MEXICAN RESTAURANTS

TAQUERIA (Location: 139-143 Westbourne Grove) ££ 

Taqueria is one of the best mexican restaurants I have found in London. They serve tasty (and spicy) authentic mexican food and even have a tortilla making machine. There are a lot of vegetarian options to choose from and the staff are more than happy to advise. The idea is to order around 2-3 small dishes each so that way you get to enjoy a full range of dishes at around £5 -£7 a dish. The place is always busy, so make sure you go early. Also try the mexican cocktails on offer.

Menu: http://www.taqueria.co.uk/main_menu/

http://www.taqueria.co.uk/ 

WAHACA (Location: 66 Chandos Place, Covent Garden, London) ££

Wahaca is another really great Mexican restaurant in London that is a departure from the usual Tex-Mex menu that seems to plague the our usual Mexican offerings here.  They dub the Wahaca experience as 'Mexican market eating' in their own words and the canteen style table seating, potted chilli plants (you can grab a handful of these seed packets to take home and start your own which is quite cool) and wooden crate all add to this canteen feel. As for the food itself, the quesadillas with chestnut mushrooms, cheese and huitlacoche (a kind fungus that grows on corn - something that is somewhat of a delicacy in Mexico) were a delicious treat for the taste buds. I'd also recommend the Nopalitos - crispy little tortilla boats heaped with fresh salsa and salad, the cheese and black beans and cheese quesadillas are a fail-safe option and the guacamole and tortilla chips are great to start with. The food arrives as and when it's ready and the service was pretty fast.  For dessert, we couldn't resist the churros but were a little disappointed - the hot chocolate was rich but came in a tiny portion and there was no cinnamon or sugar in sight.  I guess the problem with this place is that you can't book in advance so if you go in a group as we did, make sure you get there early, otherwise waiting time could be anything up to an hour! Definitely worth a try and good value for money but the search for the perfect Mexican in London goes on…

www.wahaca.co.uk