Wahaca

Masterchef winner Thomasina Miers founded Wahaca with the proceedings of her victory several years ago, and the restaurant chain has become firmly embedded in the fabric of London restaurant culture. Serving up fresh, exciting plates of light and flavoursome Mexican food in a convivial and functionally stylish space, dinner here is a perfect blend between a focus on the delicious food and the buzzing atmosphere.

Diners can pick and choose from a range of street snacks – you can happily fill a meal just with these – or larger plates. Lovers of the old-school Mexican approach will be pleased to see crunchy, moreish taquitos (narrow flutes of tortilla filled with shredded meat or veg and fried) alongside the addictively diminutive tostadas (think mini-tacos and you won’t be far off). These round out a street food menu already bursting with soft, pliable tacos, oozingly rich quesadillas; fillings are perfectly seasoned and contrast mouthwatering savoury flavours with Mexico’s trademark lightness and zing, ranging from free-range chicken mole, slow-cooked pork and steak.

Vegetarians are generously catered for with offerings like fresh seasonal vegetables, trademark black beans and uncommon ingredients like slow-simmered cactus – the latter tastes far better than it sounds.

Bigger plates are on hand for larger appetites, and it’s fun to pick and choose contrasting starters with mains. The Yucatan-style pork pibil here is pretty good, and many of the mains are healthily grilled – steak and grilled fish complement the crowd-pleasing choice of burritos and hearty but fresh soups.

New and modern classics like fish tacos and huevos rancheros are pleasingly present, and a dessert of decadent churros rounds off a perfect meal. A good range of Mexican beers – Corona, Modelo and Pacifico – are available, along with a range of fresh fruit-based muddled drinks and a few decent tequilas.

Fun Fact: The name of the restaurant is a play on the name of a popular Mexican city directly south of the capital. Called Oaxaca and pronounced "Wahaca", presumably the restaurant's owners gave it the phonetic name for easier pronunciation.

Opening times: Monday - Saturday: 12:00 – 23:00, Sunday: 12:00 - 22:30