Wahaca

Flavorful and tasty fast food Mexican no doubt. This venue was slightly noisy and did not feel very personal.

Wahaca manages to achieve the almost impossible mission of success without decline. Each branch that opens has a slightly new take on the bright Mexican street food eatery selling healthy South American tapas and the best tequila in town, all at mega affordable prices.
I have never had a bad meal or a bad margherita at Wahaca. These guys know what they’re doing. Whether it’s a crunchy chicken ceaser tostada, a crispy sweet potato & feta taquito or a delicious pork pibl taco, the mini dishes are a dream. Load up and enjoy! The bigger dishes are great too, whether you’re into fish tacos, burritos or a salad where you can literally eat the bowl, it’s all great!
Make sure you start off with THE best guacamole and chips, and end with the decadent churros with chocolate sauce to complete your Wahaca experience. And don’t forget the tequila!

One of the best Wahaca restaurants. Nice atmosphere, fast service, delicious food. This is one of the Wahacas that does Mexican breakfasts for weekend brunch, the huevos rancheros are devine.

I’ve been to several of the branches and every single one is a winner. This one on Upper Street is no exception.
A group of us arrived after a theatre show down the street and we fully enjoyed our beers and food. The modelo was fabulous and the selection of tacos just hit the spot. Wahaca is a great place to go for a touch of Mexican street food that will fill you up for a moderate price (this isn’t a taco stand, for sure).
The place had a nice lively feel, even this late in the evening, and service was good.

Not Mexican food ! Some kind of variation of chipotle with non fresh ingredients ! The restaurant seems nice and very colorful but in fact the food is not even trying to be authentic. I almost think its outrageous to call this place Mexican ! Would never give this place another chance!!!

I love Wahaca, straight up love it. I’d never been to this one though, Waterloo is my usual haunt and somehow this one didn’t quite seem to live up to their standard.
Don’t get me wrong, it was still good. Annoyingly the big plate pork pibil seems to have disappeared from the menu again, which in itself is a travesty. I can honestly attest to that being a serious contender for my death row last meal, so finding it unavailable meant I was almost inconsolable for the entire meal anyway.
Still, I held it together and made do with the little pork pibil tacos, which were great but they are a pretender to the throne of their big brother.
If you haven’t been to a Wahaca before it’s basically mexican street food style dishes, all fairly small. You order a few and eat them as and when they turn up. I’ve always really enjoyed eating at the Waterloo branch, the menu changes enough to keep things fresh. Having said that, in this location you are spoilt for choice for similar dining opportunities so I don’t know how they compare to all the other mexican restaurants along the street.

Certainly one of my favourite restaurants in town — service is great, food is delicious and micheladas/​margaritas are super tasty.
Go for the tacos with pork pibil, the beans with chips and a great modelo especial

Very colorful and good vibes in this place, great plus that they have outside seating!
The food is maybe not super authentic Mexican but it is definetly packed with flavor! And they have absolutely delicious margaritas, I suggest you try the white peach one! And the pork pibil tacos and the corn is a staple for my order at wahaca!

Bleh. After a year of living in the Angel area, I had walked by this place many times, always meaning to check it out but always ending up someplace more consistent/​familiar. I had tried the wahaca food truck on the southbank and I wanted to like this brick and mortar version, but it really didn’t come together.
I came here for a late dinner with some friends. The place wasn’t particularly crowded but it was crazy understaffed and it took our waitress a good 30 minutes to come round and take our orders. We got a bunch of stuff to share. Unfortunately, it all ranged from mediocre Anglo Mexican food (the quesadillas, the sweet potato taquitos and the corn and cactus tacos) to really disgusting Anglo Mexican food (brisket tacos, tostadas and chicken tacos). Also it was all pretty cold by the time it reached the table.
Not impressed. Will likely not return.

Ok, so my math for Wahaca worked out a little something like:
4.5 for the drinks
4 for service
2.5 for food
So I netted it all out at 3, weighing the food a little more heavily. Does that sound like good math?
Expanded comments shake down like this:
Drinks: yes. Do this. Drink. The margaritas are great, and on the rocks (Texas experience says: mo’ betta) and not too syrupy sweet (see: can still taste the tequila). I highly recommend the passion fruit option, though the summer special — white peach — sounds delicious, too. Also good though, there are great virgin cocktail options and a lot of juices. GO THIRSTY.
Service reminded me of a North American place. And by that I mean, peppy servers, bright lights, loud music, and menus that servers write on, swirling details and writing notes in pen as they talk you through «options». If this isn’t your bag, fair enough, but it’s certainly a «style» and at Wahaca it’s done well.
Food: erm… fine. Fine I guess. A lot of the menu is structured ‘tapas style’ in that it’s share plates that come out when they’re ready from the kitchen. We got the «share platter» which had some wins (the sweet potato and feta taquitos were the surprising star for me) and some weird fails (my least favourite by far was the chicken caesar tostada). It wasn’t piping hot, it wasn’t super amazing, but it also was far from being terrible.
So, on that note…
Unilocal note: MARGAAAAAARIIIIITAS!

Yeah, alright! 3.5 stars, really, but let’s go four. We got some tapas and there were hits (chicken quesadilla, pork pibil tacos, sweet potato & feta taquito) and a miss (steak tacos), but overall, this was good!
It’s not Southern California mexican food — but nothing is – and I was really happy to be introduced to this spot near our flat. We also had some aguas frescas that were delicious!
The service was also really good — attentive and friendly. I’d go again!

I had a dinner date last night with my boyfriend and this was our choice of restaurant.
We opted to be seated indoors for a more private atmosphere. The server was very courteous. Her name was Ida. The menu can be a bit confusing with side orders, combos and sizes but Ida explained in detail how everything works.
I really enjoyed my peach cocktail. It was a bit strong… The caesar salad tortilla dish was great. I think that was our fave dish.
Overall a decent experience for the evening.

My friend Kate was craving Mexican food for her birthday. I gave in and tried not to be a hater and give Wahaca, despite it’s phonetic spelling, a chance.
I ordered chicken enchiladas and horchata. The enchiladas were a little bit bizarre. They came in a tomato cream sauce that was ok. The chicken itself was good and less weird.
The staff were really nice and even threw in some free churros with chocolate sauce for Kate’s birthday.
The actual space is really festive and has great plants and light. It’s a very pretty restaurant.

Unfortunately we were disappointed with the food. We ordered the Mexican feast and expected to eat. The portions were small it was like tasting a 3 – 4 starters. Really bad value for money. I won’t go back.

Great place right on Upper Street! We came here in a Saturday evening and it wasnt too busy. Service was great and fast. I´m usually not a big fan of restaurant chains, but Wahaca seems to get it right. I have been here a couple of times and always loved it!
They are extremely good when catering for gluten-​allergies! I was quiet impressed! The Sonora Salad is my absolute favourite! The cocktails are great! I´m just not a big fan of their lime, chilli, salt and beer mix ;o) If you usually avoid chains as well, give this one a try!

I try to avoid massive chain restaurants whenever possible however, somehow Wahaca on Upper Street has become one of my favourite hang-​outs in Islington. Me and my boyfriend have sampled most of the margaritas on upper street but Wacaha always comes out on top! The bar staff are very friendly and the drinks are affordable. Great for a casual weekend drink!

I think Wahaca is a chain but this particular restaurant is nice. The décor inside is cool, and you are encouraged to try one of their many (often tequila orientated) cocktails whilst waiting for a table. On that note, it is busy so you need to book or you will wait. Annoyingly, they don’t take bookings after 7.15, or for groups less than 6 — but they have a table football table!
The food is fresh tasty Mexican food. You are encouraged to order off their «street food» menu — basically Mexican tapas. Everything is fresh and good value — I enjoyed myself!

3.5 stars.
On a Saturday around 6 pm, the restaurant was pretty quiet. By the time we left close to 8 pm, it was packed with no empty tables and a wait time of about 30 minutes for 2 people.
We went for pre-​dinner drinks. They don’t have any type of happy hour available, so it’s always full price. They have a bar seating area, but none of the seats have backs. We requested to sit with our drinks in the restaurant area and they accommodated us very nicely even though we weren’t ordering meals. It wasn’t full, so there was no reason for them not to, but many places needlessly put up a fight. The host here was very nice and pleasant and allowed us to sit at the table of our choice for over an hour before the restaurant got so full, they needed to use the table for actual diners. We then gladly moved back to the bar area, which was also quite packed by then with people grabbing drinks while waiting for a table.
The cocktails are almost exclusively tequila-​based, including drinks like mojitos which are traditionally made with other types of liquor. I suppose you could request them to be made the traditional way (mojitos with rum), but we tried it the way it was offered here.
Classic margarita — made with fresh lime juice, which is always appreciated and not always guaranteed at places (many use a sweet/​sour mix) and agave syrup. No triple sec available even if you prefer that to agave. It was good, not great, nothing special. A little thick/​foamy, which was odd. I’m not sure why.
Hibiscus mojito — mint, lime, and hibiscus. Interesting drink and pretty sweet. Tasted really good, but too sweet for my liking.
They also had a drink special, which was rhubarb with mescal. We are not fans of mescal and requested it be made with tequila instead. Essentially, it became a rhubarb margarita. Super unique, interesting, and less sweet than the mojito. I’d recommend trying this as it’s definitely not found many places.
We also ordered chips and tomato salsa. The chips were not salty, which was great. Many tortilla chips are too salted. And the salt was appropriate on the salsa as well, but it didn’t seem fresh. The tomatoes were a bit soft and mushy.
Wouldn’t actively go back, but wouldn’t be disappointed if others wanted to go there either.

Wahaca is good for fast food and you know what you are in for when you go. Mostly small plates but I loved the fish tacos. Good, easy place to meet up with friends.

The food is always outstanding which is what keeps us coming back. Late on Sunday afternoon is the best time to go to avoid kids and noisy crowds as it can be full of both and the acoustics can make it unbearably loud. The service is generally very good although occasionally you get someone who’s obviously finding it hard to deal with noisy crowds and screaming kids whilst hungover but that’s ok, pretty much everywhere on Upper Street has the same issues. Great value for money, amazing choices for vegetarians, love that you can pay via flypay and so pleased they do takeout burritos and salads — fingers crossed delivery isn’t too far behind. The Sonora salad and sweet potato side are irresistible and always check out the specials too. The slightly sweet cornbread with goats curd was superb.

Wahaca is clearly not going to be authentic Mexican food. Hey, they haven’t even spelled Oaxaca correctly. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the food though! The Mexican-​style corn is great, and so are the sweet potatoes, and I’d normally give them a 4. However, my service today was pretty poor, and the food wasn’t as good as normal…
I work near to the Angel branch so decided to treat myself today after a long week at work. I went to lunch on my own (I work by myself!) and was immediately wrong-​footed upon entry. It’s just not obvious where you’re meant to wait to ask for a table (I think perhaps it was meant to be up more by the bar, but I’m still not sure). I saw several members of staff look at me standing in the entrance of the restaurant, facing in, clearly waiting for a table — and they just ignored me, including a man who was obviously a manager of some description (he wasn’t in a uniform). Finally a waitress passed by me to go serve the tables outside and on her way back in, I was able to ask for a table.
My (slightly sweaty, eww) waiter came to the table and I said I was ready to order. He said he thought I was waiting for someone and kind of rolled his eyes and said «okaaaayyyy» when I said it was just me.
My food came promptly, but it wasn’t great. I had pork tacos, chicken taquitos, and the sweet potatoes. The potatoes were oily and a bit mushy, and there was some unpleasant hard chicken in my taquitos. No one ever checked on me though so I could get it rectified, or came to my table so I could get another (needed) drink. I finished my food and no one cleared the plates in all the time it took me to add a new card to my Flypay account (as my old one had expired) and paid my bill. Still no one came to my table and when I left, walking by 2 waiters, the barman, and the manager-​looking person, no one said goodbye.
I definitely won’t be returning to this branch, which is a shame as it’s so convenient!

If you go to Wahaca, you’re going to have a good meal. Plain and simple.
I popped in before the dinner rush with my mom. The atmosphere is always nice and we kept the smiles rolling with some tortilla chips & guacamole (which seemed to be some older brown guac mix with newer, greener guac. This has happened at the CG location too.)
The servers are knowledgeable on the vegan options and food comes pretty quickly for how busy they can be. I love that even the veggie options keep changing so I can always try new things, and continuing to cover them with the sauces on the table (as usual, check the ingredients).
Sharing is always a nice option to split the bill. There are lots of sharing plates to choose from. And even dairy-​free horchata and hot chocolate to choose from for a drink!
You’ll be seeing me soon!

J’adore. Vraiment.
Le truc relou: il y a plein de queue, VRAIMENT. Né venez pas l’estomac dans les talons au bord de l’hypoglycémie parce que vous avez bien 40 min à patienter avant de pouvoir vous attabler.
Allez, donnez votre nom au personnel, et allez prendre une petite bière dans un des nombreux bars voisins en attendant.
Vous revenez. Vous avez faim, et votre table est prête. Parfait. Commandez, vous êtes servis dans les minutes qui suivent ! Et faites vous plaisir: le guacamole est TROP bon, les salades sont servies dans des saladiers qui se mangent, et la Corona coule à flots.
Alors OK, c’est bruyant, certainement pas authentique, mais on mange bien, plus qu’à sa faim, et en plus vous pouvez embarquer des petites graines de piment pour les faire pousser chez vous.

MSC ceviche was yummy (shrimps & scallops on a bed of salad and crispy taco), pulled pork pubil was as good as ever and in addition tequila chocolate toddy was amazing — never had this one before but dark heavy chocolate with a punch of chili and tequila was really amazing. I reckon that’s where I’ll be getting my winter warming drinks this season!
I ordered hot chocolate as well (dairy free — woop woop!) and it was delicious. The service was too quick and they didn’t have enough time to cancel it (as I found out about hot toddy) — so I had that one for free — nice touch!
Probably not my favourite outlay of the restaurant itself, not as vibrant as Soho — but still thumbs up!