On one of my last visits to London before the lockdown I did pop to Wahaca at Oxford Circus. I have been there quite a few times and have enjoyed the atmosphere and the food.
As we were in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, this was a couple of weeks before the full lockdown, the place was still open. I was a little cautious about going to a restaurant and sitting down with others to eat. With hindsight I probably wouldn’t have gone, but at the time the risk seemed quite low and there was sanitiser available, and I was washing my hands a lot.
Each branch of Wahaca has it’s own charm and style, there are similarities across the different restaurants, but each has an element of individuality.
I was given a warm welcome and there were plenty of seats available. I looked over the menu and decided to go with some old favourites as well as trying out a new dish.
For my first choice, I chose a dish that I have had a fair few times before, which was the crispy cauliflower bites.
![crispy buttermilk-battered florets of cauliflower, with roast serrano allioli](https://i0.wp.com/timeforacoffee.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IMG_1156.jpg?resize=525%2C525&ssl=1)
These are crispy buttermilk-battered florets of cauliflower, with roast serrano allioli.
These were delicious and lovely and crispy. I enjoyed the allioli which complemented the crispy florets. They are very moreish and tasty,
My other favourite was steak tacos.
![chargrilled steak served with grilled cheese, chipotle salsa & avocado](https://i0.wp.com/timeforacoffee.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IMG_1158.jpg?resize=525%2C525&ssl=1)
These are two tacos filled with chargrilled steak served with grilled cheese, chipotle salsa & avocado. I much preferred these when the grilled cheese was optional, I don’t think the grilled cheese adds much to the dish. The steak was full of flavour and very tender.
The dish I ordered that I hadn’t had before, was the grilled mushroom & cheese tacos
![sweet ancho rubbed mushrooms with crispy grilled cheese](https://i0.wp.com/timeforacoffee.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/IMG_1157.jpg?resize=525%2C525&ssl=1)
These are sweet ancho rubbed mushrooms with crispy grilled cheese. The mushrooms were delicious, again not a fan of the grilled cheese.
I really enjoyed the three dishes which were tasty and delicious. The service was warm, friendly and welcoming, the food arrived quickly and efficiently.
At the time I was planning to come back to London later in March, so didn’t think this was going to be my last lunch in London for a long time. At the time of writing I have no idea when or even if I will be going back to London for work. As we know restaurants are closed and looking unlikely to re-open in the short term. I am though looking forward to the time when I can go back out to eat, but hopefully I will be able to visit Wahaca in the future and have some great food.