Wahaca Wimbledon — Restaurant in London

If I could give zero stars, I would. This isn’t my first time at Wahaca Wimbledon, and to be fair, the service has been inconsistent in the past, but tonight was particularly disappointing perhaps setting a new low.

I arrived just before 19:00 and asked for a table for four. We were immediately turned away and told that no walk-ins could be accommodated. I politely asked if we could wait for a table, but was told there was absolutely no availability and that I should have booked in advance.

What confused me was that there were visibly empty tables at the time, I could understand they might have been reserved. But out of curiosity, I checked the online booking system, which showed availability for 19:15, 19:30, and later. I went ahead and booked the 19:15 slot, only to be met with the response: “You shouldn't have done that!” Eventually, we were told a table could be arranged in about 20 minutes - a complete reversal from what we were initially told.

Throughout the interaction, the staff member was passive-aggressive and unwelcoming. We would have completely understood if there were a system issue or if there were genuine operational constraints why we couldn’t be accommodated, none was clearly explained.

What’s frustrating is the inconsistency. Being told no tables were available under any circumstance, only to later be offered one and while the online system continued to accept bookings. How is that different from other customers making last-minute reservations through the same platform?

As constructive feedback: please review your booking system and ensure that it reflects real-time availability accurately. If walk-ins are truly not possible at certain times, the system should be updated accordingly. It is not the customer's job to absorb conflicting information and deal with negative attitudes as a result.

And to be blunt: keep the attitude and eye rolling to yourself, no customer deserves to be...

What a wonderful night! It was my birthday, and the staff looked after me and my family, including two members who hadn’t been to Wahaca before so weren’t sure what to expect. I’m pleased to report that they are now as enamoured by Wahaca as I am. Our server Gessi was an absolute queen and was perfect in every way—kind, funny, attentive, and incredibly helpful. The food was exquisite as always, including the new dishes we tried. Even the picky eater in the group was wowed by their choices, and is looking forward to going back.

The one teeny negative, and I’m not sure what could be done to fix it, is that the acoustics of the space made it so the overall atmosphere was quite loud and echoing, which made the night slightly uncomfortable for the folks in our party with autism, hearing loss, and dementia. (I know we’re a bit unique in having three issues in one party, but individually those aren’t that rare.) Perhaps looking into sound dampening methods would help…?

But I definitely wouldn’t let that put me off from returning to this Wahaca—we travelled over an hour just so I could have my birthday dinner there, and am happy we did.

Ooo, there’s another suggestion—open more locations...

A nice spot in Wimbledon if you want a casual bite with someone, a very convenient meeting spot mid-week that offers plenty of choice with regards both to drinks and food. They cater well for vegetarians and vegans with a lot of nice options that don't just feel like afterthoughts.

The mocktail I had was flavourful and a great pick-me-up and the barman, a really friendly guy, actually asked how it was himself.

Where it fell a bit short was with the rest of the service. One of the food runners (who might have actually been the manager) dropped one of our plates on the table carelessly without even slowing down, much less dealing with us with any professionalism. Daniel, our waiter, had a sense of humour but was a little too 'enthusiastic'...if you have a guest waiting for their dining companion, you do not ask the same question three times in 10 minutes if they'd like to order any food for the table.

Again, luckily the food was nice. Don't be too keen to upsell, learn when to just leave guests for 5-10 minutes, and certainly don't just drop a plate of food on a table without even...