Last week, with the sun shining out of the heavens, I headed to Wahaca in Islington, a five minute walk from Angel station to sample some of the new dishes that have recently been added to the menu. I have been to other Wahaca’s in the past and have always enjoyed it’s laid back feel and colourful decor and the one in Angel is similar but actually a bit more chic. There is a foosball table as you walk in to the left and different levels for where to sit. I loved that we were surrounded by plants and the quirky decorations such as the beaded door you have to walk through to go to the ladies.

Wahaca was born from a love for ‘fresh, honest, Mexcian market food’ and I love that they quote it is ‘healthy but hearty eating’. I would most definitely agree with that. You can order lots of lovely dishes but not feel too indulgent or bad about it.

The menu ranges from street food where you can order mini tacos, tostados, taquitos and quesadillas or you can choose to go for a main meal such as marinated grilled chicken, a burrito or one of their varied salads which comes in a crispy tortilla bowl.

There is a wide selection of drinks to try from soft drinks such as the passion fruit and hisbiscus cooler (highly recommend this) to something stronger such as the classic wahaca margaritas.

We took our time looking over the menu and two dishes caught our eye straight away which were the chorizo and butternut squash empanada and the crab noodles which were both specials of the day. On top of this we ordered the winter vegetable, a new addition to the menu which consisted of Savoy cabbage, mixed mushrooms and borlotti beans sautéed in a rich pasilla chilli salsa. It is then garnished with roast chipotle salsa and feta. The winter vegetable was fresh with a touch of spice to it which meant we were reaching out for our drinks, however it wasn’t overtly spicy but rather just added a tasty kick to the dish. Our final two dishes were  the sweet potatoes (always a winner) and the classic pork pibull (another popular dish). One time I came to Wahaca and ordered what I thought was the sweet potatos but when the dish came it was the Sweet potato & feta taquito. Although still flavoursome in its own way I was a bit disappointed. The sweet potatoes  with caramelised onion accompany the other dishes so well and the sweet flavour is incredible moreish .

With hardly any leftovers I can say that five dishes between two turned out to be plenty and is also a really great number in being able to try out a variety of dishes and flours. The three new dishes were especially good, I loved the empanada to begin with but then struggled a little to finish it as it was quite filling and heavy in comparison to the others but the flavours worked together really well. One of my favourite soups is chorizo and butternut squash so I am pretty much sold every time I see a dish containing the two.

If you haven’t been to Wahaca yet I would highly recommend it, a relaxed atmosphere, reasonably priced, varied delicious drinks menu and fantastic selection of food, you won’t leave feeling disappointed.

Here’s a quick video which captures what we had and gives a look into Islington’s Wahaca. I hope you enjoy.

Wahaca Video

Hope you enjoy!