Fajita-tastic (Cafe Pacifico)

Member Name: jacquelina

Product:	Cafe Pacifico
Date:	06/03/01 (319 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic food

Disadvantages: Inaccessible to wheelchairs

On a girls night out with some old school chums, we were trying to decide where to go to eat. Being still fairly new to London, we decided to play it safe and go somewhere one of us had been before, so we chose Cafe Pacifico, a Mexican restuarant in Covent Garden.
I really enjoy eating out, but I always seem to end up slurping spaghetti or battling with an Indian (meal). Mexican food had never appealed to me - I always imagined it to be too dry and too spicy - and my limited experience with dusty nachos and rubbery cheese did nothing to entice me. However, I have to say it was one of the most enjoyable meals I've ever had in a restaurant.
There are a few steps leading up to the restaurant, which make it inaccessible to wheelchair users, unless there was another entrance that I did not notice. Inside, the restaurant is fairly large (the name is misleading, it is much more a restaurant than a cafe), with lots of tables, but without being cramped. It looks exactly as I imagined a Mexican restaurant to look, lots of orange and yellow hues, wood and a bit of a Wild West theme going on - in fact, I noticed on the menu (I can't remember what dish it was) that they actually serve cacti!!! I was surprised to read in another review of this restaurant that it is normally packed and advisable to book. Whilst I can imagine it being like this on weekends, we went on a Monday evening and the place was no more than half full. There was a mix of customers - a birthday party, a few couples. I didn't see any kids but I don't see why you couldn't take kids there, apart from I'm not sure if it had a non-smoking section.
We were seated straight away and presented with a bowl of tortilla chips and some spicy dip, I think it had pickles in it, and it was hot. We swiftly ordered a bottle of Pinot Grigio and carried on munching. I was bewildered by the menu, not knowing what most of the dishes were. Eventually I decided upon Chimichanga del Mer to satisfy
my usual need to eat seafood when I dine out, although I was not entirely sure if I was going to like the Chimichanga part of it. This translated as crab, cod and some other fishy things wrapped in some sort of bready stuff and served with rice and beans. My friends chose beef and chicken quesada, and chicken fajitas. I aked my friends opinion of the quesada today (we were too busy eating last night to discuss the food, apart from 'mmmm', 'mmm mmm mmm', and some more 'mmmm'). She replied that hers was ' very nice, beef was very tasty and not masked by the sauces, and the portion was just the right amount. Rice was nice, wasnt sure what to do with the orange segment though!! Not very spicy, or maybe that was just in comparision to the dip we got with the tortila chips!!'. I know that my other pal was impressed with hers as she is normally a very small and very finicky eater, and she almost finished hers! Plus the fajitas came served in a ferociously sizzling pan. My meal was delectable, the tastes went together very well, and the texture of the Chimichanga was perfect (if the Chimichanga was what everything else was rolled up in!). And the melted cheese was heavenly. I ate every last morsel, and then went back onto the tortilla chips!
We didn't get starters, but main courses range from about £8 to upwards of £15. For our 3 meals plus 2 bottles of Pinot Grigio the bill came to just over £60. It was not cheap, but I don't mind paying for good food. I did not like the way that our change was not returned after we had paid - whilst we had intended to tip it is nice to have the option. The service was fine though; friendly and very quick - we didn't have to wait any longer than 10 minutes for our meals.
I will definitely go back to this restaurant, and I have now been inspired to try out some more Mexican restaurants, and I am delighted that a whole new world of culinary delights has opened up to me. I would recommend t
his restaurant whole-heartedly to anyone who enjoys Mexican food, or to anyone who just fancies something different.

Summary: