Cafe Chula

I’ll start this review by stating as a native Californian I have very high standards for Mexican food. That said– I wasn’t overly impressed by the quality of food here. The interior decoration drew me in to try the food. I came here for lunch with a friend. The restaurant itself is quite small inside but tables are spacious. For our starter we shared the tortilla chips and guacamole– which was quite good. The chips were pretty authentic. For my main I ordered the «de rejas con queso” — this is where my review drops. The topping which was cheese, corn, and green peppers tasted like the filling was from a tube and very greasy. It was not appetizing to eat. The tacos themselves were quite tiny– it comes with 3 small tacos for £8.50 which is pricey for the portion. My friend ordered the chicken quesadilla and felt the tortilla was burned and very dry. The flavours were not traditional Mexican. The staff were friendly and welcoming but I was not impressed by the food. I can see this place being more fun for drinks as is in a nice location next to Camden lock. They have a patio outside which looks like it could be a nice place for drinks during the summer.

Dropped by for a shot of tequila (ejuela) and a pastry…
Great personality, and the staff was so friendly. Also — what an amazing selection of tequila! The pastry was high quality and I wish we would’ve visited this sooner in our trip because we would’ve come back!

This place was cute and had seating both indoor and outdoor that looked really nice. We ordered the Carne Asada tacos which appeared to be really authentic. Sure, that sounds weird but I don’t TOTALLY know Mexican food– I’m from Texas– we like our Tex Mex. Whatever, anyway, I’ve had proper Mexican Tacos and these were done very well. Totes adorable and delicious too! I shared them with my husband because we just wanted to try them out. They were very good and although the tortillas are small there was a lot of meat in them. :) We’d come again.

So far this is the only place in London that I found that has authentic Mexican food with the proper spices and no added weirdness. Well ok they wanted to put mayonnaise on it but being the Mexican I am, I knew better. So tasty. And they have Valentina! No Tapatio but they’re basically the same. So glad I smelled their awesome food and came in!

Today is only 3 stars. I would
have ordered dinner but service today was missing. I ordered chips with guacamole and salsa but the salsa was not chunky, closer to a sauce. I saw one of female staff playing with her hair where food sits and that was one reason I decided not to order more. Plus I could have used a napkin!

The perro’s bollocks!
I went to Café Chula last night for Mexican Independence Day (which is NOT a Latino remake of a well known disaster film) and had a hoot.
The food is excellent and they have cracking bar that serves cocktails, beers and what seemed like good quality tequila — although I’m no expert on that front.
I met the chef and he was actually Mexican, which to me is a good sign and gives Chula a leg up over the plethora of photofit chains that litter London’s streets these days!

The Back Story.
This was the worst dining experience I’ve had in Europe… ever.
It was all bad service. Just terrible.
It took our waitress about 15 minutes to bring a menu. It came along with tortilla chips and salsa… So we shut up for awhile.
She rushed us into ordering. We had to flag her down after about 10 minutes for water.
She seemed annoyed we’d asked.
After 40 minutes (no not kidding) of waiting I informed the staff we were leaving.
The waitress became furious and all of a sudden our food was almost ready.
I told them I didn’t want it. They packed it to go and truth is I should’ve just walked out.
I settled the bill not looking to cause an issue.
We tried the food outside. It was unremarkable at best and landing in a rubbish bin next to the canal.
Seriously– just avoid.

The Mexican coffee was nice and the food was decent. The service was abysmal.
We ordered two breakfast burritos and was told we’d have them in 10 minutes.
After 30 minutes I followed up with the waitress who seemed to have no recollection of the order, despite me watching her write in her note pad. She took the order again but helpfully suggested we’d ordered it with ham (we’re vegetarian).
After another 30 minutes I chased again with a different waitress, who was much better. She followed up, apologised, explained to us that the order was never sent through to the kitchen either time, and offered to comp our coffee if we could wait another 10 minutes for the food.
Food arrived promptly and I asked waitress #1 for tap water to have with the meal. Even this was apparently too much to ask as the water never arrived. However, she did try to bring us other food that we hadn’t ordered twice in the 5 minutes it took us to eat.
Conceding defeat, we asked for the bill, which then took another 15 minutes and another follow up to arrive.

Finally a good Mexican restaurant in London!
I have been searching since I moved here from the states 1 ½ years ago, and FINALLY, we stumbled upon this little canal-​side gem. Now, I should preface to say that I grew up among excellent Mexican food in California so I come with many opinions and high standards to be met. They met all my expectations and I couldn’t have been happier. The service is fantastic, the carne asada burrito was super flavorful and yummy, and the chicken tacos that my partner order we equally superb. We’re already planning on coming back and bringing friends. Highly recommended!

We stumbled upon this place after doing a boat cruise. This was one of the best Mexican food meals any of us had ever had. Great margaritas and beer. Tacos were all excellent and the service was friendly.

On my never ending quest to find good Mexican in London, I ended up at Café Chula. Once we found it (it’s a bit hidden away), we were shown our seats since I made a booking. Bookings are highly recommended given how small the place is. It gets quite crowded in there as well, so just be prepared.
So there are things that I really liked about Café Chula, and things I thought could have been better. I tried all four of their special margaritas. And they were all tasty, with my favorite being the Cucumber and Jalapeño (which was way spicier than the grapefruit and Habenero for some reason) followed by the tamarind. They also brought a giant pitcher of ice water to our table. Win!
The food is kind of hit or miss though. We ordered the chips, salsa and guacamole and I wasn’t impressed with either the guac or the salsa. It needed something (chili). We also had the chips with refried beans and cheese. Well the beans were stewed pinto beans, definitely not refried. And kind of bland. We spiced it up a bit with the chipotle sauce on the side. One of my friends ordered the ceviche, and it was full of flavor and actually really good.
For mains, I went with the tacos. They’re quite small, so just be prepared. However, the pork was really well cooked and flavored well. The fish tacos looked amazing (may be the next ones I order) and were much larger than the other tacos. The flank steak came out and looked and tasted fantastic. The marinade is just spot-​on. However the menu claimed it was served with lentils with pineapple and plantains. Instead it was served with rather bland rice and stewed pinto beans. Apparently the menu has «changed» but they haven’t printed up new menus.
Basically three stars for the food, but five for the drinks. They good be some of the best margaritas I’ve had in London. So I may be back. It seems from reviews that brunch is the time to come, so that will probably be when it happens (if it does). I’m not sure if it was good enough for me to want to trek out to Camden often, but it’s definitely better than most Mexican places in London (although really not as good as a few others I’ve been to).

The food here is unbelievable. Best Mexican food in London by far. Fish taco are incredible and the place will make a real chevelas.
The service on the other hand is horrendous. Couldn’t be slower. I’ve been there 4-​times and all 4-​times, it took ages to even get drink orders in let alone even get the drinks. I’d love to go back, but the service being what it is makes it tough.

Went here today for brunch with my husband and had some of the best Mexican food we’ve had outside of Mexico and S. California.
I am kicking myself for not trying this place sooner! 2 years I’ve been in London, and have I been missing out. This small cantina is tucked along the canal by the locks and when I had first seen it, I dismissed it as probably being one of the many ethnic fast food type places scattered around the stables area. Wow, was I wrong…
We ordered a couple Micheladas to kick things off which I’d describe as a beer bloody mary/​margarita. It’s made with Mexican beer (Pacifico in this case), lime juice, tomato juice, hot sauce and served in a salt rimed mason jar. This drink really helped to perk me up!
For brunch, we ordered Chilaquiles Verdes with a fried egg and Huevos with Choritzo. The eggs & sausage were served with a side of tasty beans and corn tortillas (Ya for real corn tortillas!) and reminded me of the many breakfasts we’ve had sitting by the beach in Mexico. But the chilaquiles tipped the scale as the favorite — it was the perfect combination of lightly fried tortilla chips, green verde sauce and chicken with crema, queso and a fried egg on top to put it over the top.
Although we were pretty stuffed at this point, we couldn’t pass up trying the cake of the day which was a tres leches which was delicioso!
Can’t wait to go back to try their lunch/​dinner menus, especially to taste their tacos. Thinking it might be a taco Tuesday for dinner this week :)

This may be the first time I’ve encountered an actual brunch menu in all of London. And, lucky me, it’s in a Mexican café, where huevos rancheros are featured, Cholula is on the table and horchata is on the specials cocktail board. I think I’m in love.
I’ve only stopped in a few times for mid-​day mimosas while perusing Camden Market, but this brunch menu looks seriously legit. Service is decent, considering they are always packed full in this cramped little café. Mimosas and bloodys will run you £4 (not bad). A casual, street-​style food stop vibe, with laid back (and young and hipster) bar keeps and RHCP on the speakers.
Décor is just the right mix of hole-​in-​the-​wall Sonoran Mexican restaurant and modern-​cool Camden coffee shop. This place made me miss my Arizona so.
It will be hard to meander past the food stalls promising all sort of regional delights literally on their front door step, but I’m willing to make the trek from Croydon to bet that it’ll be worth it.
Tip: If you love Cholula, don’t fall for the £3.95 price tag at the register where they sell it, you can find it (with some diligence) in Tesco and Waitrose for £2.

What a great find, tucked away inside the realm of Camden Market. Café Chula had come onto my Tequila Tuesday list, because I wasn’t really sure what they offered, but anywhere proclaiming to make authentic Mexican food is good in my book. While they aren’t a night place, so I didn’t really get the vibe of that anyway, I had an amazing brunch here with a friend last weekend.
We were able to get a reservation – which I’d highly recommend doing, by the way, as it fills up on the weekends – by calling half an hour before we wanted to arrive. We sat down, enjoyed appetizers, meals, drinks, and excellent service. I’d recommend the chorizo and egg breakfast, though my friend had the steak sandwich and that looked pretty spectacular too. The steamed spinach we shared was just the right level of tartness, and the Mexican hot chocolate was perfect for warming me up after being out in the cold of the market for too long.
Prices were really reasonable, because we spent £40 for the two of us for a huge midday meal, along with having a few drinks and sides and such. As I mentioned, the service was really nice – the server made recommendations and suggestions and was attentive throughout our meal. All in all, a great experience and a highly recommended spot for a little breakfast of the non-​English variety (though they do serve beans with breakfast… I’ll never understand that!).

I ate lunch there on a Saturday afternoon with two friends and I can’t say that I was as impressed as other reviewers. The restaurant is pretty small, with only about 10 tables inside and a couple tables outside. In theory, this means that the staff should never be overwhelmed because it’s mathematically impossible. Welp either my arithmetic is incorrect or this staff has another excuse for the unbelievably slow service. My friend continually called our waiter over to ask about our meal and drinks. Once our food finally arrived, we even had to grab our own silverware. Because of the poor service, we opted not to pay the optional 12.5% service charge.
The food, on the other hand, was delightful! I ordered the fish tacos, which came with spicy chipotle mayo, avocado, tomatoes, onion, and tons of vibrant purple cabbage. If there’s one thing the Brits mastered, it’s crispy yet juicy fried fish… and this filet did not disappoint. Together, the components of the dish created a fresh, balanced, and filling meal. Though this entrée only comes with two tacos, the serving size is much larger than the other taco entrees that come with three. My friends ordered the carnita tacos and breakfast burrito, and they both enjoyed their meals.
Oh, another reason why I gave this place only three stars: none of the waitstaff told us about the lunch special! Terrible marketing on their part. I would revisit Café Chula, but with much lower expectations.

Easily missed within the bustle of Camden Lock, the unassuming Café Chula is a brick and mortar alternative to the numerous food stalls that comprise the center portion of one of London’s most boisterous markets. Take a seat on the patio and order the signature jalapeño and cucumber margaritas where an intoxicating blend of spicy and soothing notes serve as the perfect complement to a vigorous tequila kick. After taking in a pitcher of this delightful elixir, you will assuredly be able to navigate the maze of Camden shopping opportunities for hours.

Last night we had the ‘flight’ menu, 3 assorted taco’s & and 3 artisan tequila’s for 18£. The food was light and lovely, the tequila smooth and seductive. Highly recommended — fun, great service and learnt more about good tequila production in 10 minutes than the past ten years — apparently stone mills play a part — who knew! Well worth a visit if in the area.
Looks like they do a good margarita, and they do a good selection of beer, Pacifica, modelo etc.