I’d never heard of Cafe Pacifico until last week but now I’m so glad I have. A Mexican restaurant situated in the heart of Covent Garden, just near Pineapple studios and next to Foundation Bar, Cafe Pacifico is London’s first Mexican cantina and opened back in 1982. Serving a selection of modern and authentic mexican food cafe it’s easy to see why it was packed out even on a Wednesday evening. Thanks to the lovely people at Zomato I was fortunate to head down to Cafe Pacifico and sample some of their cocktails and delicious food.

As I entered the restaurant/bar I was handed a refreshing mojito which was soon followed by a talk about the history of Cafe Pacifico and some of their tequilas. Whilst listening we were given samples of their Mexican Fare and Mescal , the latter of which is a distilled alcoholic beverage made from the maguey plant native to Mexico. I could smell this drink before I even held it, it is extremely smoky and very flavoursome but also quite difficult to swallow when drinking on its own. To accompany our drinks we had plain nachos with refried beans, guacamole to dip them into which was soon followed by shrimp, pork and beef tacos as well as scallops that were embedded in a tomato and tequila sauce. The food highlight of the night was definitely the fajitas. Severed sizzling on their plates we had three options of chicken and chorizo (Yum!), beef (absolutely delicious- I was scraping the plate with my fork) and vegetarian (always good to get some of those greens in the system!). The dishes came with mixed peppers and onions, pico de gallo (a fresh, uncooked salad made from chopped tomato, white onion, and chills), guacamole, sour cream, floor tortialian and refried beans. Looking at the menu they also offer fresh swordfish and king prawn fajitas which I might just have to go back to try. The dishes especially the beef were extremely filling and flavoursome and you can easily be full up after two fajitas with all the accompaniments. The meal was washed down with a fresh and fruity cocktail which consisted of tequila (of course), chambord, crushed raspberries and apple juice and went down a lot easier than the shot of mescal.

A fun and educational evening (on alcohol) I would definitely recommend Cafe Pacifico to anyone with a hearty appetite and who fancies some authentic Mexican food. It’s even worth going just to gaze at the different varieties of spirits and wacky shaped bottles. You also need to try one of their many tequilas!