A review of Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden

Cafe Pacifico in Covent Garden used to be one of my favourite restaurants. Many a happy occasion has been spent there with friends.

The restaurant claims to be London’s original Mexican Cantina, opened in a Covent Garden banana warehouse in 1982 butI would consider it to be more tex mex than authentic Mexican

Based just off Longacre, it actually feels like a long way from the hustle bustle of Covent Garden and usually has a lively atmosphere. I have rarely seen it less than full with what appears to be a mixture of tourists and regulars. Nearly every time, I have had to wait for a table but it really hasn’t been an issue as the bar area was al buzzing and some Margueritas certainly help to get into the Mexican vibe!

Am not sure what has happened since  was last there but it really has gone downhill a bit.  The place was practically empty when we arrived and unlike my previous experiences, we were shown straight to our table.

After muching on some Nachos and salsa, we placed our order.  We decided to share a starter of Nachos Rancheros which consisted of cornchips, beans, melted cheese, ranchera sauce, tomatoes, lettuce and green onions topped with guacamole, sour cream and olives.  This was actually tasty but more filling than we expected

For my main course, I chose the Burrito Especial which was a flour tortilla filled with refried beans, cheese, ground beef and topped with rancheros sauce and sour cream.  It came with a portion of rice on the side.

If I’m honest, this was very stodgy and sat very uncomfortably afterwards.  It also looked a bit bland although it did taste better than it looked.  Bizarrely all our dishes were garnished with massive wedges or orange that would have been more more suitable for half time at a football match

Compared to most Covent Garden establishments, its actually not the worst value for money with appetisers starting from £5.50 and mains starting from around £9.50 for the cheaper dishes.

My overall view would be that I won’t be rushing back to Cafe Pacifico, even if it does hold some fond memories for me!

Our starter

The empty restaurant