Wahaca Shoreditch in Hackney

I have to say up front, this review is biased. I have been to Wahaca restaurants in various parts of London and can say hand on heart this Mexican chain is excellent. And last night's experience here in Shoreditch (my first visit to this branch) was no exception. Fabulous food in the shape and taste of mouth-watering tacos, terrific beer - Modelo is world-fave for me (tho I prefer the Dark version over the light) - great service from Joao (thanks again Mr Brazil!) and a nice Dia de los Muertos atmosphere. Already looking fwd to my next visit to Wahaca wherever that may be!

Fantastic service, excellent food and great atmosphere!

First time at a Wahaca and definitely won't be our last. Absolutely lovely food and service. Thanks

Stephanie was our waitress tonight and was fantastic. So friendly and attentive, food was incredible. Very filling and fresh, great service and great drinks.

..but food is really tasty and service great. Bit noisy...as I'm getting on a bit

Such a lovely place Foods are awesome and unique in taste 😋

For me it's a 10; I entered this place because it caught my attention from the outside and the man who greeted me could not have been more friendly and pleasant. Your kindness and that of your colleagues have made my night. I ordered some tacos and a quesadilla and I loved them, as I also loved the pineapple and passion fruit cocktail, without forgetting the brownie for dessert which was spectacular. I'll be back!

João was very welcoming and friendly, would go back!

Great food and excellent service

Amazing food, exceptional service - Toby was brilliant!

The food, service and atmosphere are amazing. Such friendly staff. Tasty tasty food. Thanks you

I was getting home late and had been craving tacos ALL day! I really wanted the pork ones at Wahaca but was worried it was getting late and either they wouldn't be open and/or would have stopped serving by the time I got there. After checking they were still open til 10pm, I got there 09:28pm, expecting the staff to be tired from a long day's work and annoyed at this taco fiend strolling in late as asking for tacos! I could not have been more mistaken. From the moment I arrived and asked the very nice lady behind the bar (sorry I didn't get your name) if they were still serving (read as: I am DESPERATE for pork tacos!!), I was greeted with some of the BEST service I have had to date and in a long time. Everyone was so friendly and professional, chatty and accommodating without being overbearing, and made me feel welcome and at ease. Particular shout outs must go to Stephanie F who served me and was amazing and had great chat; her colleague Toby, who showed me to my table and was super nice and reassuring; and to the aforementioned lovely bar lady (apologies I didn't catch your name!) To your manager: this 5 star rating is totally down to you 3! I recently had surgery and haven't been able to socialise or go out as much as possible and am slowly dipping my toe back into doing so. So to come to Wahaca Shoreditch and have such as positive experience was a really boost and I thank you for that. As someone who waited tables last year at a fab restaurant in Angel, I know how much work goes into making the experience. Keep up the good work!

Toby C was a lovely server, very helpful and friendly. Food was great!

Great place and great food! Thank you João for your excellent customer service. I will definitely be back!

Very good meal. Service good for allergies but slow, there were 6 of us but couldn't eat at the same time.

I loved the food super recommended and the service from Santiago and Stephanie was wonderful and made my experience better

Go eat here! Food was absolutely delicious, staff very friendly and helpful, overall atmosphere was everything you want when craving yummy tacos and Mexican food

This place was delightful. Relaxed, excellent food and good beer. I had the guacamole, beef tacos and a gipsy hill pale ale. Service was very friendly and chilled.

Lukewarm, bland, sad food. Admire the founder but the food served was a world away from the vibrancy of food it surely is aspiring to be. Service very nice and attentive. Margs a bit on the sweet side but that's just personal preference. I've been told this is one of the "good" chain restaurants, so wanted to try. Disappointing for the price.

Amazing vegan menu, loads of options, including desert. Shout out to Joao for being an amazing waiter

Food and service were great a Toby was very helpful.

Ordered Wahaca board for one. Delicious, fresh and very pleasant eating. Washed down with a classic margarita as you do. (Margarita was exactly as it should be) Joao, my server was the most welcoming with his smile, attentiveness and cuteness. Great service, food and vibes. Lunch was absolutely perfect. Cannot recommend enough.

We have been to Wahaca many times, our favourite place to eat when in London, this was the first time at this branch! We had the ‘Favourites’ Menu. All lovely, brocolli underdone though but all flavours excellent.

Stephanie took amazingly excellent care of us

Food was awesome! Loved the Beef Gringa Tacos! My kids have gluten allergies and our server, Stephanie, was so nice and the manager, Raphael, came over to make sure everyone was taken care of. Came back two days in a row it was so good!! Highly recommend!

Came here with my partner. The food, service and drinks were amazing! Stephanie, the waitress, was very attentive and helpful with recommendations too.

Food is a good sustainable conscious mixture of Mexican food and local European ingredients that keep the Mexican flavors and elevate the dining experience. Toby was awesome and the Tiramisu was delicious.

Great food and service. thanks Toby for looking after us

Had a mix of vegan and vegetarian small plates and enjoyed. Their sauces are hot! Asked for normal mayo to try and cool down my tongue a bit but was advised they only serve spicy dishes and condiments. Was quiet when we visited but nice looking venue, friendly staff and plenty to choose from for veggies and vegans.

Had a mix of vegan and vegetarian small plates and enjoyed. Their sauces are hot! Asked for normal mayo to try and cool down my tongue a bit but was advised they only serve spicy dishes and condiments. Was quiet when we visited but nice looking venue, friendly staff and plenty to choose from for veggies and vegans.

Excellent food as always, thanks to the staff and thanks to Toby and co!

Food was good, the service was great, drinks we're good too. I really enjoyed the decor, especially downstairs.

Sam was great ! Thank you Very much the experience in Wahaca Shoreditch ! Would definitely recommend ! Food and service was amaaaaizng ! Thank you once again !!

Excellent birthday dinner meal, absolutely delicious and fresh! Sam, our server was very attentive and an absolute legend, big shout out to him

Good enough mexican food :) It is tasty for sure. And for a reasonable price. Also the location is amazing in an old building with its own atmosphere. But still something is missing, and aftertaste was not great to be honest

I was in London for vacation. Spent my first and last night here because I liked the Atmosphere. Staff is very friendly. Music is not overbearing loud. The passion fruit hibiscus drink is very delicious. Tacos were very spicy though. They don't accept cash.

Wonderful burrito! Great service from toby on the foot

Delicious food with great variety on the menu. Very friendly workers and effective service. We would repeat without hesitation.

Lovely service and vibes and food 🤍🤍 thank you

After a long day, my group of friends were looking for a filling dinner to recharge ourselves. We were not disappointed! When we arrived we were immediately seated and the food and drinks came out quickly. The service was very polite, friendly, and attentive. I had the slow cooked beef burrito and mojito. The flavors and seasoning of the burrito were amazing and I highly recommend it. Our only slight ding is that we wished more chips came out with the guacamole (there were four of us and the cup of tortilla chips was small). Otherwise, we loved the vibes and the food tasted great. If you are vegan or vegetarian they have a dedicated menu and each menu item identifies its environmental impact. Check it out!

We had a great experience. Our server Toby was excellent and the food was amazing. I enjoyed a vegan rainbow bowl and my wife loved the ancho chx tacos. We also loved the fresh juice, guacamole and chips and churros for dessert. Would definitely love to eat there again! Cheers

Absolutely fantastic customer service from Joao, backed up by truly delicious food. A really great place to eat

Mayna was so helpful when I asked about an intolerance menu and was fantastic throughout our lunch.

Went out to eat spontaneously - very tasty food and super nice service!!!

Fantastic service by the whole team but was swerved by João who was so helpful!

Mayra was lovely, had a great night.

10/10 food & drinks, Mayra was lovely 🥹

Amazing service with amazing food. Nice atmosphere, highly recommend 🙂.

Super tasty food, great flavors, the Mexpresso Martini was giving me a nice lil’ buzz and the service was excellent as well.

Great restaurant with absolutely incredible servers! I strongly advise you to go there!!!

the food is amazing and the staff are extremely kind. unforgettable experience.

Great food and service. Mega place.

Fantastic experience as always. Food and service cannot be faulted

Meal did not arrive, children had already finished. Terrible service

Worst service ever. Waiters have no sense that how to serve. Disgusting!!!

Great food, slow service (maybe understaffed)

The food was decent, but a small portion even for the “bigger plates”. I asked if they had any hot sauce to bring out with the dish and at the end they charged .75 for it which seems ridiculous, especially for Mexican food! They also added a “Discretionary Service Charge” to the bill when paying by QR code which they give you no option to modify.

Authentic Mexican food. Great atmosphere and amazing staff 😊

Good service provided by friendly staff. Food as always is good

Nice place for mexican food. Friendly personel

We had a great time here. Atmosphere was chill, cocktails were really nice and thr food (even though small portions) very tasty.

Eat here on a Saturday night during the pride weekend, so london was very busy everywhere. Sat outside, enjoying the nice weather, service was excellent, good excellent, would 100% eat here again.

The best customer service yould ask for. My friemd was unwell as Austin helped so much. Couldn't recommend enough

Excellent Mexican food. Our Waitresse Ellie was great: curteous, available to explain the system and dises and always with a smile.

Super tasty Mexico City nachos !

Really tasty mexican food and an awesome service! We recommend to Order a bunch of different tacos to try them all - comes perfect with the variety of salsas and a cold one 🍺 We recommend to check it out!

Super tasty Mexican street food. We ordered a variety of vegetarian dishes off the menu and everything served was fresh and tasty. Our personal favourite was the plantain tacos.

Great food. Atmosphere is also great. Cocktails are awesome. We took chicken burrito and chicken avocado quesadilla. Both were good. Tiramisu was very tasty as well. Recommend this place.

Won’t be returning. We wanted to stop for a quick margarita after a busy day and thought we would try this place as I had walked past a few times. When arriving we were told we could not just have a drink we would have to order food as well. I would have understood if the restaurant was busy however there was only 2 other tables in the whole of the restaurant and the rest empty including all of outside. We decided to stay and order some chips and Guac. The next disappoint was when I tried to order a margarita with mezcal as opposed to tequila and was told they couldn’t, in the servers defence he did ask the bar however was still told no with no rational as to why other than they just can’t. I explained that I was happy to pay extra but no it just wasn’t on the menu so they wouldn’t do it (there appeared to be some discussion over the fact there wasn’t a button on the till). The drinks were good Guac wasn’t particularly special. When the bill arrived there was added tax as well as tip and no option to remove, nowhere in the menu did it state the prices did not include tax as the majority of UK restaurants do. The staff were friendly and got the vibe they were just doing as told but the whole experience was poor and I now perhaps understand why they were empty.

Terrible customer service and small portions. Fix up!

I came on Sunday every thing was great thank you so much for this yummy food

£17 for a burrito, quite slow service, very loud music

Best vegan taccos I’ve ever had. Juicy, great flavors and it had strands like chicken does.

Food was OK. Drinks were good. I really liked the tiramisu

Outstanding service. My two daughters weren’t sure, but staff were superb!

Food here was great, everyone enjoyed it! Fortunately we got a table here, every other place nearby was too busy Our favourite was the crispy cauliflower bites followed by the sweet potato & feta taquito Recommended 👍

Food was good but nothing special. No draught beer either which wasn't great. Portion sizes were quite small for the price so I won't be returning

Yesterday evening these kind souls were able to accommodate our group of 16 without a reservation! Amazingly quick service and great food. Everyone was happy and I am super thankful, you made my birthday very special. Miracle workers for saving us with our last minute large table!

Great place for eating Mexican food and lots of options for vegetarians.

Pleasant surprise. We just sat for a quick lunch due to the nice outside seating, but we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food: aromatic, complex and with quality ingredients. Service was excellent!

Fantastic atmosphere! Exquisite food! Super friendly and professional staff!

We love this place for several reasons! Great tacos(beef and fish are our favorite), burritos, enchiladas, kid friendly(great kids menu for our little one) vibe, delicious starters(sweet potato taquito, guacomole), and perfect micheledas and amazing friendly service- very effective and smiley people:) what else do you need? I really don’t understand the bad reviews. We have been here at least 15 times by now and always had great food and service. Very successful version of mexican street food! Oh i also love the salsa trio, it is so scrumptious that we order each time!!

Sat outside Food good Service good

Perplexities across the board. Hospitality, food, service...invalid value for money. I would say we won't be returning.

Unable to provide a review, as every time I've been they have been closed, even though Google have said they are still open

Best place to eat, the food is so tasty and fresh, the staff is the best and the location looks impeccable.

So it’s nice. And the food is amazing. And we got fed. And the wine is nice. But the service is lacking the usual Wahaca magic. We only saw our waiter twice before we paid the bill. And the chips and guacamole turned up with the main food - would have preferred to nibble on it while choosing the rest of our food.

Ordered through deliveroo, guacamole with tortilla chips for £6.75, and voila, 8 chips arrived. Are you kidding me?

Service was excellent as was the food

Hadn't been in a while (since roughly 2018) as there are no Wahacas near where I live. Popped in and disappointingly found many of the great deals (Taco Tuesday) as well as some of the more unique soft drinks (a spicy cola) had been removed. The food menu appears largely unchanged though. The quality of the food was great and I personally found the portions satisfactory. However, for 3 small plates and an alcohol free drink, £29 was very expensive. I imagine the price rises and removal of deals are a result of post COVID inflation, making this restaurant a slightly more difficult choice in a quite saturated market of great independent tapas joints

I would recommend only ordering the tacos. The menus were quite expensive and not interesting at all. Tacos and guac are good but all the other dishes don’t really taste like anything. The location super cute tho, I just really don’t understand the playlist choice. Eating out on a nice evening with Bebe Rexha being blasted in your ears is not a pleasurable experience, jazz or house music (or anything else tbh) would’ve been much more appreciable. I will maybe comeback

We loved the place, the best Mexican I've ever eaten.

Great food as always. Our waiter Richard was really helpful and the food came out really quickly. The cocktails were also really good.

Tasty Mexican street food. One of the best guacamole I ever had.

The food was great, the service was quick and friendly, and prices were very reasonable. The restaurant looks nice but the music is from 10 years ago haha. Would come again!

I guess we took a chance given the quality of chain restaurants, especially Mexican ones, but it was really disappointing. Very expensive for what is essentially cheap street food. Completely destroying the principles. The sides came really early and nowhere near the time as the mains. If it was simply a case of food being brought out when ready like other restaurants, then this was not explained. They only brought out two very small tacos for £7.95, and there was barely any chicken whatsoever with the enchiladas. The rice and beans were served in a little ramekin. We were made to wait for quite some time to check if there was a table free, then taken downstairs where there were literally around 6 large tables free. My advice is to listen when someone says to avoid these places. The total bill came to over £90, and I felt completely ripped off.

Food was good and the initial service was good, but really rude staff on the door. Me and my partner went for lunch and whilst he was at the bathroom, I paid online using the QR code on the table and the service charge was automatically added to the bill (pretty standard). I did not want to pay service on this occasion as we popped in for some lunch and at the end of the day, it’s discretionary. There was no option on the app to remove the service charge, but there was the option to “split bill” in which you could input the amount to pay, so I input the amount of the bill minus service charge (a whopping £55 for lunch for two) and paid for our meal. We then went to leave, said thankyou to the staff, and as we went to walk out they said we hadn’t settled the bill. I said yes, I have paid for our meal minus the discretionary service charge? I was met with an extremely rude and attitude-filled response from the two men at the front desk. I can’t recall the exact wording, but something along the lines of oh you decided not to pay service, we can’t clear the bill, next time you need to tell us and some other comments I didn’t quite make out. The delivery of the comments was particularly rude and uncomfortable, and the pair were evidently very annoyed we did not pay service charge, and made us very aware of this and made us very very uncomfortable. I don’t appreciate being made to feel a certain way for not leaving a discretionary tip. I did not tip because service was just fine, it was only lunch, the whole restaurant had one other table in, and frankly I’m trying to save money and therefore don’t have to tip a restaurant who pays there staff very fair wages if I’m not in a financial position to do so?? I spent 4 years as a restaurant manager myself, which is why I was quite upset by my experience. It was unnecessary and a bad reflection of what is a restaurant with good food. My main point here is, if you would like to make such a big deal of the “inconvenience” by not paying DISCRETIONARY service when using the QR code, please make an accessible option to remove the service- don’t just make it so awkward and difficult that we feel compelled to pay it

First time being here so didn't have any expectations. Table water tasted absolutely vile but cocktails and food was good. We were left alone for most of the visit but chased after as we were completing the QR payment which was slightly embarrassing but was ok.

Solid margaritas as always and the service was very warm and welcome. We only had nachos which were a bit underwhelming but not bad.

Fresh tacos made with passion. Authentic mexican taste with fresh meat and ingredients. A best choice for mexican cusine in shoreditch.