Que Pasa — Restaurant in Vale of White Horse

Abingdon deserves better

We went for a meal last night to Que Pasa in Abingdon and it was very much a disappointment. Service, food, and price were all sadly mismatched to what we had hoped would be a good meal with friends.

Attention to tables: We joined our friends at the table, who had already arrived, and we waited a considerable time to be seen to for our own drinks, after seating. A poor initial impression, from the off. When we eventually ordered our drinks, which included tap water for the table, we had to ask twice for the water – the latter time by getting up and going to the bar to get attention. When the drinks were delivered, we were keen to get the food order into the kitchen as we could see that our table was not being attended to and did not want to miss an opportunity to catch one of the waiting staff. However, we were told that we could not place our food order with the porter, and that it was the gentlemen’s job to take the order. This required us flagging him down, but one person keeping an eye on all the tables is not easy when they are dispersed. Instead, our porter went to get him for us.

Food and price: Mains - When the food arrived, my initial impression was that this was not cooked fresh here, but simply warmed in most cases (or attempted warming). The was a blow, at the price that they charge. When the meatballs arrived, my suspicions were raised further; the pot they arrived in was red hot (the waitress could barely touch it) yet the meatballs themselves were lukewarm, at best. This kind of heating tends to come from microwaving. One of the fish dishes that arrived seemed to be tinned fish (tuna?) stirred into potatoes and a lot of mayonnaise. More a sandwich filling than a fish tapas.

Desserts - To cap this off we ordered desserts, in the hope for something to pick-up our lows on the main food. Two lots of churros were ordered, the “special” brownie and a cheesecake. The cheesecake looked and seemed fine (sadly, I did not order that one). The churros were shockingly bad, not even saved by the weak chocolate sauce. They had been cooked in an oil that was not warm enough to fry the outside and keep the inside fluffy (as a churro is meant to be), so instead the dough absorbed the warm oil and turned it opaque like dripping oil onto paper. The resulting churro was soggy with oil and undercooked because of it.

The final issue was the brownie. I have a peanut allergy that is mild, fortunately. I started eating the “special” brownie (special = a brownie smothered in ice cream, cream and a little garnish) and getting past the initial cream and ice cream that coated it instantly recognised that there were nuts in the dish somewhere (my reaction is mild, but immediate). I scanned the menu and there was no mention of “nuts” anywhere on it, nor were we questioned about allergies by the waiting staff. Now, some portion of blame can go to me here – I should have asked too. However, when I slip up by diving into a box of chocolates greedily and not reading the chocolates “map” it is on me and me alone. A restaurant slipping up like this is not acceptable, they have a duty of care to the people that pass through their doors. It has been such a long time since I have had a reaction – due to well trained staff at most places, duty of care- (or more likely, fear of legal reprisal) and well printed menus, that I have actually fallen out of the pattern of asking – lesson learnt for me! The initial response from the staff was that there was no nuts in the dish. Yup, they thought I was lying. I informed them I was having a reaction to nuts and asked them to see the ingredients of the smothering sauce AND the brownie.

It took a long time! They had to email another company, that made the brownie (my previous suspicions on food origination confirmed, shipped in from elsewhere), to get the ingredients list. There were peanuts in the brownie as my throat and stomach attested to. Our desserts were struck from the bill and we got out of there!

Conclusions: Wont be going back, Abingdon...

Food was very good and nicely cooked. Very small portions for the price we paid but nicely prepared / cooked!

Will never go back to this place again and would not recommend !! As location wise and the atmosphere was the worst I ever witnessed in any restaurants I/we ever been at!

The scene caused by the next door bar/club outside the restaurant window made me/us feel so awkward!! Not witnessed anything like that at any place even what we call (3rd world countries)!! Dined in many countries across many continents and never felt (intimidated, unsafe, harassed, stared angry, sexually harassing your partner, physical threatened etc etc) as we did on the streets of Abington, (UK)! Men hanging out the window of the restaurant (leaning against the window opposite where we were eating and men staring at your girl and smoking cigarettes like you owed them something)!

The restaurant owner / management was not in any position to do anything or at least come to us and apologies for the unpleasant situation or the outrageous behaviour! The least they could have done is ask if we were okay and if we liked to move to a different table!

It was my first time to visit Abington and will never be on my list to visit this place / town again, nor will recommend to anyone! As if the town has humans like that to those manners, I will never feel safe even if I have an army behind to protect!! Such a shame, but that’s how those people made me/us feel. Will never waste my money visiting this place or Abington again!! Apologies, but witnessed the worst...

We went in for some Tapas (the only thing available at lunchtime as dishes like Paella etc were not available for lunch, we were told). The table and the setting was nice, the atmosphere pleasant and the service fairly prompt and friendly. That's about it in terms of positives and plusses. There was a lasting (and rather unpleasant) musty/damp/mouldy smell lingering in the air. In terms of food, the waiter recommended the mixed shared tapas (there were three of us), so we went for it. We also went for some Sangria (the white wine version). The food was fairly tasty, but most of it was deep fried or cooked a bit over - basically the kind of food that endures long fridge life and many a reheating. It was OK and looked good, but nothing to write home about. For those of us less used with greasy, long and deep fried food, it quickly felt pretty heavy on the stomach. The Sangria was a pleasant surprise in terms of taste and the combination of white wine, lemonade and cut oranges managed to go some way towards cutting through the grease and heaviness of the food and made it go down better. But I would say that the 0.75L jug was more than half fulll of ice, so of the £15 charged on it, we probably goi about £10 'worth' of ice. All in all, a bit of an overpriced experience of just under £30 per person for some mediocre food and drink. Sorry we didn't...