Viva La Mexicana

Solid authentic Mexican food for Britain. We had the assorted salsas with guac and chips, pork ribs, quesadilla, panuchos, tres leches and buñuelos. The salsas and guac were the highlight of the meal. The chipotle salsa was smoky and thick, the salsa verde was just spicy enough without being painful, and the pineapple and tomatillo salsa was sweet and thick, a good accompaniment to pork. Guac was the style with chopped tomatoes and onion in, not just avocado. The protein fillings were a little bland, and appeared to be just shredded chicken or shredded pork, but the meat quality was good and they were generous with the fillings. We ordered quesadillas but I think they sent out tacos, as there wasn't a shred of cheese to be found anywhere. I was surprised that they were a semi-crispy flour shell that seemed baked instead of fried. Not bad, but also didn't feel very Mexican. But it also came with guac as a condiment and were great with the meat and salsas. The big disappointment was the desserts - they were awful. The tres leches cake came out completely frozen, and my partner who had never had it before thought it was an ice cream cake. The Buñuelos were unseasoned, oily, fried tortilla chips with a drizzle of honey. This was a huge disappointment as good Buñuelos are a proper pastry that can change your life. Honestly the desserts should just come off the menu. The service and communication was spotty, and the website didn't match the printed menu which didn't match the QR code menu so that was a little confusing. Also, the online reservation system doesn't seem to work correctly so if you make a reservation, call it in. Don't use the online tool. Overall we were pretty happy with finding *actual* Mexican food in the UK and are prepared to forgive a lot due to the fact that they've got to modify the menu for an audience that's hesitant to try the food. The only unforgivable item was the lazy, phoned-in dessert.