pointed out the dishes to waitress that he wanted and asked if it came with or contained gaucamole, she looked at me like i'd just asked her to cut her eyes out. She eventually replied 'I don't know'. helpful!. When I asked her to go find out she was gone for about 10 minutes. She came back and said they would make the dish up without the gaucamole for my brother. When the dish arrived, it was smothered in the stuff!. Obviously he couldn't eat it so we had to wait for them to cook it again! very annoying. The food I ate was nice though, and very authentic (I have visited Mexico many times). However I won't go back as I cannot bear crap waiting staff! As advice to others I would say give it a try, maybe your experience will be better than mine (as it seems to be with the other reviewers) good luck! read more

Basically a Wagamama-style Mexican restaurant. We got there at a little after 12, so it wasn't very busy and we were seated immediately. It was much busier by the time we left and people were waiting a minute or two to be seated. Unlike the previous reviewer, we had fast and clueful waitress who was able to tell us immediately which dishes were gluten-free. Starter drinks were brought nearly immediately and even as the place filled up we never had to wait long for refills. Our food also arrived quickly and was quite fresh and tasty. It's definitely not oily Tex-Mex. We got a couple of the street-food dishes each plus a side salad, and that was plenty of food for us. The little dishes of red and green salsa they brought us were delicious and allowed you to add extra heat to your dishes if you wanted. Total came to £44 for three people including several alcohol and non-alcohol drinks each. We were quite happy with the whole experience and value and it is nice to find somewhere where much of the menu is gluten-free. read more

The plus side: arguably the best Mexican street-fare in London. Love their support of local food (most fresh ingredients are sourced locally), their open kitchen, appealing environment and surprisingly low pricing. The down side: no reservations, don't be surprised with 30 minute+ queues. Hoping their recent venturing into chain restaurants doesn't affect quality. read more

Inspired by the bustling market places of Mexico and brought to us courtesy of the now legendary Thomasina Miers, Wahaca brings mexican market food to central London. It attracts a suitably eclectic crowd from businessmen to backpackers and the resulting atmosphere is unpretentious, relaxed and colourful. It's just made for dates. It's only our recommendation, but we think Wahaca is best suited to an 'early days' date. It's bustling, relaxed and stylish which is ideal for an informal, no pressure date, but there are a couple of reasons why it might not be the best for first dates. Firstly, the intriguing but complex menu takes a bit of time to get your head around, so you've got to feel relaxed with a few minutes of silence. Secondly, this is 'hands on' food and although we think this is great for dates, it may be harder to look sexy with the content of your taco dribbling down your face (as delicious as those tacos may be). There's no advanced booking at Wahaca, so due to it's popularity, it's best to get there early. However, given it's prime location in the heart of London's West End, an early dinner will allow you plenty of time to continue your night with a film, play, musical, ballet or opera of your choosing! Wahaca Covent Garden Since Wahaca prides itself on having the best tequila in town (the 'holy elixir' of Mexico) you've really got to start with a cocktail. The fiery Bloody Maria comes highly recommended or, if you're after a more refreshing drink, try a gingery Barragan. The Wahaca's take on the toddy - a combination of chilli, chocolate and tequila - is something we'll be attempting to conjure up again and again next winter. Be experimental with the food you order - after all, you didn't come here for something ordinary! We think the best way to go is to order lots of the smaller dishes. They're so affordable that you really can go mad and even if there's one you don't like, there'll be plenty of others you'll love. It also means that it's easy to share everything between the two of you which is both practical (no waiting for each other's food to arrive) and romantic... This review was written by a fan of our website called Claire. read more

Wahaca needs to get it's queueing system sorted. We're all aware that they don't take bookings and that any time of day you're looking at a 20+ minute wait (whilst you have a drink or two.) No problem there. When, however, you issue buzzers to clients and a number of these are on the blink at the same time, you've got a problem. On Saturday (late afternoon) we became aware of many unhappy customers waiting in line with ourselves. Eventually people were approaching the staff to ask what the problem was. It turned out at least 3 buzzers were faulty and we had indeed been 'called' already. Given that at least 2 of the groups had not moved more than a few metres from the 'reception' area ... a simply calling out of our names would have sorted the problem easily. Most concerning was the apparent lack of concern on the staff's part. One group were so tee-ed off that they left in a huff - likely never to darken the doorstep again .... plus tell all their friends. Wahaca needs to be careful of resting on it's laurels. Food was tasty and had a nice bite. Our waitress was very quick and knowledgeable; and as I've always maintained: Everyone deserves a second chance. read more

Was lucky enough to win a meal in the Covent Garden branch of Wahaca where we could sample the new summer menu. The restaurant itself has a young and bustling vibe, with a fairly simple but bright cool decor. The menu consists of three types of dining style, nibbles, 'street food' and big plates. We had a selection of dishes from the summer menu and it was great to be able to eat tapas style dishes and have so many different tastes every dish was delicious and fresh. . We tried chicken mole taco, shrimp and scallop ceviche tostadas, summery new potato taquitos and broad bean and feta quesadillas which were all fabulous. We also had a new noodle dish (completely forgotten the name of it) it was ok but probably the weakest dish. Finally finished off the meal with a lovely salted caramel ice cream dish yummy! read more

Due to the location, this place was packed with tourists and kids. All the seating was downstairs which was far bigger than we thought. We loved Pork Pibil Tacos and Chicken Guajillo Tostadas; both bursting with freshness and flavours and are far more sophisticated/complecated than those we tried in California. The only drawback is the greasiness of Sweet Potato (soggy and very greasy) and Tostadas. They do need good techniques to fry them at right temperature to avoid greasiness. These three came in small portions and we hope they offer bigger sizes as well. Most of the main courses are accompanied by Green Rice which I don't fancy - I am not a garlic fan... - so we only ordered dishes from the Street Food/Side Dish sections. The desserts are deeply into the sugary planet, and nothing drew our attention. We will definitely try other dishes, hoping they can offer us other than Green Rice. read more

Delicious food! Loved the ambience and the service was great. Chic looking place that made a good memory from my trip.

I really recommend this restaurant if you're wanting to sample some great Mexican. I've been to Oaxaca in Mexico (the city that the restaurant was named after, but the owners spelt it differently so that word would spread more easily!) and this restaurant definitely serves authentic Mexican. Choose from the great 'Street Food' menu, which serves smaller, interesting dishes that you order several of to share, or the main dishes menu, which are equally delicious and you can keep all to yourself! The restaurant has funky decor and an informal lively atmosphere, with music playing quite loud and really friendly waiters. The food comes as soon as it's ready, so you do end up eating at slightly different times. It's not necessarily a 'first date' kind of place, but it's excellent for a group of friends wanting a fun night out with great food and tasty cocktails! read more

I'm surprised that anyone has described this restaurant as expensive as the first thing that struck me (after the incredibly long queue to get a table) was the reasonable prices. Not only were the prices completely realistic, but the quantity of food was superb as was the quality of both food and drinks. Don't leave without trying the guacamole and, whatever the waiter says, one burrito is definitely plenty of food! read more

One of my favourite places to eat in Covent Garden, this is a Mexican, without the cheesiness!! Wahaca serves Mexican street food, including the 'mole' a famous chocolate savoury dish (not for everyone). If you fancy something different, with an informal atmosphere, this is a great place to try. They don't take reservations, so just turn up and queue for a table. If they are very busy, they will take your name and number and call you when a table is ready- so that you can get a drink at a bar nearby instead of queuing. Check out the website for the menu, but it is all nice! The drinks- including margaritas are very nice too. For the food you get, this place is great value. You can choose many small items, tapas style or get one of the larger items, but because of the informal atmosphere, it's great to share and try each others food! The décor is bright and cheery- with an industrial edge. Great fun. read more

I'd been wanting to try this place for some time and recently got the chance to go with a friend. For some reason I had imagined this restaurant to be small - I think because I had heard it was canteen style with a street food menu - but Wahaca is HUGE. And a good job too..even at 4pm on a Friday it was busy and my friend said she hadn't ever seen it without a queue. The food is Mexican but not as you will know it - don't expect huge plates of cheesy deep fried nastiness here. There are some familiar entries on the menu such as nachos (which come with a guacamole or salsa), burritos and of course Mexican beers. I'd guarantee you will also find a few things you wouldn't see on the menu of Chili's or Chiquito's like Cactus Salad, tortilla soup and green rice. The format is pretty simple, there are two styles of eating - either mix and match from the street food and sides and share with your friends (like tapas), or go for a bigger plate like a burrito or a salad. We chose to pick and mix with the street food and chose some great dishes like the aforementioned cactus salad served on a crispy tortilla, and some great mushroom quesadillas. With beer and nachos and full to the brim the meal came to £40. A bargain for such good quality food in such a great environment. A real experience, highly recommended. read more

We went to Wahaca in Covent Garden for the first time yesterday after it was recommended to us by friends. I can certainly see why they liked the place, it is affordable, cheerful and better than almost all of the similarly-priced places in this part of town and many of the more expensive ones, for that matter. I can also understand the Mexican Wagamama thing that many people have said here on Qype. My problem with Wahaca is that the food is just underwhelming. There are some fantastic Mexican places in this city, and Wahaca can't compete with them. The food is barely spiced, the alcohol selection is pathetic (where are the rest of the Mexican beers? Why is most of the wine Chilean when Argentine malbec and lots of Californian stuff goes like a treat with Mexican?) and the sizes of side portions are mean - we paid £2 for little more than a ramekin of frijoles when for that price many of London's taquerias would be drowning you in the stuff. As I said at the beginning though, Wahaca can compete with many of the places in the area, and I expect I will be going back - not when I fancy Mexican food, but when I would like a break from the likes of Wagamama and Pizza Express. read more

nice but not great value as i was still hungry after 1hr very tasty food though. The quesidala was very tasty and for pudding i had the chocolate with churros, now that is a pudding i can highly recommend. They also had the little matchbooks containing chilli seeds. unfortunately my hubby didnt notice that at the time and thought it was a strange toothpick read more

Headline: Authentic Mexican Food that's as good as it gets Down the stairs in the basement of this building near Covent Garden is a nice industrial-styled place that is just teaming with life. High energy - yes, it definitely has that. We came here for lunch just after 1pm and still had to wait 15 minutes for a table. We started with Mojitos - refreshing, but just your average mojito - nothing special here. Every dish is served "market style" - meaning it comes when it is ready. In our case, everything came together. Your table has the most important condiments already - a habenero hot sauce made with honey, garlic and ginger gives a slice of mexico in a bottle crossed with asian influences. There is also a chipotle pepper sauce that we did not try. We started with chips and guacamole. Here is where I knock this place down - the chips were greasy when they arrived at the table and the guacamole had half an unmashed avocado in it. It was still good, but a little more care in the preparation would have improved this immensely. Our other dishes were from the small plates menu. The pork Pibil Tacos had a spicy slow-cooked pork filling topped with sliced pickled onions on corn tortillas. The pork was delightfully spicy and the habenero sauce took these tacos over the top. The Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla reminded me of a chicken tikka marsala dish. Again, the habenero sauce complemented the dish, enhancing the flavor all around. A slight miss for the Chicken Guajillo Tostadas. This dish really fell flat in comparison to the other two dishes we had. All in all, a good meal and a well recommended restaurant if you have a hankering for Mexican while in London. read more

Awesome small dishes, fresh decor and good service. The pork was spicy and melted in your mouth, but everything was goody. :) gotta come here again. Want to try their burrito next time though. Only Mexicans can truly make refried beans their way. :) read more

I have been to Wahaca on my way to Trafalgar Square and I had one of the most memorable meals! I ordered a chicken tinga burrito with cheese and loved every bite of it. Even the place is nicely decorated. I would recommend this place for all burrito lovers out there. read more

Wahaca - Chicken tinga burrito with cheese - Mexican Near Me - London, XGL

The food in Wahaca was a 3, maybe 4 star affair. Safe flavours and ideas, tasty for a chain. The reason I'm giving Wahaca 2 stars rather than the 3 or 4 the food deserves however is the service. We each ordered 2 dishes and the first round all came out at the same time, all good so far. That's where it all fell apart. We all finished our tacos, then came one portion of taquitos and a side. Then nothing. After a few minutes we insisted Nigel eat his taquitos, and we asked where our food was. Twice. FINALLY my empanadas came out and I tucked in, assuming the burrito and my side dish were on their way. After I finished my empanadas we asked where the burrito and my frijoles were. Twice. finally, after a long wait the burrito came out and I had my side after I had finished everything else. Definitely don't go to this Wahaca if you have any sort of time constraint or you plan on eating with people and you all want your food at the same time. read more

In London with my daughter visiting from North Carolina. Just saw a great show at the Duchess Theatre and we walked over here, about 6-7 mins away. The burritos were delicious. Authentic tasting. Loved the green rice. Very enjoyable meal. Great decor inside as well. Fun spot. read more

I ate here tonight. Got the pork pibil street tacos, the buttermilk fried chicken street tacos, and the guacamole and chips and the nespoli wine. Service was excellent server was fantastic fast easy tacos arrive almost immediately after ordering. Got seated quickly in 5 to 10 minutes. All the food was excellent atmosphere was great I highly recommend this place. read more

Had wanted to try this new restaurant for a while after my friend gave it a rave review. Tried one Saturday night but it was packed and even at 10pm it would have been a 45min wait! Anyway, had more luck going for Sunday lunch this weekend - we got a table straight away. The restaurant is light and spacious inside with tables of various heights and sizes with modern contemporary feel. The idea of the menu is that its Mexican market food - you have can have a little taste of everything. For a more traditional approach you can order your own meal but wheres the fun in that? We ordered a tasting platter and a couple of extra dishes on top and all were yummy. My particular fave was the cheese and chorizo quesedillas. The dessert was also sublime - mexican donuts, light covered in sugar with a cup of melted chocolate on the side to dip them in! The restaurant was set up my former Masterchef winner Thomasina Myers but unlike other celeb chef restaurants the prices here surprisingly reasonable with most dishes priced at £3.50 - £4.50. Our waiter was good fun and steered us knowledgebly through the menu. All in all a definite winner and will be going back! read more

Great litttle place at the back of St Martin's Lane. As well as great food (including mexican pig-snacks - yum) the staff are so friendly, it really makes a change in this part of town. Super cheap, super tasty, and a great concept. I recommend you try it out. Oh and take the little matchbook they give you at the end, it has jalepeno pepper seeds inside so you can grow your own. read more

Best Mexican ever! Its always busy, but you always get a seat. This must be the best value place to eat in the UK. The food here is purely mexican, none of the tex-Mex stuff most of us are used to here in England, so no fajitas or anything like that just purley proper Mexican street food, and in the great location that is Covent Garden. The best value meal I have ever had. Fantastic. My friend, who is from Mexico City, says its the best Mexican outside Mexico!!! read more

Buzzy and delicious, Strongly recommenf a visit. Intereatimg selection of Margaritas to kickoff with. Started with tortolla chips ans salsa. Steong, great flavours. Main course of chicken salad which was filling and ecxellent. My wife had grilled chicken marinated in line and chili. Accompanied by a really interesting pickled onions. Very spicy, and a great flavoriing. My daughter had a chicken burrito which she loved. A very buzzy atmosphere. Tables very close together, so not a place to come if you don't want to be overheard. Really good, friendly service. A fab overall experience. read more

Delicious food, many unique choices, and excellent service. We stopped here after seeing Kinky Boots at Adelphi theater and we are SO glad we did! Our server was Alex and he was the best waiter we have had all week in London. He smoothly explained the menu and pointed out some favorites. I ordered vegetables in hummus and a sweet potato and feta taquito....bith were incredible but the sweet potato taquito was one of the best things Ive ever eaten! My boyfriend has the chorizo quesadilla and the grilled steak tacos, the meat was tender, juicy, and flavorful. Margaritas have double shots of tequila, yet another perk. We were so stuffed, but had to try the fresh churros with chocolate dipping sauce....SO GOOD. Certainly wish this restaraunt would come to the US! They had so many unique meaty and veggie options, it was hard to choose just a few! read more

Very good service in this funky basement Mexican restaurant. Dinner for 4 came to just over £100, including two rounds of drinks (mostly fresh juices). Plenty of good vegetarian choices, as is often the case with Mexican restaurants. read more

I visited Wahaca for the first time for my fiancee's birthday last week. We had to wait for a table, but I think this is not uncommon. Once seated, the waiters were great - helpful in making recommendations, and friendly. The food was a real treat - fresh and full of flavours. We shared a bunch of street food, and I would definitely recommend this. And the best bit? The Churros with chocolate sauce at the end! My tip: If you want to eat at 8:00pm, go at 7 and put your name down, then duck across to one of the nearby pubs for a drink. This place is a winner, and I'll be very surprised if a few more of these don't pop up around town. read more

Really enjoyed a meal here on Friday night. You cant book, and we were told that the wait would be over an hour. We ordered drinks, nachos and guac and the bar, and ended up being seated after about 40 mins. English Steak the Mexican Way and the Slow roast pork were both excellent. Lively atmosphere, friendly staff and not too expensive - all good! read more

Excellent food! Rodrigo Campillo the best customer service !! Definitely a place to eat good Mexican food! read more

Wahaca - Mexican Near Me - London, XGL

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The plantain tacos were so delicious! The only thing is that the tacos are smaller than what I am used to, but never the less the food and margaritas were great! read more

I truly enjoyed the refried beans and chips app, prepared with black beans and smothered in delicious cheese. The guacamole wasn't the best I've had, but fresh and with just the right amount of lime. The chips could definitely be better but many Mexican places overlook this staple, and it's a shame. read more

I freshly had the three street tacos small plate order which, along with the beans and guac apps, was plenty for me (the server really tried to talk me into getting another small plate but I'm glad I didn't). I've also had the cochinitapibil burrito which left me a little unimpressed but not regretful. Overall it's a grand menu. read more