*** Like Vomiting Into A Tin Bucket ** (Wahaca Mexican Restaurant (Covent Garden, London))

Member Name: malibu_jenny

Product:	Wahaca Mexican Restaurant (Covent Garden, London)
Date:	02/12/08 (426 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fresh and Delicious Ingredients, Great Atmosphere.

Disadvantages: Too Few Vegetarian Choices and A Distinct Lack Of Spice

It was a sparklingly cold after work evening in Covent Garden and Best Friend and I were making our way through the shoppers in the Apple Market. Having seen the Christmas light installation, we decided to head off for dinner at the Mexican restaurant, Wahaca, in Chandos Street.

The last commercial Mexican meal I'd had (not at Wahaca!) had been a revolting stir of slop and black beans, but I'm not ready to give up on a food I love. Plus, she'd been before and really enjoyed it. The restaurant is freshly molten, a huge cavern of a basement, all hot and shiny and new. We washed our hands at the thoughtfully provided sink in the entrance and after around fifteen minutes got far enough up the queue to merit a table. Looking behind us up the stairs, our early entrance had been worthwhile, with a massive snake of diners stretching out into the street.

So, why is Wahaca so popular? When you win Masterchef these days, you get a restaurant. And when that restaurant sells popular food, at a good price, in a central London location, it's a winning formula. Wahaca is the phonetic pronunciation of the Mexican region of Oaxaca and I have to hand it to AA Gill when he says "I suppose it is indeed possible that Wahaca/Oaxaca might risk losing repeat business when satisfied customers phoned up friends to say that they had just eaten a delicious meal at a new restaurant called... and then made a noise like someone vomiting into a tin bucket."

They have a mixed up menu of 'street food', soups and salads and a section of 'from the grill'. All the usual Tacos, Tostadas, Quesadillas, with a few offbeat additions. It's not extensive and there is by no means a good vegetarian choice, I struggled to find anything that wasn't just the dreaded black beans and cheese. There's the unusual hibiscus juice to drink and a selection of Apple and Something, but after a long day at work Best Friend ordered a glass of wine and I had a bottle of Coke.

Eventually I settled on two items; Tostadas with a topping of Cactus and the Winter Warmer salad. Two meals might seem greedy, but I always have a vague fear of ordering salad in restaurants in case of starvation and the menu said quite clearly that the Street Food could be ordered alongside other dishes. Best Friend picked the simple sounding Steak Burrito which came with a few tortilla chips on the side. Much like Wagamama, they enter your order into a handheld PDA, circle it on your paper placemat and inform you that they 'bring each dish as soon as it's ready'. Just for the record, I hate this kind of service - what's wrong with timing two meals to arrive together? However, this is fast food, so the waiting time is never that long.

From our table we had a good view of the chefs preparing sizzling and spicy smelling dishes in the open kitchen and it was only a short wait for the tostadas to be swept from the bar to the table. The portion was not generous, more like two crisps with topping and the ubiquitous black beans (despite gaining no mention on the menu)were around 90% of that. Two kinds of salsa, green and red, arrived along with a bottle of 'hot Mexican sauce, made in Devon.'
The tostada itself was soggy and the salsa's so mild that they tasted of very little; the cactus however, was the star of the piece with a spicy kick.

A few minutes later, the Steak Burrito and the Salad arrived together as if by magic. The salad, which was thankfully devoid of the beans was delicious. It had roasted butternut squash, feta cheese, avocado, quinoa and cos lettuce among other ingredients and weirdly, quite a few bits of orange. This salad was truthfully one of the best meals I've ever had in a restaurant, more than living up to the hype of good ingredients and so moist and flilling that I would go back for this dish alone. Best Friend's steak burrito was soft and floury, folded with a flag in it and the nachos on the side. It looked good and I'll take her word for it that it was, but possibly not that filling as she picked through the remaining cactus afterwards.

It took us a while to get the attention of the waiter and our bill, but the restaurant was so warm and steaamy and the night was so cold that we were more than content to catch up. The toilets were clean, the service was polite enough to warrant a tip and there was little hanging about once we were seated. For £10 a head including drinks, the price was impressive for Central London and I'd love to go back. The only thing is, if they change the menu there won't be great deal there for me. I found the use of cabbage in the only other vegetarian main dish unappetising and if we'd had to queue any longer I would have gone elsewhere. It's a mixed bag really, for a carnivore on a quiet midweek lunchtime this place would be superb.

The ingredients are fresh, ripe and tasty and the healthy spin on dishes is refreshing considering Mexico has the second highest obesity rate in the world. The restaurant even claims to source food as locally and ethically as possible.

If Wahaca loses points for anything, it's for the odd lack of spicy food, even the sauces on the table didn't do a great deal to pep things up. I'd recommend the restaurant for those on a budget who'd like to try something new and trendy but not too original. In fact it would be perfect for a work do or catching up with friends.

The official website is diabolical and unreadable, (see http://www.wahaca.co.uk) but a full menu and price list appear in pdf format at http://www.london-eating.co.uk/menu/29862.asp

A quick poll here - please leave a comment as to whether or not you like black beans. I'm interested to know!

Summary: Try it - You've only a tenner to lose & I think you'll enjoy it.