Star Rating

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La Hacienda 
Restaurant and Cocktail Bar

134 Hoe Street 
Walthamstow 

London, E17 4QR   map

Tel : 0208 509 1555

The Hacienda sounds very Mexican doesn’t it? The menu, at first glance, is Mexican, the decor is Mexican, even the sign outside is Mexican… I know what you think I’m going to say, and you’re right - the food isn’t very Mexican. 

The story is that the owners of Kurinji, a  South Indian/Sri Lankan café, recently decided to change it into a Mexican restaurant. It had been open about two months when we visited. There were two people there. They had finished their meal looking reasonably satisfied and complimented the waiter as they left so we were hopeful - and alone...

It's a small restaurant, about 30 seats, and they've tried hard with the decor and have managed to create a bit of a Central American feel with stylish furniture, artifacts and paintings. But if you’re looking for a raucous evening with waiting staff serving Tequila slammers from the hip you'll be disappointed

The Sol beers we ordered arrived accompanied by a segment of lemon - not the more traditional lime. Oh well, first time for everything.

The menu was visually confusing and quite substantial with a selection of starters, salads, quesadillas, burritos, fajitas, tacos, enchiladas and steaks along with side orders. 

Our starter of chilli poppers were pre-prepared, possibly frozen, and the sun-dried tomato dip also seemed processed and not freshly prepared. We didn't wait too long for our main course and as the door to the kitchen opened the 'ding' of a microwave was heard and a feeling of doom and potential disappointment descended upon the evening.

The quesadilla 'Cameron' (garlic shrimps and spinach) was billed as containing cheese but I wasn't so sure. Other than that it was tasty enough despite the fact that the spinach was from a freezer. The sour cream and red salsa accompaniments tasted processed (as did all the dips/accompaniments) and it was served with coleslaw. Not spicy Mexican coleslaw but bland English coleslaw.

The vegetarian enchiladas 'Tres Amigos' contained Mediterranean vegetables: courgettes, aubergines and tomatoes (so more tre amici than tres amigos) and no re-fried pinto beans. In fact there were no re-fried beans on the menu at all – surely a staple Mexican ingredient.

So amigo, if you want to experience proper Mexican food give it a miss. But if you fancy a tasty snack - pop in. They have a takeaway menu if you prefer to experience the food in your own hacienda.

11th September 2011
Editor

My wife & I ate at the Hacienda on a whim. We had heard the now famous
"Mexican food made by someone who'd heard of Mexican food but never
seen/tasted it" comment, but thought'd we'd try it out for ourselves.

The cocktails were nice, the starters ample if fairly straightforward,
and the main courses tremendous as far as I could tell (I had the
Mexican Platter & my wife had the Chimichunga).

The staff were pleasant and courteous, if not over-speedy. The waitress
did insist on noting the number of the dish ordered, rather than the
name, but we can cope with that.

I'm fairly certain we'll at least use the take-away service they offer.
Overall, nothing fancy, fairly cheap, good enough quality - probably not
somewhere to take your posh friends, but worth using if you fancy
something Mexicanish

Posted 12th September 2011
Andy