(Complimentary meal for the purpose of review - see disclaimer)
I've never been a huge fan of Mexican food, I don't mind an El Paso kit on a Friday night but that's usually my limits, Arran, however, loves it so over the years I've had to accept him and his love for nachos, enchiladas, tacos and more. We first visited Wahaca last year in the early stages of my pregnancy and I hated it, nausea and tacos aren't a match made in heaven so when Wahaca recently introduced a new menu and invited me back, I thought why not?! And do you know what? I loved it! You can imagine the smile on Arran's face when I told him.
I headed into Wahaca Southampton a few days ago, the sun was shining, it was 27 degrees and I was in desperate need of a cool refreshing drink. We were seated outside in a lovely shady spot and promptly ordered mojitos before browsing the new menu. The new look menu was introduced at the beginning of July and features a range of healthy and vegetarian dishes plus some exciting dishes direct from the test kitchen in Shoreditch.
After our lovely server explained the menu, Bex and I then had the task of actually choosing what to eat, with so many delicious dishes on offer, it was hard! We were recommended the set menus which you can share between two people and includes a range of dishes from across the street food menu.
We started with some of the new nachos from the nibbles menu. The nachos with chorizo, house salsas, melted cheese, tomatillo & avocado dressing were so good! A hint of spice and the perfect size for two as a starter and only £5.75. I might try and re-create these at home.
We decided on the Favourites set menu as well as some extra street food dishes on top that we really want to try. The favourites menu serves two and costs £35.50 or £17.75 each.
Favourites set menu
Devon crab & avocado tostadas
Chorizo empanadas
Sweet potato & feta taquito
Pork pibil quesadilla
Buttermilk chicken tacos
Mexican grilled corn
Grilled tenderstem broccoli
We also added
Pea, ricotta & mint tostada with habanero dressing on a crisp blue corn tortilla
Duck croquetas, crispy duck & sweet potato balls with smoky hibiscus & chipotle salsaGrilled chicken & avocado with ancho rub, guacamole & green tomatillo salsa
All the dishes came out as they were ready which I liked, it meant we could work our way from dish to dish tapas style which is my favourite way to eat. We started with the grilled tender stem broccoli and pork pibil quesadilla. The quesadilla was so yummy and it's going to be one of the first things I order next time. Before we knew it, the dishes kept coming and we were soon in a happy Mexican food bubble trying yummy tostadas and soft tacos.
Everything was cooked perfectly, the meats were really delicious and the presentation was an Instagram addict's dream. Got to get the foodie photo for the 'gram right?!
Out of all the dishes, there was only one I wasn't sure about and that was the sweet potato & feta taquito which is odd as I usually love both, I have no real complaint other than it wasn't for me. I surprised myself with how much I loved the mix of flavours, colours and spices. Bex loved the buttermilk chicken tacos whereas the grilled chicken and avocado was my favourite. The chorizo empanadas were the perfect mix of filling to pastry and they worked perfectly with the crushed new potatoes & tomatillo salsa, it looks grim but tastes amazing.
By the time we were done, I had a Mexican food baby but it was totally worth every bite.
It's not a Mexican feast without tequila right?! I chose one of their dessert tequilas to have alongside churros and let's just say, I can't take my tequila like I used to be able to. I had the Villa Lobos extra añejo with aromas of sticky toffee, buttery toast, and maple. I had a sip and promptly poured it into my mojito. It was sweet, fragrant but still tequila and not something I could leisurely sip.
The churros however were incredible! We had them with the rich chocolate sauce as well as the dulce de leche and they were perfectly crisp, soft inside and delicious.
I had such an enjoyable evening at Wahaca and I'm definitely a convert, so much so Arran and I are going back on Thursday for a date day with the little one!
What do you think of Wahaca? What's your favourite dish?
