Clarissa Y.
Yelp
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 Yelp 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!