Aware that I was going to stuff my face in the evening but still wanting to have a quick sit down lunch with a mate we looked to Charlotte St and its multitude of eats to provide a solution. Wahaca, another branch of which I visited (and rated 8/10) in 2013 seemed the perfect solution – dependable fresh food and rapid service.

The food was as good as when I’d visited other branches previously – really tasty fresh ingredients and yummy horchata to wash it down (why doesn’t everyone do horchata? The Mexicans don’t have a monopoly on it do they? And it’s such a good alternative to stickyfizzydrinks).

But the room. Maybe it’s the difference in clientèle between say the South Bank/Covent Garden and Charlotte St. Hmmm, difficult to hear oneself think anyway. And this not helped by the determinedly (i.e. acting to detailed instructions from above) bright, charming and swift service of the staff.

Have I been to Wahaca before? Yes.

Do I want to know what the specials are today? Yes, in a minute.

Do I know what I want to drink? Maybe.

Do I want to let my cheeks settle on the seat before I’m asked a sequence of machine-gun delivered questions? Undoubtedly.

So, a bit of a mixed bag. Maybe I was in the wrong mood for a whap in and out £12, 30-minute lunch (I’m not quibbling about the price – you can barely eat in Pret for less than a tenner nowadays) and should have gone somewhere else. But much as I like Wahaca usually I don’t think I’ll find it a strain not to be able to go back again this year.

5/10

To see which other restaurants I’ve visited in 2016 check out my GoogleMap

London Restaurants Uncategorized London Restaurant Review