Desperados in Islington

Reminded me why I usually look up restaurants before trying them out. Went here with 2 friends, cocktail jug during happy hour basically had zero alcohol in it (yes even at the bottom). Food was ok at best but certainly not worth the price. £25 for a sad looking sirloin steak isn't a good deal. The staff were fine although the pushy waiter at the end with his QR code to give a good review was a bit awkward. I'm not one to cause a big fuss about a bad restaurant experience unless the food was inedible which it wasn't. It's just not a place I'd recommend, especially on this high street where there's 100 better options

Food was very good. Beer is expensive, cocktails are cheap in comparison. Service was very nice.

M goodness what a fabulous late night meal!! The food was outstanding cannot complain at all! Ryan was just as amazing kind smiling and extremely efficient. Our cocktails were something else…. Like being transported to Mexico with sun food and amazing cocktails…. Thank you all so much!! Shall be be back!..

The server was very friendly and attentive. However, I have been coming here for years and it seems that they have changed chef as the food is quite unpleasant. The food was not tasty and was under cooked in both of our dishes. When I sent back the under cooked prawns I was told that the chef said it was fine, even though it was visibly not cooked inside. I would say only come here for the drinks and the Vibe.

Festive atmosphere, decent burgers and meals, good prices for central London

The service is really bad…. We have been waiting for glasses for 30 minutes after being given a bottle of water on the table. I started drinking the water from the bottle because they had not brought glasses despite asking twice….. after finishing the main courses we asked for the dessert menu they did not come back for it at all, at the end, I asked what happened with the dessert, they said they had run out and the kitchen was closed. I said yes but ice cream does not need the kitchen does it? They did not care, avoid this restaurant…. Never ever again!

Love this place food was soo amazing yummy 😋

Great prices food has definitely got better customer service was on point The cocktails could be more stronger had a great mothers day meal

Was so disappointed by the food and service here, our food was cold and undercooked and when I spoke to the server regarding this, she gave me back the same dish reheated. The staff were extremely uninterested and unbothered, and made us feel like we were being a pain for expecting a decent standard of food! Such a shame as I've been coming here for years and certainly will not be returning

This place used to be so nice but has gone steadily downhill, I went yesterday with my daughter . We had nachos with beef the beef was chewy and not good also calamari which was greasy also not good the stuffed mushrooms were however very nice , then we both got mixed grills mine was nasty in fact after paying 70 which it definitely wasn’t worth we took my meal away to feed to my dog !!!!! The waiter was friendly and even gave me a free cocktail !!! This place has recently changed its name don’t be fooled it’s really bad still . 👎👎👎👎👎

Went there for lunch on 2/3/24. Great service by both Franklin and a lady who's name I did not capture. Such Delicious food and drinks. Will definitely return soon.

Great vibes and our waiter Franklin was excellent.

Lovely service from Ryan and Rhys 🙌

Ryan and Rees were very friendly, even opened doors for us! And we got a free shot at the end

Ryan and Rhys provided great customer service. The food was decent and cocktails great.

The food and the service was amazing I highly recommend friends and family to go I had a chicken fajita and it was the best .

We were kicked out because of a reservation they never told us about. And the desert we asked was also refused to be served for this reason. Lame service, lame food. Never again!!!

Wir waren hier essen, da wir in den Pub nicht mit meiner 8-jährigen Tochter reingekommen sind. Alle waren sehr freundlich und das Essen war sehr gut und günstig.

Great food, one of the top tier tacos in the town. Great hospitality as well, would def recommend

Shocked by the crude pornographic artwork in the restrooms of this family restaurant. I have visited Desperado's regularly with my family over the last couple of years. Today was our first visit since the refurbishment. I was shocked by the new paintings in the men's bathroom - crude, offensive and pornographic, depicting, very explicitly, sexual acts between men, women and animals. I understand similar ones are present in the women's bathroom. For a restaurant with a large number of customers under the age of 18 this is completely unacceptable - I'm astonished by poor judgement of the management. I complained to the management and requested that they immediately remove these images. In the meantime, if you're considering visiting this restaurant with children, I strongly recommend that you don't.

Everything was perfect, from the staff and service to the food and atmosphere. Wasn’t too long a wait for what was honestly one of the best burgers I’ve ever had. The service from our waiter was 10/10 and he made sure everything was to a high standard. Drinks were well made and tasted great while not being too expensive for cocktails as well. Definitely found a new regular.

Food is well below average, would not describe it as Mexican. Only worth while going for decor and probably cocktails. Ordered starters and two mains, could not eat the mains as cooked in odd choice of spices - tasted more of Chinese takeaway away than Mexican. Very small portions and premium price. Staff seem under pressure from poor management, staff are okay but not trained or guided well from top level. Informed staff that the meal was not anywhere near expectation or correct flavours. Manager came over eventually after sending three different members of his team to try to rectify situation. By this point did not want a different meal and just wanted to leave. No compensation or discount was offered, just told it is 'Tex Mex' style and to come back another time and specify want mexican flavour when ordering. This visit definitely put us off, and would not go back and would not recommend. There are far better restaurants in the area with better quality food, taste, and price. One star because poor attitude from management and meal ruined the atmosphere.

Die Bedienung war aufmerksam und freundlich. Metin hat uns sehr gut bedient. Das Essen war sehr lecker und war frisch.

⚠️DO NOT GO ESPECIALLY WITH CHILDREN ⚠️ Good Mexican food next door! Awful experience, food was taste less and felt thrown together straight out of the can, mocktails ware really bad. Atmosphere was discussing very very sexist really child unfriendly. Never ever going here again no matter how hungry. If it was possible to give 0 starts I would have given them.

We had a lovely dinner there! Metin served to us and he was a lovely guy,food was yummy!

Metin was amazing great place. Thank you

Nice atmosphere with great concept for the restaurant deco

Delicious food. Great music. Metin is the Goat.

Amazing service, really attentive and quick. The waiter Metin was able to recommend food on the menu which I thoroughly enjoyed!

Great food, great atmosphere, friendly staff. I will highly recommend. 5 stars. Thank you Mr. Meting. We will definitely come back

Really cool place that's gone through a nice refurb from what it used to be many years ago. Service is great, attentive. Charlie and the guys were great. If you're looking for tex-mex in town, this is a great option with something for everyone...surf n turf, full turf, mexican classics: fajitas, burritos, tacos, you name it! Also, fantastic selection of cocktails and drinks. They're very accommodating so if you need a non-alcoholic version, they'd be happy to sort it out!

Charlie is my friend is best Food is very good Thank you Charlie for your service

Had dinner at desperados again and didn't dissapoint. Reis did a great service and we loved his attitude. Me and my wife love this place. Great food, service and music.

Delicious food, best Mexican in town! Big thanks to Ryan our waiter, fantastic service all night! Best birthday ever!

Awesome food! Ryan is the best by the way ! 👍😄

Fantastic food and our server, Ryan was lovely

I love this place! Atmosphere, music and cocktails are really good! Also want to give a shout out to Reis, great service and attitude from his part. Awesome service!

Amazing food, really trendy interior. Charlie served us, was very quick, friendly, and paid great attention to detail.

The food and drinks here is so good we had the best time, would highly recommend! Charlie’s service was impeccable - he took great care of us. Thank you!

Charlie gave great service all evening. Would recommend 10/10 :)

The server charlie had exceptional customer service and the food was top notch

Charlie was our server he was great

Charlie was our server, excellent service and great food

Food was delicious, the spicy beef nachos were so good, and the lunch deal (£13) is really good for a starter and main. There was plenty of space, even close to Xmas on a weekend. Our waiter Charlie was lovely and knowledgeable. The bathroom art is interesting and surprising (if a little NSFW).

Great place to try Mexican cuisine with friendly staff, especially Charlie who took an amazing care of us. Lovely cocktails to enjoy with lovely food.

Great food, great cocktails. I would want to make this a place I visit more regularly but the devilish graffiti and designs clash with my morality and make extremely uncomfortable

Great experience and great service from Charly!

All ways love coming to desperados for the nachos and cocktails, Omar the waiter always makes me feels looked after, he’s a great guy

Omar is an absolutely fantastic waiter and very attentive to the tables needs. A lovely lunch 😋

Great food and brilliant hospitality. Omar is a top waiter there and always makes my visit a welcoming one. Definitely check out there food who don’t love a bit of tex mex. great service Omar thank you.!

So happy to be served by your staff especially Reis Such good manners and so helpful

Very welcoming and amazing waiters. I had Charlie specifically and he had a very high quality of service - would go again!

Fresh food and great service from Charlie!

Food was delicious and Charlie was a great server!

Great vibes, yummy food! Also wonderful service - very kind staff, especially Charlie! Thank you

Ryan was very attentive to us and made sure we had a great time at the restaurant, food was immaculate had great taste and texture, and as I mentioned before the service couldn’t have been better. Definitely would recommend

This is the best Mexican in London. Staff are super friendly & Reis is always going the extra mile to make sure everything is brilliant from start to finish. Great food, great hospitality Give it a go if your in Islington or visiting London

Delicious cocktails and food! Thank you Charlie for being so incredibly lovely and helpful 😊

I've had an amazing experience at this restaurant! The food is delicious, a perfect representation of what Mexican dishes are like. Charlie our server did a fantastic job, was helpful throughout our stay and didn't make us wait at all. Will be coming back again!

Tasty food and great atmosphere !! Very friendly service from Omar , thank you for your attention and time , we will be back

Food was amazing drinks are good sizes staff are pleasant omar served us and made sure made sure we had a great experience. 👍

The Servicepersonal Charlie did a really great job. We felt happy.

Service with Charlie was excellent. He was very attentive and friendly. He made sure to check in with us and always had a warm friendly smile.

Service was good Charlie our waiter was very professional and polite and the service was top by Charlie and thanks to the chef for the food too! 🙂

Good vibes in this place! Great night, lovely food! Our server, Omar, has added to it!

Omar has been a brilliant server and we have been having a great time at Desperados 👌🏼

This place is wonderful! Great food and such friendly staff, Omar was so lovely! 😁

Drinks and atmosphere amazing!!! Server Charlie was fab and so welcoming! We will be back🎉👍

Just came for some drinks and got some of the tacos. Both were very very nice. Received excellent service from Pablo and the other employees and they were very welcoming. Will be returning for sure!

Vibe and Service was great! Our waiter Charlie was the best!

Very nice lunch stop, were a family of 6 and they welcomed us with no issues despite no booking. Food is really nice, the portions are generous. A genuine taste of Mexico in the heart of Islington.

Was wonderful food and staff. Special thanks to Raeis who invited us from the street. He said it is the best Mexican food and it was!

STEER CLEAR. Price seemed ok (for London prices) when we sat down and ordered but things were not as they seemed. We ordered beef tacos and were surprised when we got something more akin to chilli con carne tacos - easy on the carne. They were average tasting at best but very greasy and again, significantly more bean than beef for 15 quid. I contemplated asking for the service charge to be removed from the bill but decided against it since it was the end of the night and they had at least been nice - seems like I avoided a fight based on all of the other reviews here. The service was decent but given that we were the only ones in the restaurant it would have been a feat had it not been.

Reis was a very good host! Thank to him! Very good first experience in this restaurant 😀

Very authentic Mexican food with amazing service by a young gentleman called “Reis” Will definitely be our go to place for Mexican in future

Had a great meal, nice cocktails and food. Our waiter, Ries, was very attentive

The only good point about desperado was the nice range of music. Food was huge let down. Doesn’t worth the price either. Unfortunately can’t recommend, won’t be back either.

Reis was very attentive!! Bloody delicious food!!! Will definitely be back!!

We both really N’joyed the food and the staff were very attentive and the biggest of thank you to Reiss for finding my hat n keeping it for me🙏

I have never had such delicious steak in my life highly recommend for all the steak lovers

i work there only 1 day, and i asked my money from pakistanian manager, he blocked me.

Great vibe, great food and Reis was a great server! Would 100% recommend and come back for more!

Such a wonderful restaurant! Inexpensive and the food quality is amazing. Reis (me and my sisters waiter for the night) gave us amazing service and made sure we was satisfied with the food and drinks that he served us. Definitely will come back! Drinks were really strong but not complaining cos they tasted really good!

Very very nice food and the staff was very kind would definitely come back and highly recommend

Very nice place, came here with my girlfriend and was welcomed by staff and food was amazing.

Best Mexican in Islington highly recommend

Love my jucy steak, better than steak house, recommend all. Crispy onion made my steak extra delicious

Cosy spot for cocktails and a meal. Staff were attentive but not overbearing. Food was tasty and the drinks were great too - try one of the frozen ones!! Would definitely recommend.

Arrived and was immediately interrogated by who I would assume was the manager for wearing a mask... then proceeds to ask me if I was sick and to remove my mask??? (I was absolutely NOT sick). Really unwelcoming, judgemental vibes. Just go to Wahaca! Will never go back.

Birthday drink, the waiter, when told, weakly said "Hapopy Birthday" 2 drinks with service charge, VAT etc came to £53 (I kid you not). Decor has seen better days and like the staff, is tired, boiring and Mayfair prices. Not recommended. I used to go here a lot but now with silly prices, dust in the lampshades and a desperado in need of oiverhaul of both premises and staff. Sad to see a once popping eaterie, drinkerie, go down hill x

I would NOT recommend this place under any circumstances. Firstly, the presentation of the food is extremely poor ( ugly ugly!) and it tastes just as unappetizing and disgusting. Secondly, I ordered enchiladas but received instead what it looked to me a burrito ( based on their description on the menu and to my knowledge). When I addressed the issue, the cook was called over to explain and clarify the plate situation and so he claimed that "tex mex food varies from place to place." This is very contradicting, considering their claim of serving "authentic Mexican food" ON THEIR DOOR. The cook clearly lacks knowledge or and cooking skills… Furthermore, the price was high for what we got, quality and service wise. Our bill was slightly over £100.00, while I could have enjoyed a much better meal at Chipotle for a much lower cost. I STRONGLY ADVISE YOU NOT TO GO! P.s The waiter was trying to be friendly tho.

I don’t recommend this place. The food was absolutely terrible. The cocktails were disappointingly watered down, not worth ordering. Even the nachos had that microwave look and taste. Avoid at all costs. Wish I had read reviews before going. Bad service and overpriced 👎

Had a wonderful experience here before we went to a gig the other night. We had two Mocktails and we had the bbq chops and Prawn cocktail. All the staff were very attentive and also very nice people. Would highly recommend this restaurant for food or drinks and great atmosphere.

Beautiful service ❤, lovely food too! Only thing table are very close to each other. Saying that the food and service makes up for it,really does! I've been to Desperados a few time's always a lovely experience ☺. Ps, they give you a Complimentary Tequila shot with was nice wasn't expecting it 😘

Really enjoyed the chicken fajitas my partner had the steak ones both delicious and we'll be back soo for more 😋

Absolutely terrible food. Food was not fresh, it tasted old and reheated. Pitcher of Margherita tasted as if it had no alcohol in it. Service was slow. Would not recommend.

Very average food. The only beer available is bottled (330mls) and they are all £7.20! Couldn’t believe my eyes.

Great food and lovely staff, thank you! We really enjoyed the chimichangas, guacamole and margaritas!

Nice Mexican restaurant made it special by our 2 servers Omer and Omar! They welcomed us on a very rainy day and made me and my gf date very special

Avoid! I wish I looked at the reviews before I went here. Terrible food, tasted and looked like it came straight from the microwave. The cocktails were watered down so do not get one.