feta Archives - Time for a coffee

June 7, 2026

Wahaca Feasting Menu

Though Wahaca is one of my favourite places to eat, I hadn’t been there since December 2024, when I visited the branch at Paddington and had the Wahaca for One deal. They use to have a branch in Bristol, but that closed way back in August 2020.

My son and I were in Wimbledon, and there are lots of places to eat there, however it was during the recent heatwave, so I wasn’t in the mood for spicy Korean food. So, we went to Wahaca. It was a Friday evening, and they looked busy, it took while for us to be seated, we then looked over the menu.

They have an extensive choice of small plates on offer in their menu, and they recommend 2-3 plates per person. I also quite liked the idea of ordering some Mexico City Nachos as well. However, I did though like the sound of their feasting menu. This is six dishes, and one of those, the Yellowfin Tuna Tostadas was one I wanted to have. One thing I like about having a set menu like this is you get dishes you probably wouldn’t order if you were ordering separate plates. We ordered the feasting menu and two bottles of Corona.

The first four dishes to arrive were a Sweet Potato & Feta Taquito, Beef Gringa Tacos, Grilled Brindisa Chorizo Quesadilla and the Yellowfin Tuna Tostadas.

The Beef Gringa tacos were made from grass-fed, slow-cooked beef, with grilled cheese and salsa fresca, in two soft corn tortillas. A dash of lime added a nice sharpness and freshness to the rich beef filling.

Yes, you could eat these in your hands, but it could be messy. The beef was rich and tender with just the right amount of spice.

The Grilled Brindisa Chorizo Quesadilla is not the best looking dish, but this was tasty.

There was ample chorizo within the quesadilla to add heat and bite to the filling of grilled cheese and crunchy tortilla.

The Sweet Potato & Feta Taquito with caramelised onion, salsas and chipotle mayo in a crisp blue corn tortilla, was served on a bed of lettuce.

The sweetness of the sweet potato was offset by the saltiness of the feta and the spicy heat of the chipotle mayo. It was a lovely combination of flavours and textures.

One of my favourite dishes of the feasting menu was the Yellowfin Tuna Tostadas. This was raw line-caught tuna, marinated in soy and lime, with avocado, tomato salsa and salsa macha, on crispy tortillas.

I had enjoyed tuna tacos from Bills before, but these tostadas were very different approach and appearance. The crispy tostadas added a nice crunch to the fresh zingy tuna and the accompanying salsas added flavour and heat. Like the beef tacos, slightly messy to eat, but these were delicious.

As we were eating the final two dishes arrived, the Buttermilk Chicken Tacos, and the Chipotle Glazed Aubergine.

The Buttermilk Chicken tacos would probably have been a dish I would have ordered if I was ordering separate plates. These was crunchy fried buttermilk chicken with habanero mayo and pink pickled onions, in two soft flour tortillas.

This sounded great, and they were very nice, but out of all the six dishes I had these were probably my least favourite. I liked the habanero mayo and pink pickled onions, but I think the dish was let down by the chicken, which to be honest was a little dry (and possibly overcooked). They were okay, maybe I had higher expectations, but I was slightly disappointed.

I forgot to take a photograph of the Chipotle Glazed Aubergine: however, this was roasted slices of aubergine that had been brushed with a chipotle glaze and was served on top of macadamia mole, with jalapeño oil and crumbled feta. I doubt I would have ordered this dish if I was ordering separate plates, but this was one of the best dishes in the six. It was beautifully presented with a topping of crumbled feta. It had a lovely strong flavour, some heat, there was sweetness from the glaze which contrasted with the saltiness of the feta and the slight bitterness of the aubergine. Delicious.

Overall, we had six excellent plates of food. Obviously, I preferred some over others, but it was a nice variety and I was pleased we had made the choice to go with the feasting menu.

Service was excellent, warm, friendly and efficient. I would certainly visit again.

November 22, 2024

Back to Wahaca

I was travelling back from London and rather than catch a busy peak train, I decided I would have some dinner and catch a later train. The other option was to catch a busy train, probably stand or be cramped, and then cook when I got home. So dinner it was, and I had already made up my mind to visit Wahaca. I had heard about the branch at Wahaca at Paddington when it opened, but I hadn’t had the chance, or the opportunity to make a visit until this week.

It’s just outside the station and upon entering the restaurant you climb a set of stairs to get to the tables. Even though it was early the place was buzzing and quite busy. I was initially offered a seat at the bar, but as I wanted food and not a drink, I asked for a table.

I sat down and looked over the menu. I had a voucher for a free portion of tacos, so that was the first area of the menu I went through. I was tempted by the buttermilk chicken tacos, but went with the Ancho Mushroom Tacos, with jalapeño mayo, beetroot crisps and dressed slaw, in two soft corn tortillas

I had really enjoyed the Mexico City Nachos when I had them a few years ago. So that was next on my list of choices. I went for the veggie version, as I didn’t think the addition of the chorizo really added that much to the dish, and the veggie dish was cheaper as well.

My final choice was the Zesty Bean & Feta Tostadas, with chickpeas, borlotti beans and organic peas with fresh tomato salsa. I had hoped they would have the crab tostadas they use to have on the menu, but they didn’t.

The nachos arrived first and I was a little surprised by the size of the dish. Either the dish was smaller when I had it a few years ago, having made my own version of this plate, I was expecting something smaller, or more than likely I had just plain forgotten how large the dish was.

There was plenty of crunchy tortilla chips, a large helping of guacamole, black beans, crema, pink pickled onions, cheese sauce, fresh tomato salsa and jalapeño. I left the jalapeño, but the rest of the dish was delicious.

I really enjoyed the Zesty Bean & Feta Tostadas, full of flavour and contrasting textures of crunchy tostadas and soft beans.

The Ancho Mushroom Tacos were really tasty, I liked the mushrooms and the intensity of flavours across the two tacos.

I really enjoyed all three dishes and the experience reminded me how much I enjoy the food at Wahaca. Service was excellent, warm, friendly and efficient. It’s a real pity that the branch in Bristol closed, as it would be nice to have somewhere local to visit.

November 11, 2021November 7, 2021

Delicious Gastro Pub Food at the Canbury Arms

It was August and we were staying with family in Kingston. The night before we had had some great sushi at Obon and on this evening we were visiting the Canbury Arms.

This is a pub, probably what most people would call a gastro pub, there was a section of the pub for people who wanted to drink, but there was a larger section with tables for people who wanted a meal. There is a difference in decor between the two sections, the restaurant area looks a lot more like you would imagine a restaurant should look like, whilst the bar area has lots of wood.

We were shown to our table and I looked over the menu, I have to say I had cheated and looked at the menu online before, but even so looking at the menu in the flesh, I wasn’t sure what I would have.

For my starter I decided to have the calamari and share it with my son. I kind of default to calamari as a starter, something that I do enjoy, and I have had great calamari in a variety of places, but sometimes I think I should have something else as a change.

It was nice, but nothing special, I think if I went again I would choose something different from the menu.

My sister in law went with the farmhouse pork, black pudding & sage scotch egg, brown sauce.

Now it was only later when I had posted the picture to Instagram (as one does) that someone commented on the saucy nature of the presentation of the food. Having said that I was offered half of the scotch egg, to which I said, yes please. This was actually rather excellent, and I really enjoyed the intensity of flavour in the pork around the egg. I could have eaten all of that dish.

For my main, there were some lovely choices, but I decided that I would go against my usual choices and have the chicken. Usually I would avoid the chicken, as I have it quite a lot at home, but this time I decided I would go down a different route and I would choose the chicken. This was a chicken supreme, asparagus, butternut squash puree, sautéed wild mushrooms & tarragon butter. I think what sold it to me was the wild mushroom element of the dish.

The chicken was cooked to perfection, tender and moist and full of flavour. The butternut squash puree was to die for, it was so smooth, buttery and full of flavour. The mushrooms weren’t as good as I was hoping, but I did enjoy them. The tarragon butter was an addition that in my mind brought the dish together. This was a delicious plate of food and I really enjoyed eating every mouthful.

We had some great food across the table, some great looking steaks. I did quite like the look of the sea bass fillet, on crushed jersey royals, peas, spring greens, with caper butter.