Thomasina Miers’ once-revolutionary street-food spot celebrates two decades with a thoughtful winter menu refresh. Ollie Pickup revisits a former date-night favourite, this time with wife and children in tow…
Twenty years ago, Thomasina Miers opened the first Wahaca in London’s Covent Garden, bringing the flavours of Mexican street food to a London audience more familiar with fajita kits (and there is nothing wrong with them) than proper pozole.
I remember those early days fondly. The original restaurant became my go-to spot for dates with prospective girlfriends, its vibrant atmosphere and accessible prices offering the perfect combination of fun, impressive and unpretentious. Some of those dates went better than others, but Wahaca never let me down.
So when the chain’s PR team invited me to try some new specials introduced this January, I responded with the enthusiasm of Speedy Gonzales (or “The Fastest Mouse in all Mexico” for younger readers unfamiliar with the Looney Tunes character). This time, though, I took my wife, one of those dates who stuck around, and our two children to the Waterloo branch, marking our 12th wedding anniversary with a family meal rather than a candlelit twosome.
A sandwich board outside the restaurant set the tone for what was to come. “This is not a soup and a sandwich,” it declared, before explaining that it was, in fact, slow-cooked pork pozole bone broth with a three-cheese quesadilla for dunking. The playful confidence felt very Wahaca, a brand that has always understood how to communicate without taking itself too seriously.
The pozole proved to be the star of the afternoon. This traditional Mexican soup arrived as a clear, golden bone broth studded with white corn kernels and tender shreds of slow-cooked pork, topped with lime-marinated cabbage, chunks of creamy avocado, and paper-thin radish slices that added a peppery crunch. Light yet deeply warming, it carried gentle heat from chilli and garlic without overwhelming the delicate broth. The optional three-cheese quesadilla transformed the dish from restorative to uber-satisfying: there is something almost primal about dunking crisp, molten-centred triangles of cheesy tortilla into a bowl of steaming soup on a grey January day. I found myself scraping the bowl.
The Caramelised Veg & Macadamia Tacos offered a different kind of pleasure. Marked on the menu as “Tommi’s Fave”, a nod to Miers, whose new book Mexican Table provided the recipe for the macadamia nut mole, these vegan soft corn tacos came loaded with organic Riverford roasted carrots, leeks and cherry tomatoes. The mole, rich and earthy with a subtle sweetness from the nuts, tied everything together. It is the sort of dish that makes you forget you are eating something virtuous.
On the drinks front, I opted for the new Mini Non-Alc Trio, which offered taster-sized servings of three alcohol-free cocktails. The Cucumber, Jalapeño & Basil Smash was the clear winner for me: refreshing and bright with just enough chilli heat to remind you this is Mexican-inspired drinking. The Blackberry Sour brought a pleasing sharpness, while the Pineapple & Passion Fruit Picante delivered tropical sweetness. My wife tried the limited-edition Rhubarbarita, a seasonal riff on the classic margarita with freshly juiced rhubarb and a playful rim of crushed rhubarb-and-custard sweets. She pronounced it “excellent”.
The children, meanwhile, made swift work of the churros before I could secure a single warm stick. Their verdict, delivered through mouthfuls of crisp, sugar-dusted dough and chocolate sauce, was emphatic approval. I managed to sample the new Warm Chocolate and Pecan Cake, though only just; my family descended upon it with spoons before I could properly assess the toasted sesame and ancho sugar elements. What I tasted was dense, rich and satisfyingly bitter-sweet. A new frozen flight of tequila-spiked ice creams and sorbets remains on my list for a return visit.
The atmosphere at Wahaca Waterloo felt reassuringly familiar – the same cheerful bustle, the same colourful interiors, the same sense that you are eating well without spending a fortune. In many ways, the brand has stayed true to its original promise. I did notice that the little packets of chilli seeds they once handed out seem to have disappeared, which felt like a minor loss. But the food remains vibrant, the service friendly, and the prices reasonable for central London.
Two decades on, Miers’ creation continues to do what it has always done well: deliver genuine Mexican flavours in a setting that works equally for date nights and family celebrations. The specials, which will be available throughout February and into March, suggest a kitchen that understands both comfort and restraint: nourishing broths for those seeking something lighter, plant-based options that actually satisfy, and enough indulgence to reward anyone who has abandoned their New Year’s resolutions. Count me among them.
Wahaca has several branches across London including Covent Garden, Oxford Circus, Waterloo and the Southbank, as well Brighton, Edinburgh and Cardiff. For more information, including details of the new menu, please visit www.wahaca.co.uk.