Monday

Review // Wahaca Southampton

I adore Mexican food but I'd never been to Wahaca. How bad is that? Thankfully, the brand new Southampton restaurant rectified that when they invited me to try some of their Mexican dishes. I had no idea what to expect but I had such a wonderful experience. I can't praise them enough!
Wahaca Southampton Review
We arrived at the bright, airy restaurant in the new Westquay South complex. There's a really fun, laid back atmosphere with bright colours, rustic furniture and even the odd cactus mural. What more could you want? We were sat on the upper floor, which has a balcony opening up onto the lobby of the complex. Even though the midweek lunchtime period was quiet, it sounded like there was some sort of party going on in one of the other restaurants in the complex, so, combined with the lively music piping through, the restaurant felt full of life. 

Our server was Guillaume (the French form of William, as he informed us) and he was an absolute star! He took us through the menu and specials, telling us exactly what everything entailed and making recommendations. He insisted we try the tortilla chips and guacamole, which I wasn't sure about at first, not being a huge guacamole fan. Nonetheless, he brought some up for us to try and man, was I pleased he did! 
Wahaca Guacamole
The guacamole is like nothing I've tasted before. It was creamy but the chunks of salsa prevented the texture being too pureed. I despise tomatoes but thankfully these ones complimented the fresh avocado taste so the flavours blended perfectly. I couldn't get enough of it!

I also ordered a Citrus Fizz to drink- a simple concoction of soda water, lime and mint. It was the ideal accompaniment for my meal since it was light and refreshing, with no overbearing flavours to detract away from the food. 

For the rest of the meal, I ordered a starter from the winter special menu- crispy squid with jalapeño aioli. I bloody love squid so I was very excited to try it, and I was not disappointed! When it came out, the squid was so fresh that I could smell it immediately. With a golden, crispy batter and a slight hint of chilli, it was absolutely delicious. I did try the jalapeño and mint aioli sauce but, although I like spice, I found it masked the taste of the squid. 
Wahaca Pimped Up Burrito
I had a bit of a dilemma when it came to the main course because I knew I wanted something cheesy and beefy, but there were so many amazing-sounding options on the menu that I got a bit overwhelmed! In the end, I settled on the British steak burrito and opted to have it pimped up, meaning I got more cheese and more guacamole. Nothing prepared me for how massive the burrito would be. It was like the size of my arm! The tortilla was stuffed full of black beans, rice, salsa, cheese and steak- pretty much everything I could ask for. Believe me, it tasted incredible! The rice was fluffy and the tortilla was light so it didn't feel at all stodgy. The beef was a bit tough but it was full of flavour so I could cope with that.

To get the full Wahaca experience, I made sure to leave some room for dessert. Rich and I ordered one cricket brownie and one bowl of salted caramel ice cream so we could mix-and-match. Guillaume assured us that the brownie was not made out of crickets... instead, it's made from cricket flour which is, erm, ground up crickets. I'm not entirely sure why this is a thing but the brownie was delicious so who cares? So rich and moist, piping hot in the centre so the chocolate just melted away. Our decision to combine it with the salted caramel ice cream was genius since the heat of the brownie slowly melted the ice cream, making a warm, molten, gooey mix of chocolate and caramel. The perfect way to end our meal!
Wahaca review
We absolutely loved our first experience of Wahaca and are already talking about our return. If you haven't tried it yet, I really recommend it. Next time I think I'm going to try out the tacos. My mouth's watering just thinking about it!

Huge thanks to Wahaca Southampton for providing me with a delicious meal and wonderful experience to review. All opinions are my own. 
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3 comments :

  1. I absolutely love Wahaca - their Pork Pilbil is amazing!

    NINEGRANDSTUDENT: A Lifestyle Blog

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  2. Mmmm I've never eaten at a Wahaca either bt I love Mexican food and this all sounds amazing! x

    ReplyDelete
  3. You have such a lush way of writing Becky!

    I've still not had chance to pop into the new Westquay but might have to stop by soon and try those cricket brownies.

    Angi www.twodifferentworlds.com

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