La Bodega Negra

Having read your review in Time Out we thought we'd give it a try at lunchtime today. We ordered some tacos, a couple of tostaditas and a quesadilla and I have to say the wife and I were not particularly impressed - the best was the chicken tinga tostadita. The tacos were ungenerously filled, the pork pibil and pastor were somewhat dry and £9 for a very average chorizo and cheese quesadilla is steep to say the least! The passion fruit mojito was very good, as was the tomatillo salsa.
Not a patch on Lupita, Mestizo or Wahaca.

As a Mexican born New Yorker, I'm giving La Bodega 3 stars. The restaurant front and the promise of a taco bar at the entrance were a good start, but I wasn't too impressed with the main interior. La Esquina definitely surpasses La Bodega in good decor vibes. The waiter was very attentive and friendly, but got a few things wrong :S I ordered some traditional Mexican dishes to see if they measured up, but I was immensely disappointed by the tacos al pastor (actually completely lacking in flavour, how is this possible?); but it is important to note that the huitlacoche quesadillas were GREAT. Tamarind water was pretty delicious and authentic! I was told the bar man is Mexican!

Waiter was also curious to know what I thought about the food, and welcomed my criticisms, which was very sweet.

I will try it again in a few months to see if they've improved a bit, and I will definitely try some of their drinks. Might be opening month jitters?

Wow! Interesting write up... Is it just me or is a 'black corn truffle' a mushroom?!?
I asked for the pork tacos, and both times they brought me cooked pig meat- with no explanation! Outrageous ;-)
Amazing food, extraordinary and brave decor, amazing private room, like being in Diego rivera's toy box.
And the sex shop entrance gives you a chill before the warm exclusivity of the restaurant! Brilliant stuff

Waitress dropped salsa down my back, then my food didn't come, then the wrong food came, then the waiter argued that it wasn't his fault, then the bill came in a box which was dropped on my arm. Food was ok. My colleagues didn't like theirs - soggy tortilla chips with stingy portion of beef. The good bits were the decor, the fact the manager gave us a free beer. I won't be going again. Wahacca is miles better.

Bad food, worse service, especially the reservations manager, who is supremely unaccomodating. Eventually, we got a reply from her and booked our dinner. On arrival, we had to wait over an hour to be seated, and somehow our food was cold and they had no more corn, of all things. Restaurants like these with absolutely no value except good PR are detriments to the London food scene, and they seem like blind copies of NY versions, except the ones in NY actually work well and serve good food. I just want to go back to NYC and eat at La Esquina instead of this wannabe.