Wahaca is the brainchild of Thomasina Miers, whom I had the pleasure to compete with in the first series of Masterchef. Tommi caught the Mexican bug on a gastronomic adventure in Mexico. She made it her mission to start the Mexican revolution in the UK! For that, I thank you Tommi. Every since I washed up on the shores from the use in 1999 I've longed for some decent Mexican grub. Finally with Wahaca my craving is appeased!
Wahaca is all about bringing honest Mexican cuisine to the masses in bright and lively surroundings. Tommi is passionate about sourcing sustainable and authentic locally made ingredients to create dishes that are both visually exciting and complex in flavour.
If you have never been to Wahaca before there is not dish on the menu that is not scrumptious. The entire menu is so tempting and seductive that you could easily fill up on the street food. I will offer you one piece of advice that is paramount; SAVE ROOM FOR CURROS Y CHOCOLATE. So many people fail at this easily averted obstacle but trust me, save room or make room for them they are divine! But more about the churros later.
During previous visits I’ve managed to eat my way through the entire menu, however there are new Autumn additions giving me room for some new adventures.
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First up from the autumn selections were the MSC Smoked Herring Tostadas. A generous mound of lightly smoked herring dressed in a tomato, olive, caper and coriander salsa on top of two perfectly fried tortillas. I made the assumption that the herring would be warm so it was a bit surprising that it was still shivering fresh from the fridge. That did not distract from the dish, was just a surprise!
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In keeping with the focus on freshness, at Wahaca dishes appear as they are ready. In perfect time as the tostadas are finished the Huitachloche Quesadillas appear. What the heck is Huitachloche? Well the literal translation is 'Ravens Shit'. How appetising! No? Well it’s a type of fungus that grows on corn. It has a deep earthy flavour that has a nod to black truffle. At Wahaca they pair it up with British field mushrooms, sweet corn, diced potatoes and copious amounts of cheese and nestle it in a flour tortillas.
How do they taste? In one word divine! I could have easily eaten 10 plates of them, but remember the mantra, despite how good the street food is, you MUST SAVE ROOM FOR CHURROS y CHOCOLATE.
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Next up on the table was the Pippian Mole, t soft corn tortillas stuffed with chicken and smothered in a classic green mole of tomatillos, coriander, pumpkin seeds and chilli. It was the perfect balance of bracing green flavours and heat!
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The bear was very eager to loose his Mole Virginity just like The Observer’s Jay Rayner did with Rick Bayless on Top Chef Masters. He chose the standard mole based on the Oaxaca black mole of chocolate, chilli and probably 20 other components that add to the complexity of the sauce. Our waitress Tracy was great about explaining it to him even offering to get a taste of the sauce from the kitchen, but he persisted on without a teaser taste. His first reaction to it was gosh it’s chocolaty. He was a bit unsure to the point that I offered to swap plates. After each bite his expression inched from confusion to contentment with every bite. In the end I thought he was going to pick up the dish and lick it clean. Another Mole convert!
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Thankfully we were full, but not so full that we could say no to churros y chocolate, remember the mantra MUST SAVE ROOM FOR CHURROS y CHOCOLATE.
The Churros arrived; three perfectly fried Mexican doughnuts sprinkled with cinnamon sugar and an elegant teacup of luscious dark chocolate sauce to dip to your hearts content! I resisted using my fingers to clean every last drop of chocolate out of the cup.
All in all a perfect meal. Would I go back? Such a silly question indeed, Of course.
