Review: Tacuba – Delivery (11.12.2010)

Service:

Food:

Price:

Overall:

Delivery Mexican food has long been a dream of mine. Living outside the range of some possible options in West & more Southern London has left me with a decided lack of choices when it comes to bringing Burritos home. That being said, you can imagine my surprise when a ‘Mexican’ food category popped up on Justeat.co.uk for SW4. Tacuba somehow managed to open and start delivering without creating a blip on the metaphorical radar, per se, but after noticing it, I had to try it that night.

Giving Tacuba special consideration for its delivery options, I can honestly say that I’m pleased (but a slight bit apathetic) about it. Tacuba’s menu offers Burritos, tacos, quesadillas, fajitas, nacho dishes and sides such as beans, nachos and rice. While the experience of eating in store is supposedly livelier (given its position as Qype’s no. 2 music venue in Balham — a vaunted position), ordering online for delivery was slightly confusing. While this isn’t the fault of Tacuba directly, given that its through Justeat.co.uk, I still found topping burritos with different ingredients or specifying certain parts a bit unclear. I have yet to try telephone ordering for delivery, but I imagine that should come soon.

For my meal, I ordered the Steak Burrito, Nachos Con Chorizo and Guacamole (putting me directly above the £10 minimum for delivery). Price wise, I don’t mind the amount as much as I thought I would, given that a burrito in store costs about £7 pounds currently and an appetizer and drink would place the bill closer to the cost of Tacuba. Delivery itself was relatively speedy, with the food arriving at my door in about 40 minutes time. It is worth noting though, that you shouldn’t consider delivery a given on some evenings, as I’ve attempted to order a few times and found that the driver was already sent home for the night. Make sure to order before 9 or so to avoid disappointment.

Upon arrival, the food itself was warm and well wrapped. The Burrito was good, ranging somewhere around the average I’ve had in London, with a good flavor and well cooked filling. If I had ordered this alone, Tacuba would have garnered a 4 instead of its current 3 for food, however, I found the nachos to be a bit disappointing. £6.20 for the Nachos Con Chorizo got me a box of average nachos, combined with a haphazard mix of sour cream and slightly hard bits of Chorizo. As an appetizer at £3, I would have found this passable, but as an entree, it fails pretty badly. The guacamole on the side wasn’t bad and redeemed a bit of the nacho experience, though I wish I had the option to request this within my burrito when ordering. Nachos and ordering aside, I found the meal pretty good, though I’m sure a bit of this was enhanced by the convenience of home delivery.

Service and price wise, the combination of a decent price for home ordering bodes well for Tacuba, giving it a 3 for both categories respectively. If repeat attempts to order hadn’t been struck by a lack of a driver, I could have easily seen the establishment rank a small bit higher. However, overall, I give Tacuba a 3 out of 5 and say that if you’re around SW4 and fancy a burrito at your door, give it a shot, though I’d steer clear of the nachos.