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A small, classy restaurant tucked away near Warren Street tube station, Mestizo has quickly become a favourite with office workers, drawn by its Mexican beers and tequilas. The place looks great – with Mexican artworks, wooden floors, and tables in clusters – but the food’s the star. Here you’ll encounter authentic, high-end Mexican cuisine that’s rarely found so far from the Americas. The menu is divided in two. Start by choosing from the starters and tacos menu, which lures you to fresh, mild tamales (shredded chicken, vegetables or pork, wrapped in corn meal and steamed inside a corn husk); queso fundido (melted cheese that you spoon into flour tortillas); or tacos (corn and flour tortillas loaded with anything from cactus leaf and cheese to roast lamb, shredded beef or juicy pork). Then move on to larger mains, such as the house special molcajete: a stone bowl filled with spiced beef, chicken or vegetables, with cheese, chorizo, spring onions, avocado and salsa. There are also dishes made with subtle Mexican mole sauce (dried chillies, herbs, spices, almonds and chocolate), and rich crêpes filled with mushrooms, sweetcorn and onions in a tequila cream sauce.
Time Out Eating & Drinking Guide 2008
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We went there on a Monday night. We didn’t mind being asked twice whether we wanted to order drinks and also happily accepted another margerita that we did not order. However, the food was not what I expected considering the prices. We ordered Classic nachos that were very average – soggy and overloaded with cheese. I had chicken with mole verde. The mole was ok but the chicken breast was dry and leathery – the complimentary tortillias were dry and appeared re-heated. The vegetarian crepe was on a very hot plate but cold inside. The filling had a slightly burnt taste. Communication with staff was difficult and they initially refused to provide a separate bill for one of us who wanted to claim it as business expenses. The bill contained items we did not order and we had to re-negotiate the bill. Overall Mestizio is overpriced and provided a very disappointing experience.
Had expected better from this Restaurant as first impressions were positive regarding the ambience, layout, atmosphere etc. on arrival. Sadly though my soup was cold and then a dining partner's main was cold (mine could have been a little warmer too) but, worst of all, another diner in our party ordered chicken, was presented with pork and then the surly waiting staff tried to argue that's what she ordered (she didn't and had 5 witnesses sat at the table who could testify otherwise!). That diner ended up with no meal at all - the waitress didn't return with the expected replacement - what a shambles!
It's not cheap either - £19 for a pitcher of something mascquerading as Sangria which tasted as if the jug only contained fruit juice, i.e. no alcohol. Total bill for 6 was £155 including compulsory "service" even without the main course my dining companion did not actually have in the end - what a joke!
This is one of the very few real Mexican restaurants in London. They know what they are doing and you can taste Mexico in your plate.
People who are used to Tex-Mex or other supposedly-real Mexican places may not be able to appreciate the real flavours but if this is the real thing you are after then Mestizo is the place to go to.