Chimichanga

Oh Chimichanga, you were just as bad as I thought you might be.
I came here to support my girlfriend’s sister, who is living in the area and wanted to do a nice party to reveal the sex of her baby. And she wanted to do it here. Ok, off we go.
The décor is boring Mexican themed, with bright splashes of colour everywhere. We were a table of about 15 people and there were service problems right from the start. They had trouble taking the order, they had trouble bringing the right food, later, when we ordered two things (like a coke and a cocktail), they’d bring one and forget the other. Ugh, awful.
I wish I could say that the food made up for it, but the food was clearly made earlier in the day and reheated to be brought out to us. Everything was mearly ok or just plain bad.
They do make a mean piña colada though, so they have that going for it.
It wasn’t the worst meal of my life, nor the worst service, so that’s why it hangs on a nice two stars. But it wasn’t good. Oh no, it wasn’t anywhere near good.

Terrible service at lunch time. The place was empty and we still waited ages for our food. After our taste card was rejected, we were assured that the PayPal deal was still available to get a free burrito. When the bill came the manager said this deal has run out even though the card was still on the table publicising the promotion. After telling her that this is now false advertising, she got on the phone and gave us some money off the bill. We still technically didn’t get a free burrito. I am appalled at how we can be treated this was and be seen as bad customers because we want what is advertised to us. Never going back. I’m sticking to local for lunch from now on.

Lovely little Mexican restaurant. Not as busy as the Wimbledon branch which I like. Food is great, especially the enchiladas. Athmosthpere is great and staff are very friendly. Last time we went out service was very quick and we had a great time.

I’ve been to three different Mexican restaurants in the UK and so far this was the closest to good Mexican food. They could use a little help with their margaritas. But overall not bad!

We found this place by chance. Being mothers day we had a job trying to get seated at the restaurants that we had planned to eat at. Then we came across this place, Chimichanga and decided to give it a try.
The place was fairly busy but we managed to get seated straight away. The staff were ok, not overly friendly though.
I couldn’t tell you how authentic the food was as I don’t eaten a great deal of Mexican food but I can tell you that mixed seafood and rice that I had was very tasty and the portions are quite large. The others that I was eating with also enjoyed the food and commented on the rich flavours.
The atmosphere here is fun and not at all dressy.
I wouldn’t rush back here but certainly wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to a friend.

All British people seem to have learned that when Americans move to the UK, they are obsessed with finding good Mexican food. I’m not sure what it is. Maybe it’s the feeling of familiarity with being back in the US. Maybe it’s just that Mexican food can be so damn good. Well, when we found out that a new Mexican restaurant opened up in Enfield, we decided we needed to go. Now, I knew it was a chain, but that doesn’t mean it has to be terrible does it? We walk into the restaurant, and after looking at the very non-​Mexican décor, we have a sense of familiarity rise up in us, but we can’t place what it is.
Well, it was pretty terrible. We split an appetizer that consisted of fried portobello mushrooms (not Mexican), potato skins (also not Mexican), Mexican spring rolls (you decide if spring rolls are Mexican), and Jalapeño poppers (at least there’s some chili peppers in this one). Needless to say they were all pretty much from frozen. Strike one. The other half says maybe we should have tried sharing the nachos. The table next to us ordered the nachos. We made the right decision, even though the starter we had was terrible.
Okay, so mains. We ordered one chimichanga with beef chili (weird, just make beef!) and one enchilada with bbq pulled pork (I was hoping beyond hope that it was actually something similar to carnitas). Now enchiladas usually have corn tortillas, but I was willing to go with flour if it was covered in some sort of awesome chili sauce (as they are supposed to be). When it came out, it was basically a burrito. Yup, a burrito. With a tiny bit of sauce. Not impressed. It was also pretty bland. Like REALLY bland. Like I ended up using ¹⁄₃ of a bottle of Chalula hot sauce on my meal to give it any sort of spice. I’m sorry, I don’t know why people think Mexican is supposed to be bland. It is made with chilis just like Indian. It needs that kick, it NEEDS that spice. I crave it. When there is none, it’s not Mexican.
As we’re paying our bill, the other half looks at the bottom of the receipt. A light dawns. We stare at the décor, realizing that the sense of familiarity we had walking in matches the décor from Prezzo. Yes, the Chimichanga chain is owned by the Prezzo group. It all makes sense. We should be expecting mediocre Mexican from a restaurant that decorates their restaurants the exact same way as their mediocre Italian restaurants.
Seriously, give this place and every other Chimichanga a pass. There are other places in London that serve insanely better Mexican, and it’s worth the wait and the travel into busy London. I’m pretty sure I won’t be coming back here again.