Wahaca Edinburgh — Restaurant in City of Edinburgh

What an awful experience this was. Disclaimer - I like wahaca and have been to many previous branches before so I know what the food is supposed to taste like. Initial impressions were good, staff were polite and took orders quickly. We waited a while for the food to come, but fine, not an issue, they were busy. Once the food was delivered, no one checked back in to ask if we were happy with the food, and I couldn't catch the eyes of any of the servers to highlight any issues. None of the food was particularly great, but it was edible. Wahaca's USP used to be that everything was fresh and bright, but this certainly wasn't the case, it was very greasy. The problem came when they came to clear the plates and realised I hadn't eaten half of a taco dish. I explained that it had been very poor and without any seasoning. No acknowledgement- they just cleared the plates. They then issued the bill without any service charge. At this point I was a tad annoyed and asked them to take it off if possible. The server said she couldn't take it off just because I didn't like the food, at which point I highlighted that it was not that I didn't like it, it was that the kitchen had forgotten to season it! Another server (I assume the manager) came over, and I was told that that was the recipe and I clearly didn't know what the food was supposed to taste like. At this point I just asked to bring the card machine and he said "No, I'll remove it now because I can see how much you didn't like it" - and returned with an updated bill with a service charge! At this point I had had enough and just paid and left because I was intimidated and they were just creating a scene. It left an awful taste in my mouth and I certainly don't appreciate being condescended to when it is the restaurant food...

Generally food and service is very good as is their menu choices with regard to allergens. There is a separate menu for Gluten allergy which further highlights food that has no gluten and food which has potential for cross contamination. As I have coeliac disease took care to order from the selection which is totally gluten free. The policy is further safeguarded by the server calling for the manager to take the order who then informed that my food would arrive with a red flag to denote that it was gluten free and that dishes may arrive at different times as a result. The first dish arrived with a red flag with a W written on it and was put down in front of me which I started to eat whilst awaiting the remaining dishes. When the next dish arrived it also had a red flag, however it had the word allergen, it was at this point that it became apparent that I had started to eat the wrong dish. Upon further questioning it would appear that all dishes come with a flag of some description. There was minimal difference between the one for "normal" food and the allergens- one one being slightly pinker in colour but both essentially are red. I assume that there may be others to denote vegan etc. The manager apologised profusely and at the time I played it down as a result of the otherwise good service and food. Today I am however extremely unwell with the aftereffects of exposure to gluten which I have no tolerance at all. I feel that is so unfortunate that despite all the clear awareness this company has to allergens it was completely let down by something as simple as their flags and indeed the server that brought the food to the table not sufficiently aware enough to ensure that the right food went to the...

I thought I would give Wahaca a second try, hoping that the terrible meal I had there to years ago was a fluke. Sadly, it wasn't, and Wahaca now has the distinction of having given me two mostly-inedible meals. This time, even the guacamole wasn't nice: it and everything else in my order was far too salty. There was no evidence that the 'grilled sweetcorn' had been anywhere near a grill, and it had around half a spoonful of something on top of it, but was otherwise unadorned. The 'crispy cauliflower bites' were cold. flabby, and greasy. The 'sunshine bowl' looked as though it had spent hours on a steam table: everything in it looked as though it had been left over from yesterday. The 'trio of sauces' tasted as tough they were full of preservatives and right out of a bottle. The whole meal was absolutely vile, and again, most of it went into the bin.

Please note that I normally give 4- or 5-star reviews, and I am always honest and truthful.

Here's what I wrote two years ago, and if anything, the food was even worse tonight that it was two years ago:

One of the 2 or 3 worst meals I've had in the 40 years I've lived in Edinburgh. I ordered a takeaway, and while it was nice to be presented with plenty of vegetarian options, what arrived was a bunch of weirdly sweet and bland mushed-up beans, corn, radishes, soggy lettuce, soggy corn chips, etc. Most of it went into the bin. The guacamole was nearly as good as what I make myself, and the corn chips - which I normally don't touch as they are usually too salty - were good. Everything else was monumentally awful. It's good that most of their containers are compostable - so...