Wahaca

I couldn’t wait to try Wahaca and it certainly didn’t disappoint! First of all, I can’t think of a better way to eat than Tapas-​style — it’s the best way to try lots of different things. Apply this to Mexican food and you’re bound to be on to a winner.
Everything we ordered was delicious, but some of the stand out favourites were the Frijoles and Quesadillas — oozing, cheesy goodness! It’s a shame there’s not a Wahaca closer to me — although I’d probably never be out of it if there was one!

We struggled to find anywhere that was still open for dinner on new year’s day, and so ended up at Wahaca. I’ve been to one of their London locations and was kinda underwhelmed, but this time the food was excellent.
The menu is huge and it’s worth spending the time reading all the ingredients in each dish, because some of the flavour combos are not quite what you expect. Dave A ordered enchiladas and was slightly confused at first by the dish of green sauce in which his enchilada was hidden.
For me the sweet potato and feta taquitos were the standout. I could’ve eaten 50 of them, but I ran out of room after the chipotle chicken quesadilla, woops! Teamed with a Wahaca mule, it’s safe to say I was pretty happy with my first dinner of 2016.

One of things I miss the most about moving to Wales from California is my precious Mexican food. To be honest, when I first heard about Wahaca I was extremely skeptical at how good it could be but with all the glowing reviews on Unilocal I just had to give it a try. I mean, I was getting some serious Mexican food withdrawals and needed a fix.
Wahaca scratched my itch straight away and then some — the food here is absolutely gorgeous! Mind, it isn’t 100% authentic. It isn’t the greasy, heavy, but utterly indulgent Mexican food I’m used to. Wahaca is more of Mexican cuisine with a modern twist but they do pay some pretty accurate homage to the spices and flavours of Mexico; they even apparently have a trusted source in Mexico for certain ingredients.
~ Atmosphere:
Wahaca is sneakily massive. When I first walked in, I thought it seemed pretty tiny but there are actually 3 different floors for dining with the top floor having a stocked bar for a bit of lounging as well. Because their toilets are on the top floor, they actually have an ELEVATOR in the restaurant!
~ Customer Service:
Really friendly. The waitress asked if we needed any help with figuring out what to order from the menu but since I was already really familiar with Mexican cuisine I didn’t need it. However, rest assured if you’re new to Mexican food the waitresses are happy to help (don’t feel embarrassed to ask!). Food came out pretty quickly and they have a unique system where you can pay using wi-​fi as well.
~ Food:
The absolute highlight. My partner and I wanted to skip the «ah“s and «um“s with deciding what to order, so we just went for the Wahaca selection for «adventurers» — £32.50 worth of food. It came with:
* 2 Salmon Sashimi Tostadas
* 3 Pork Pibil Tacos
* 1 Large Chipotle Chicken Quesadilla (cut in half)
* 2 Pea & Mint Empanadas
* Frijoles w/​Chorizo
* Broccoli w/​Green Goddess Dressing
* Grilled Corn on the Cob
* Churros y Chocolate
The highlight for the meal for me was DEFINITELY the Salmon Sashimi Tostadas — they were absolutely perfect and the salmon was incredibly fresh! I regret not ordering more!
To be honest, when I first looked at the menu for the taster plate I was skeptical about how much I’d enjoy a lot of the other stuff. I thought the broccoli, corn, and frijoles would be a tad boring but I’m so glad I was proven wrong. I never thought that I’d be enjoying just a plate of broccoli so much but it was perfectly cooked and went very well with the dressing. Normally, I’m not a fan of corn on the cob either (I just find them a pain to eat!) but again, Wahaca managed to take something I normally don’t like and turn it into something magical. The sauce on the corn was flawless.
My least favourite part of the meal were the tacos, but that’s only because I’ve had better (not fair though seeing as I’m from California). However, they were still very delicious.
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The only downside to Wahaca is that I feel it’s very pricey and you don’t really feel too full at the end either. After we finished our meal, my partner and I were still feeling a bit hungry. I would say that Wahaca isn’t great when you’re looking for a filling dinner (unless you’re willing to pay a lot) but fantastic if you’re looking to appreciate food and enjoy different flavours. Even though it was expensive, I couldn’t rate anything less than 5 stars since the food here is among the best I’ve had in Cardiff!

We love this place and have visited numerous times be it for an afternoon snack or an evening dinner and have never been disappointed.
From the funky Eco green modern décor to the fun and friendly staff you’re on a winner as soon as you get in. Just be prepared to book or wait on a busier day.
The menu is fantastic. Street food mixed with tapas mixed with sharers, big food and some really exotic specials. From seafood to candied insects!
The best way to enjoy dinner is just order a load of dishes and share them between you with the amazing sweet potato fries. My personal fav is the feta cheese and sweet potato wraps but they have good pork, chicken and beef.
The drinks are different. Lots of great tasting cocktails away from the norm with anything from sweet to sharp.
They are also high tech. With ability to pay at the table and split your bill using their very cool flypay app.
For us tonight we had 12 dishes 2 sides and four drinks and it came to £88 all of us were left stuffed and satisfied.
Well worth a try and would recommend it to anyone.

Went to Wahaca for lunch one day, as we hadn’t tried out many Mexican restaurants in Cardiff, and was met by a lovely bubbly waitress who seated us straight away. Although we’d never been before the menu was quite straightforward, with the tapas selection being vast and reasonably priced. Our main waiter Jack was absolutely amazing– so full of energy, really chatty and enthusiastic, and couldn’t have been more helpful. It was nice to see how the restaurant was aiming to source local produce, such as its veg, cheese and sauces, and how it donated 20p from every one of its tapas dishes to charity– now that is going above and beyond. The restaurant itself was really quirky and colourful, with three open floors and easy disability access. The food itself was stunning and different; we got a mix of pork, chicken, steak, sweet potato and goats cheese (THE MOST DIVINE ONE), and chorizo, and its great that Wahaca embraces the Mexican feel by offering (a lot) of tequila on its menu. Would definitely go back!

This place has come with a lot of hype since it opened but it struggles to live up to the expectation that has been created.
The food is OK, the menu a bit fiddly and the staff hard sell. The place is redeemed by it’s bristling atmosphere.
Despite putting much focus on their alleged green /​Eco credentials, they couldn’t confirm what happened to all of the paper table mat menus that the servers needlessly scribbled over such that they could not be re-​used. Reduce — no a new one each time; Re-​use — Erm no I have just scribbled over it as part of my hard sell; re-​cycle — Erm … we think they just go in the bin … Must do better Thomasina!
For average food this place needs to find a USP cos as things stand, I ain’t going back.

First off, I have to say: I am from Los Angeles and so have a certain familiarity with Mexican flavors… And up until this visit, have shied away from trying Latin American restaurants in the UK. However, the menu at Wahaca sounded promising: and I was not disappointed.
I went in for just a snack: chips and salsa, followed with the corn and bean salad. The salsa is a flavorful pico de gallo with nary a hint of chili. Even though it didn’t pack any heat, I thought it was as tasty as anything I’ve enjoyed in California. The chips, however, tasted like they came out of a bag — salsa that good calls for freshly made tortilla chips. (This is the only reason I did not award Wahaca with five stars.)
The salad was lovely, with lightly dresses greens, corn, beans, and perfectly ripe avocado. I dribbled a little hot sauce on there for an extra kick.
I ended the meal with a chili chocolate tequila toddy: a shot of spicy Mexican hot chocolate with a dash of tequila. Just lovely.
I look forward to returning to sample the tacos, taquitos and burritos. Yum!

Without a doubt the best Mexican food you’ll find outside of London and definitely some of the best you’ll find on this side of the Atlantic. Went there a week after it opened and, yes, there was a bit of a wait but I had no complaints. The bar upstairs offers tortilla chips to satiate hunger along with great margaritas. We had quesaldillas, tacos, taquitos, frijoles, and loved them all. You need to go here.