Mexican street food for all the family at Wahaca, Cardiff city centre

Thanks to Wahaca for inviting us for a meal in exchange for this review

We love Wahaca. It’s one of our favourite places to eat as a family in Cardiff city centre.

Serving up Mexican inspired street food, and with fun and colourful décor to match, you can order a selection of smaller dishes, such as tacos and tostadas filled with so many different flavours, or big plates such as burritos loaded full of chicken, beef or vegetables, and wholesome rainbow bowls, filled with black beans, green rice, guacamole, and either chicken, beef or sweet potato and tenderstem broccoli.

Is Wahaca good for families?

We’ve been to Wahaca a few times as a family (and many times without the kids) and absolutely love the atmosphere and the food. There’s a relaxed vibe, fun and colourful decor and lovely food choices for adults and children.

The children’s menu has had an upgrade ready for half term, with build your own tacos, toasted quesadillas or a rainbow bowl plus a drink for £6.95. You can add a scoop of ice cream for £1.95 plus kids get an activity sheet filled with puzzles to keep them entertained while they wait for their meal.

View our Reel of our visit to Wahaca

There’s plenty of choice if you’re vegan or gluten-free (ask for the special menus) and we love that Wahaca has sustainability at its heart when it comes to sourcing ingredients, recycling initiatives, and projects that give back to some of the poorest communities in Mexico.

Dishes are cooked fresh and come out as and when they are ready, and generally really quickly too, which gives the restaurant a fun and informal vibe.

What to order at Wahaca with kids

We visited at the weekend and my 10 year old chose the cheesy toasted quesadillas with chicken (£6.95). It came on a rectangle serving plate with sides of nachos, cucumber and carrot sticks, plus salsa and guacamole dips. It’s a good-sized meal, a generous portion that won’t leave older little ones hungry.

Grown ups can choose between big plates and little plates. My husband opted for a big plate, the beef burrito (£15.95) which came filled to bursting and adorned with garnishes and salsa. My 15 year old, 13 year old and I had a range of smaller plates, including zesty bean tostadas (£6.25), plantain tacos (£6.95) and black bean and cheese quesadilla (£6.75). The smaller plates are like a Mexican version of tapas so it’s lovely to get a range of dishes to share, although there were a couple that we doubled up on as we like them so much. We usually order two to three dishes per person and then some side dishes to accompany too.

The side dishes are really lovely and great to accompany either the smaller or bigger plates. Favourites in our family include the sweet potato bravas (£5.50), the black bean frijoles (£4.50) and the grilled tenderstem broccoli (£5.75).

All the food is served fresh and will arrive at your table as and when it’s ready; service is generally really quick so you won’t be waiting too long.

It wouldn’t be a trip to Wahaca for us without a bowl of churros and warm chocolate sauce (£6.75) to finish up with – they’re absolutely amazing!

Have you been to Wahaca?

Wahaca, 51-53 The Hayes, Cardiff, CF10 1GA
Open Sunday-Wednesday 12pm-9pm; Thursday-Saturday 12pm-10pm

Visit the website here