Wahaca is a delicious Mexican restaurant chain with many locations around London (and elsewhere in the UK). If you’re gluten free and love Mexican food, basically this place is a must!
Wahaca
Location: many locations across London and the UK – view full list {here}
Tried and tested: Covent Garden + Islington branches
Food: delicious Mexican cuisine – gluten free menu {here}
Gluten free status: excellent knowledge of gluten, coeliac disease and cross-contamination + many gluten free options on the menu
Price: affordable
Home deliveries: no
Is Wahaca safe for Coeliacs?
Yes, very much so!
The staff at Wahaca clearly have excellent training regarding gluten and other food allergies. It has to be one of the most helpful and understanding restaurants I’ve been to.
First of all as soon as we asked for the gluten free menu, the waiter asked if I’m Coeliac. He then explained that the gluten free menu is separated into two sections: the coeliac safe dishes and those suitable for mild gluten intolerance. All the non-coeliac dishes are greyed out to make it clear (all the stuff fried in the same oil as gluten falls in that category). That earned them a few extra brownie points right there from the start. 🙂
Secondly, the menu goes as far as listing all the ways Wahaca chefs avoid cross-contamination. This includes all the chefs being aware of our special orders, using clean and unused utensils, bowls and pans, putting on clean gloves, grilling our food on a separate wheat free grill, etc.
If this isn’t commitment to making safe gluten free food for Coeliacs, then I don’t know what is. 🙂
The Food
The food is delicious! Good quality ingredients, tasty, big enough portion sizes and there’s a good variety of choices.
I went in expecting to order some tacos because you know… HELLO GLUTEN FREE TACOS! But as soon as my eyes landed on the Yucatecan grilled chicken, it just had my name all over it. It may not be the obvious dish most people pick at a Mexican restaurant, but trust me it’s so worth it.
The achiote, citrus and oregano marinade was delicious and went perfectly with the rice, salad and pink onions, not to mention the tastiest salsa verde! A simple, but flavourful dish that was relatively healthy for a restaurant meal too!
My boyfriend went for something on the gluten free menu as well – the chicken enchiladas, which come with a side of black bean rice – and said they were perfect. A good amount of chicken (and filling in general), nice corn tortillas and lot of cheese. 🙂
Taco Tuesdays
And for all the taco lovers out there (i.e. literally everyone on earth, right?!), Wahaca has a Taco Tuesday deal. £1 for your first order of tacos every Tuesday.
So of course we went back and shared a few plates – at the Islington branch this time. The grilled ancho chicken tacos (that come with guacamole and tomatillo salsa) were by far the best! I highly recommend those. Followed by the braised pork tacos (cooked in Yucatecan spices and orange with pink picked onions).
And can I just say that, again, the waiter instantly verified whether I have an intolerance, allergy or Coeliac Disease so he could inform the chef. So the excellent allergen training seems consistent among the branches. 🙂
The Drinks
Another thing worth mentioning is their drinks menu. So many delicious and exotic sounding cocktails and sangritas. There’s a big focus on tequila, of course, which I love!
In fact, according to their website {here}, Wahaca even has three branches that are actually listed as cocktail bars, not restaurants. They go by different names so I never realised this. I’m not quite sure if these serve food as well, but it goes to show that the drinks are important enough to Wahaca.
I really liked the passion fruit margarita. It was tasty, had a good tequila kick and wasn’t very sweet, which is exactly how I love my cocktails.
The Service & Atmosphere
The waiters were very friendly and attentive. As I mentioned above, just the fact that they’re so aware of gluten and cross-contamination made me feel at ease right from the start, which is always a big plus. Overall I’m very impressed with the service and how they handle us ‘special diet’ people.
I love the decor too; it’s cosy and fun. It has a slight ‘bar’ feel in some ways which makes it great for any type of meal outing it’s lunch, dinner or a bite to eat with drinks in the evening.
Would I go back?
Yes, I most definitely will! 🙂
For more info, check out their website {here}
Wahaca gluten free menu {here}
–
For simple healthy meal ideas, more restaurant recommendations and general food inspiration, you can find me on:
