Homies On Donkeys in Waltham Forest

We visited Homies on Donkeys with a few friends and had a lovely time. Although we definitely over-ordered, we thoroughly enjoyed most of what we tried. The atmosphere was lively and welcoming, and our waitress was fantastic — friendly, attentive, and really added to the relaxed vibe of the evening. The table was a little on the small side, which made things a bit tight once all the food arrived. It’s clear they’ve tried to make the most of the space, but it did feel a little cramped at times. As for the food, the tacos were good — generously filled and packed with flavour, which I really appreciated. My only small comment would be that there was a lot of herbs and salad piled on top, which sometimes distracted from the main ingredients of the taco itself. Overall, a great spot for casual dining with friends — fun, vibrant, and full of character.

Food was unreal, the refried beans are a must

Huge, filling tacos. Fair price. Haven't had this good Mexican in a long while. Drinks are fair also.

We come here because of social media reviews. Friday night- busy, so best to book. Great vibe. Cool thought through graffiti interior. Tentative staff We had Refried beans and guacamole sides. They come with lots of nachos the bean sounds boring but it was smokey & tasty. The best main was the Chicken taco, Nicely cooked and side of asparagus was fab . Only negative - Unfortunately the tuna & broccoli tacos were ridiculously over salted , I couldn’t eat the tuna ( partner pushed through ) but I sent the broccoli back as it was inedible. The pear tart with cream was naughty ! The Spicy margaritas could be addictive. The Mexican beer was nice & reasonably priced. If in the area and you want relaxed family/ fun group dining this would be a good option Just one piece of advice - To provide antibacterial/hand wipes to start. Promoting no cutlery is fun. We started to tuck in when I realised as I was licking my fingers & how grim that was after just getting off the tube! Bill £76 for two , after x2 broccoli tacos and a beer was taken off the bill ( thank you) I’d recommend ☺️

Had to wait over an hour for food which was unacceptable. At best it was mediocre. Seems the place did not live up to the hype surrounding it. Extremely disappointed as was out for a celebration. We complained and was offered a tiny bowl of tortillas. Then they had the audacity to add service to the bill!! Won’t be coming back. Toilets also filthy, stunk and had urine all over the floor. We didn’t use as so bad and just left! 🥲

Really fresh tasting and interesting flavours. Good selection of specials to keep it varied. Reasonable prices for what you get.

If you follow Homies on Donkeys on Instagram you can see how much love, passion and science goes into the food. The range of tacos on the menu is impressive and make sure you check out the specials. Big flavours. Highly recommended.

Tasty food. Good selection. Staff were friendly and helpful.

The absolute best tacos and phenomenal service. The second you finish one order they bring the next one out!

Fantastic Mexican food, but so very cold and drafty inside.

Great food, great service, cool atmosphere !

Food there were amazing, and Nuno was really welcoming and has shown us what is top services

Great meal ,lovely Mexican dishes cooked very well at decent prices.

Serving staff and food and margaritas were all excellent.

Went for lunch today, with my dog. First thing I was offered was a menu. I was left alone for the full meal. Plate was taken silently. Food was lovely - all good untill I went to pay. I asked for the compulsory service charge to be removed as the service had not been that good. 'youre taking money out of my wages!!'. We are not American, tipping should be for good service.

Who knew that refried beans could be that good!!! Whow the food was awesome - every dish a stunner!!! Thanks for a top evening!

Atrocious service. The front staff lady pretty much lied to my face about being busy (I was with my daughter) to just hear a few minutes later that friends were allowed in without a reservation.

Fantastic food! Our favourites include the mushroom, pork and prawn. Refried beans and guac also very tasty and we’d get again. Service however isn’t warm. All the table staff were cold and did not seem happy to be there, we felt unwelcome. Music also very loud.

Amazing food and great atmosphere.... highly recommend it

I don’t know who thought it was a good idea to put a DJ in a restaurant but it makes for a very frustrating dining experience. No one can hear each other over the music. The food and the decor are loud enough; with the music on top of this, it just feels like an assault on the senses. Such a shame, we’ve been on a weekday before and it was much more chill. The food is great (the carnitas tacos are delicious! And corn ribs and the refried beans). The cocktails are great. But this experience really put us off coming again.

Almost can't be faulted. Shame the music was too loud. My young granddaughter kept putting her fingers in her ears.

Tacos, vibes and margaritas A must visit you won’t be disappointed

Loved the food here! You must get the broccoli tacos who knew they would be so good in tacos! We used a deal to get 50% off so only spent around £20-30 each. Not sure if it’s worth paying full price as it can be quite pricey. However I did leave very full! Probs over ordered with 3 types of tacos (6) and guac (also very yum)! Service could be a bit better, we went at lunch and staff were a bit slow at cleaning our tables and removing dishes

If you live your Mexican cuisine and tacos this is the place to be. Absolutely insane tacos, one of the best experience in east london. Visited for lunch with my partner and we absolute loved it. We had the pleasure to be served by Kelsie who has very helpful and nice to us from the beginning . We had the chicken barbacoa, camaron enchilado, picanha (our favourite), and the bone narrow. We will be back to try the rest of the tacos. Until next time amigos!!

One of the best taco places in London. Great tacos, authentic salsas (try the salsa macha) and I love the Mexican drinks they offer (horchata) which you can’t find at many other Mexican places in London.

Great food, good atmosphere, great price

Very oily food, meat and vegitarian oprion, Also two things we ordered were wrong and one never turned up.

Really good food. It’s a shame you have to pay extra for a selection of salsa and hot sauces, this should really be complimentary in a Mexican restaurant.

Don't order sent cold sandwich chicken and tomatoes in a soggy wrap, carne was slop chicken pink inside and covered in Frank's hot sauce.

Great mexican place. Very cool vibes and attentive staff. Delicious food, would come again!

Really nice vibe and great fresh and flavoursome flavours. The tuna and prawn tacos are my favourites and I am not normally that into seafood! The only downside was my housemates weren't happy with the amount of rum in the cocktails. I however am not a big fan of alcohol or it's aftereffects so the great taste worked for me for the most part!

Went on a Friday afternoon at just after 2pm and didn’t receive any food for about an hour - we were quite disappointed with how slow the food came out, as it didn’t feel that busy in the restaurant. The food, however, was delicious when we received it - shared a selection of tacos and potatoes and enjoyed every dish.

Had a fantastic, delicious dinner here with the loveliest service! The vibe and decor of the restaurant was immaculate and so much fun, and I also loved the fact that all toilets had sanitary products 🥺🫶🏽 Would love to see some fish tacos on the menu in the future… 👀 Will 100% be back!

The food was super tasty, the broccoli tacos in particular were insanely good. Service was friendly and good buzzy atmosphere. Top marks all round

The tacos were delicious, but leave some time for your visit. We arrived and ordered at just after 2pm; the place was busier than expected, but still only at about 60% capacity. We settled the bill an hour later - and before the last of our two ordered tacos arrived. I'd unhesitatingly return with a group of friends for a relaxed and light meal - the venue is great, prices were very fair, and the birria in particular was excellent - but it's not a quick option. It struck me as odd given the limited menu, but the quality was there in the end.

Very tasty food and environment, cocktails were great too.

Tasty tacos in a funky, lively atmosphere. Really enjoyed the prawn and chicken tacos, but the best were the beef tacos, which were so delicious I ate them before taking a pic, lol

Best modern Tacos in London, hands down!

My hopes were high for Homies on Donkeys, but I was left a bit disappointed. I live in Dalston so maybe I'm a bit spoiled when it comes to tacos. I tried the chicken, bavette, birria and carnitas. A friend had the mushroom and quesadillas. All portion sizes were really good but we found all the flavours to be uninspiring and a little bland. The birria weren't even proper birria tacos which was really disappointing (I'd been really looking forward to these). The refried beans were good at least. If I'd not had better and more interesting flavour combinations locally and over in the US I may have thought that this was really good, sadly this isn't the case. Service was slow and we were hurried off our table, so at least that bit was more similar to the better taco places I've tried. 🤣🤣🤣

Great service and even better food

Everything with Chilli. I love spicy food but everything was overwhelmed by chilli.

This place used to be a very convenient and popular Chinese buffet, with mountains of good food for cheap, before Brexit and Covid forced it to close. Since then, we have seen several incarnations, all carrying the same furniture, lifted from a disused kindergarten by the sight of it. And the sight of it it is, because during daytime this is a dead spot, adding nothing useful to our high street. What it adds is a bunch of uncohering, garish colors, in an awkward bid to replicate the hip bits of Hackney. Geometric wall painting (straight lines in aqua and orange — that was easy, huh?) clashes with "old-school graffiti art" on the board and shutter, about as fancy as sleeping rough by the train tracks. A perfectly nauseating mix with the aforementioned furniture. As for the service, I don't know. I wouldn't want to go in and sit on a kid's chair, and play "assemble your hip food" on an ashtray sized table if they paid me.

A restaurant where you can enjoy very good tacos. The atmosphere is nice and the staff attentive to your requests is pleasant. Remember to make a reservation if you want to eat there because this restaurant is very popular.

Excellent freshly cooked food! The service was second to none and the cocktail list superb!

food was unreal, best tacos ive ever had, all amazing flavours all stuffed full of fillings

Full of flavour. Been 3 times always tasty. Can’t wait to visit again 😋😋

Quirky restaurant with good service. Meat eaters enjoyed their tacos but the veg versions were disappointing. The mushroom taco had whole mushrooms (why not slice them?!) which were tricky to eat and just not very enjoyable. The broccoli taco was better but still broccoli in a taco 😆Also, where’s the protein?! Tofu or soya alongside veg would be a suggestion. I’d return but would love to see some changes to the veg menu

The food is mostly good, but the "side order" of frijoles was so tiny as to be both insulting and comical (see photo). London prices, but it's London!

The food was delicious, after I removed the coriander that I’m allergic to from the dish. Usually I would lose my ISH over this. I had to remove it with my fingers because no cutlery is allowed… I like the no cutlery thing but at the same time I like to have a utensil to organise my food with, so that was a little annoying. Didn’t love the pulling of the fat off the chicken with my fingers either. Seat was extremely uncomfortable. People were very nice. A little on the expensive side but delicious still.

Disappointing and Overrated We visited this hip Mexican restaurant with high hopes, given all the rave reviews, but unfortunately, it didn’t live up to the hype. Pros: • The non-alcoholic margarita was refreshing, and the baked jalapeños were enjoyable. • Nice decor and a cool ambiance. Cons: • The guacamole was watery, lacking the fresh texture and flavor we expected. • The mushroom tacos were a major letdown – the taste was off, and they had an unpleasant smell. Tacos should be easy to get right, but these were so bad we couldn’t even finish them. • My friend’s cheese quesadilla was soaked in oil. Despite using multiple napkins to blot it, it was still too greasy to enjoy. In the end, we left half the meal untouched and paid £45. We felt like this place is just catering to the “hipster” vibe without delivering on authentic Mexican flavors. If you’re after real Mexican food, I’d suggest looking elsewhere.

First visit to the restaurant but certainly not the last, we visited on a Sunday (when they are normally closed) for their "Dia de los Muertos" celebrations. Fantastic atmosphere, with exceptionally friendly and knowledgable service. The taco's are superb, very generous portions, great value for money, the special Tamales were exceptional. Highly recommend.

Amazing meal here on a Friday night. The tuna taco was one of the best things I've eaten this year and the broccoli was a close second. Drink options were on point, the pear and vanilla tart was the cherry on top. Our host David was great and we felt well looked after. Will 1000% be back

loved the food and service at this place in the past, but unfortunately, the standards seem to have slipped. Speaking as an American with a solid background in Mexican cuisine: Pros: • Great location, friendly service, and stylish decor. Cons: 1. Margaritas: I’ve yet to find a place in Europe that serves a truly good margarita, and my visit to Hommies on Donkeys yesterday didn’t end my search. 2. Food Quality: The ingredients, like the steak and chicken, were generally solid. However, the prawns seemed frozen, and the food was overly salted, overwhelming the actual flavors. The red sauce, which covered the food, didn’t add much besides more salt. The carnitas, in particular, were so salty that I could barely taste anything else. I forced myself to finish them since they cost £10. 3. Value for Money: It’s a bit pricey for what you get—£10 for two very small but nicely stuffed tacos. That’s tolerable, but charging £5 for just a few small thimbles of hot sauce seems excessive, especially for a taco-focused place where sauces should come standard. Also, the added service charge felt unnecessary given the high prices. Leaving the place, I felt disappointed and as though I didn’t get my money’s worth. Three people, three small plates each, and three margaritas came to a total of £150—for salty food and three salty customers. Note to the chef: please taste the food before serving.

THIS IS FOOD!!! Wow, the best meal I’ve had in ages - menu is thoughtful and unique with exciting flavour combos. Me n my partner went for our anniversary celebration and had a dreamy time in taco heaven. David was a brilliant host and guided us through the experience with care and confidence - they recommended the Tunita Pibil - SO TASTY. It was a braised tuna with pineapple habanero, the perfect balance of spicy n sweet. 10/10 drinks selection, they had jarritos cola which is the best cola and can be hard to find. Plenty of non alcoholic options too - I’m sober and their non alcoholic margarita made with home made ‘tea-quips’ was super fun. Finished the meal with a pear n vanilla tarte tatin with mascarpone. Fluffy pastry n bangin flavours All the team were attentive n knowledgeable. Playlist was vibey too, enjoyed the ska/halloween vibes into 90s rnb!! Must must must visit 💜

Get the carnitas! Some of the best tacos in London, certainly worth the trek out to leytonstone :)

So damn good! The food is ridiculous. I had the two vegan options and my friend had a beef and a pork, I think. We were both blown away. Lovely staff and a fantastic soundtrack of Hieroglyphics and other excellent mid/late 90s hip hop. Also, dogs are welcome, which is always hugely appreciated. Highest recommendation.

Great flavours and nice atmosphere!

Excellent food, everything was delicious. Would 100% go back. Would pre book though as it was very packed.

The food was absolutely amazing! But the manager Rhiannon was so warm and welcoming and made the experience of dining in so much better. She was amazing from start to finish! She made sure we was okay from when we stepped in! Don’t lose this girl! She made the whole experience worthwhile and we will be back!

Homies on Donkeys I’ve been to an amount I cannot count. It’s amazing authentic Mexican food, I’d highly recommend the salsa tasting platter to go alongside whatever tacos you get! If you’ve not been here, you really have to come and try it. It’s one of the only taco places in London I’ve been to that actually gives you a good amount of filling in the taco, rather than it being more tortilla than filling! They are dog friendly too which is always a major plus for us.

Had a birthday dinner for 12 people here and it was amazing - delicious food and plenty of it, great service and good vibes.

We were really happy with the portion sizes - not stingy with the tortilla chips and the tacos were filled generously. Everything tasted amazing as expected - I was quite surprised by how good the tuna was. Fantastic service from Dom - Thank you

Very tasty indeed, lovely staff, and halfway through the meal I realised a People Under The Stairs quote was painted on the wall in front of me, which made me very happy!

A great addition to Leytonstone - really good Mexican tacos 🌮 and more, with lots of space, very funky designs, and some really good booths for groups to sit in. We ordered three sets of tacos between two of us - tacos come in sets of two, so six tacos in total. The food was delicious and arrived quickly. Maybe the tuna could have been better presented - we expected slabs, but the meat was actually broken into fibres, like the pork ones. This is a minor quibble though - looking forward to going again!

Delicious tacos and great vibes. Reasonably priced too.

A lovely local place with some tasty dishes

Perfect. Fantastic tacos. 10/10

My favourite taco place in London! The staff are SO friendly, the food is impecable and reasonably priced, and the portion sizes are perfect. I’ve been three times without booking and luckily they’ve always managed to seat us without too much of a wait. Couldn’t recommend Homies On Donkeys enough.

Definitely the best mexican restaurant in London

Delicious food and drinks. Friendly service with excellent value for money!

Great Mexican restaurant in the middle of Leytonstone High Road. The special Tuna was the star of the show. Very generously filled tacos and tasty cocktails. Staff were attentive and gave good advice on the food. Vibe was fun, but the restaurant was a little loud for my taste. Would absolutely recommend it.

Great tacos But unfortunately service could’ve been much much better. Had to wait for ages to simply get water, wine we finished out water we couldn’t get anyone’s attention to refill it. When asked for the bill we had to wait another 15min to pay for the bill. Very unusual as it wasn’t even a busy day. Made out experience not as pleasurable

Food is delicious but the portions are insanely small for their price; we should have ordered at least 3 times the amount to feel full. The place is cool, maybe a little childish interiors with all the graffiti but that’s personal taste. Also when we were there they only played rap music which I find very annoying, mostly while I’m trying to eat.

The food and drink lives up to the great reviews. If you can handle spicy I would highly recommend the roasted jalapeños. Everyone enjoyed their tacos- so much flavour and choice (good for veggies and vegan too)- the salsa tasting platter is a must. Margarita and drinks menu is extensive and tasty (recommend the spicy margarita or mezcalita). The atmosphere is cool but we were in a booth and it was probably a bit small for the whole party. Service- we had one 11/10 server who was attentive and friendly and helpful considering some of the party were late, however another server- not so much so… I would 100% return as there is so much to try!

Surprisingly busy for a Thursday lunchtime. We were first in but the restaurant soon filled up. Service was bit slow with only one waitress covering the entire restaurant. The Bavette Steak taco was ok; the steak was lovely medium rare but it needed a bit more spice/seasoning. The Bone Marrow and Braised Chuck was excellent and definitely worth going back to get this again. The Tunita Pibil was actually very flavoursome but the cooked tuna texture wasn’t my liking but that’s a personal preference and it still tasted great. Portions size were deceptive and enough to fill us up with just one main (2 tacos each). Wanted to eat more but had no room left. Need to go back again perhaps in the evening when I can imagine the atmosphere would be more lively.

Really tasty food. Loved the corn ribs and the king prawn taco. Everything was fresh. Cocktails looked great too although I only had their draught lager. Can’t wait to go again!

Some of the best tacos I’ve ever had in London. Really authentic flavours, great range of salsas, excellent cocktails and just a great vibe all round

Fine. Ok. Didn’t meet high expectation having heard great things. Have been to Mexico several times and cooked our Mexican food quite often. This wasn’t better. I want to like this place so we may well revisit.

Service and atmosphere were nice. Beef and Chicken Taco were fine but nothing special. Quesadilla had an artificial tasting cheese on it. Guacamole like a smoothie consistency but the tortilla chips were great.

We came to Homies on donkeys for an evening meal with friends it is located in the middle of Leytonstone and had a very cool atmosphere. The staff were friendly and attentive, with them taking our food and drinks orders promptly. The tacos were very tasty with a generous amount of fillings in each taco the pulled pork filling and prawn tacos, both tasting particularly good! Negatives are that although the margaritas tasted amazing, the old fashion was quite watered down, and the menu I felt that the menu lacked additional options for food outside of the Tacos.Would recommend this to anyone in the area who is a fan of mexcian food but in particular Tacos.

Nice enough spot with cute decor and ok food but the service was sub par, staff didn't ask us for any drinks orders after the first round, were clearing the restaurant around us whilst we were still eating, including putting chairs on top of tables, at 9:30pm, felt like they couldn't wait for us to leave, despite the restaurant closing at 10pm. Think it's lost it's Wood Street charm,

Great cocktails. Great service. Great food. Great atmosphere. Really enjoyed it.

Was here yesterday. Booked a table of 3. 2 of us got there 20 minutes early, and as it was quiet at the time (18:10 on a Tuesday) the assistant happily allowed us to be seated and wait. We ordered a couple of drinks while waiting. The food was Amazing (so amazing, we ordered Extras) and the Service was second to none. Had a good time dining here, and would definitely be returning at some point :)

Everything was really good. Our Waitress Ayesha was so professional that we were astonished she had never waited on tables before. The only criticism I have was about the gender neutral toilets. As with all places that have these, there was "wet" on the floors from bad aiming and they smelt. I would prefer there to be men and women with a separate gender neutral toilet in ALL restaurants. Otherwise top marks.

A bit pricey, but you get what you pay for. I say that the prices are fair because they make the best tacos in London hands down. Authentic, real Mexican food in London. I wouldn't have believed it if you told me. I live in the NW, and I still make the 3 hour roundtrip to eat here. If you like actual spicy, their habanero sauce is on point.

All I can say is: 1000% worth the hype! Veggie options superb!

Very nice tacos and brilliant service, would have liked a bit more food for the price but what we had was delicious!

Overall the margarita was over limey (too much lime) food was good carnitas was terrible along with the re-fried beans, bavette steak and birria 10/10 wait time not very good 35-40mins for 3 tacos dirty water bottle served to us server changed it quickly but overall service was mediocre 👎🏽

Thank you to our waitress Ayesha, she was so friendly and helpful. Food was amazing. My boyfriend said the tacos were better than the ones he had in Mexico. Will defo be coming back!

Delicious tacos and lovely service. Loves that it was dog friendly too

Friends suggested this place given the reviews and hype. The tacos were actually incredible- and I wasn’t convinced i could be so moved by them but I was. Service great. Restaurant is noisy even when not too busy.

Simply the best tacos in London. There is no competition. The bone marrow taco is something you will always remember and comes with 4 corn tacos. I will be back!

Heard such good things about this place and it definitely didn’t disappoint. We have been to countless Mexican/taco restaurants/food trucks all over the country and these are some of the best we’ve ever tried. So much filling, full of flavour and good option of non alcoholic drinks including a very different (but amazing) spicy sour cherry, almond and vanilla slush that comes in a cocktail glass 🌶️🍸

Food was pretty good but it was a bit of an awkward service. One dish came out almost too quickly and on its own. It felt like the dish was sitting there waiting to go. I wouldn’t go here for a dinner where you want to sit and talk, I would go here if I needed a quick bite. Not sure I’d go again

The best mexican restaurant I've ever been to. I keep coming back despite living over an hour away in Kent! Love these guys. Great food, great staff, great atmosphere.

I've been frequenting HoD for a number of years and absolutely LOVE the new restaurant. Chef Smokey is simply a genius. With his Innovative tacos as well as homemade drinks. And yes of course the brilliant reviews it receives is well deserved. My particular favourites are the bone marrow ans steak tacos, as well as their vegan Soy al pastor. And the refried beans!! They are just sublime. The atmosphere is brilliant with the LA decor vibes and the music is hopping. Bravo! May you long prosper

Tacos are cocktails were amazing. Would definitely go back.

All tacos are of a decent size, but their star dish is the beef platter with bone marrow, if nothing else, get this! It's sumptuous and moreish! An extra star for this alone! Service was good too.

Honestly everything tasted the same. A thick greasy red sauce dominated every dish and completely ruined the probably good ingredients (ie the bavette). Really disappointing. And the guacamole was like something out of a jar. Not a single fresh taste on anything.

Genuinely the tastiest tacos I’ve tasted in London. Walked in without a booking on a busy Saturday evening, and luckily was still able to be seated. We ordered a mixture of the small plates (guac and the roast potatoes) and then a selection of meat and seafood tacos. Everything tasted stunning, and am already thinking about my next visit *drools*.