Pub quiz question: “Who was the winner of Masterchef 2005?” Well for those who can remember further beyond what they had for dinner last night, it was Thomasina Miers who impressed the judges with her unique cooking style. Fast forward to 2007 and, along with co-founder Mark, Thomasina opened a restaurant in Convent Garden offering up fresh, vibrant Mexican street food dishes. That restaurant was called Wahaca.

Fast forward again (last time we promise) and Wahaca is now a firm favourite amongst Mexican food lovers up and down the country, us included. So we headed down to the Shoreditch branch to remind ourselves of some of our favourite dishes.

Mexico conjures up images of vibrant colours, yellows, reds, and of course limes, and for those who aren’t familiar, the restaurants match perfectly with these images. Each branch has its own identity, but the environment always feels fun, down to earth and casual. The perfect place to hang with friends over a margarita and a plate of nachos. Plates at Wahaca range from nibbles to share, smaller street food plates and classics such as burritos and enchiladas, at The Capturist we think the food here is designed to share, so order 2-3 plates each and enjoy it with your nearest and dearest.

On this occasion we stacked up a few (some may say too many) plates to graze on over a lazy afternoon. No trip to Wahaca is complete without at least 2 of the tacos. We’d normally recommend the juicy, slow cooked, free range pork pibil, but today we mixed it up. The plantain tacos are a vegan treat, sweet and covered in creamy crumbled feta with a drizzle of hibiscus. Free-range chicken and avocado tacos were also on the hit list, with zingy guacamole and green tomatillo salsa. Finally on the taco run was battered pollock, with a lightly crispy exterior, white fluffy interior and dressed smartly with crunchy slaw and a warm chipotle mayo. One of my faves on this occasion was the unassuming black bean & three cheese quesadillas. A proof point that big flavours can come in small simple packages, these beans were smokey, balanced beautifully with the stringy, creamy melted cheese.

Admittedly a little trickier to share, we opted to take turns tearing apart a chargrilled steak burrito. As delicious as this looked, we soon realised that the steak was cooked medium rare. Now that would normally be a big “juicy” win, but on this occasion, not suitable for my quite pregnant dining partner. The restaurant team were super friendly and helpful from the start and they had no hesitation in swapping this out for the free-range chicken burrito with ancho rub, which was delicious!

Wahaca is far from the new kid on the block when it comes to Mexican food, or even restaurants for that matter, but something about it makes us feel cheery. The food is somehow different and refreshing whilst warming, easy and familiar, all in equal measures. There are worse ways to ponder life with a loved one on a lazy afternoon for sure.

Website: www.wahaca.co.uk

Address: 140 Tabernacle Street London EC2A 4SD

Written by: Rick Hartley
Photos courtesy of Wahaca