The Reverend Eats … ChimiChanga in Wandsworth
It was a autumnal day in November – not cold but definitely on the turn. After watching the latest Thor movie, we decided to grab some food. There were loads of food places near the cinema however they all had massive queues…and for ‘chain’ restaurants I don’t feel there is a need to queue for mediocre food. So we spotted a free table in ChimiChanga in Wandsworth and headed inside.
Summary
ChimiChanga is a Tex-Mex chain. I have actually been to one before, maybe about 5 years ago. It was a friend’s 40th birthday and as a party of 12 we had a great time. I don’t remember the food but cocktails were drunk a plenty!
This time there were just 3 of us and no-one was drinking. We were Hank Marvin after the movie so knew it was a starter/main meal at least – maybe even a three course-er!
Starters for Ten (well £13.95)
ChimiChanga in Wandsworth had a deal on. It looks to be a constant thing as it is printed on the menu. You can have any 3 starters for £13.95 – a billy bargain. The most expensive starters was over £6 so we were getting pretty much 3 for 2. We all chose one – Buffalo Chicken, Chicken Spring Rolls, and the Prawns. The Buffalo Chicken and the Spring Rolls were perfectly fine but we were blown away by the prawns.
We loved the presentation! 😀 Ignoring the tiny portion that they think is worth £6+, it had 3 halves of a cherry tomato on it. Three! They would have had a spare ‘half’ but decided this dish was decadent enough! We would easily have the Buffalo Chicken again, and would tolerate the spring rolls, but we would avoid the prawns if we came here again.
Main Courses
The menu is obviously Tex-Mex and we did spend a bit of time deciding what to have. Strangely we picked the same thing! Fajitas for 3 – 2 chicken and 1 beef!
When the main courses came out we were quite happy with them. The chicken breasts had been flattened down but they had a good bit of charring on them. There was enough of the sliced peppers to make decent fajitas with the chicken. The only let down was there was only a small pot of grated cheese. Who doesn’t like lots of cheese in their fajita? There could have been a little more tex-mex seasoning on the chicken but that was a minor issue.
I was the only one able to finish all his fajitas – the other two people had enough for left-overs and one of them even had their boxed up to take away. The waiter didn’t mind doing this and we weren’t made to feel like we’d asked them to sacrifice their first son.
Drinks
As we were all driving, no alcohol was consumed. The waiter was happy to bring us a jug of water when we asked and refilled it with no issues either. We did also order some virgin pina coladas. These can be hit or miss where-ever you are. I’d have said this was a ‘miss’. The coconut to pineapple juice mix just wasn’t right. They were drunk, but we didn’t ask for more, a sure sign there was something not great about them. But for only £3.50 each, it was never going to be the finest of the non-alcholoic cocktails!
Cost
So, to the cost. 3 of us had a starter and a main course each. We then also had 2 n/a cocktails and a couple of jugs of water. No dessert as we were stuffed. Total cost, including Tip (you do tip, don’t you?) = £73. Just under £25 each. Written down it feels a little excessive however for what we ate and not having to queue on a Saturday night, it didn’t feel too bad. Sure we could have got an excessive takeaway for less than half but it was nice to get out and enjoy the world outside of the flat.
Final Word
Would I go back to ChimiChanga in Wandsworth again? Probably. I’d want to see if there are any vouchers about as at £25 per person for 2 courses I think there are better value food options. The food was certainly edible and appart from the tiny prawn starter and the small amount of cheese they offer with Fajitas, everything was as you would expect from a chain restaurant on the high street.
Bonus – Food Challenge!
We didn’t attempt it as we wanted a relaxing evening meal, but ChimiChanga do a food challenge #ChimiChallenge!
Baby back ribs with Texas BBQ mop sauce, hot chilli chicken wings, chilli con carne and a Texan chicken stack served with house fries, zingy fiesta coleslaw and cowboy beans.
Take down the platter in 20 minutes by yourself and you’ll be immortalised on the wall of fame.
Sounds dreadful. but also very appealing! Would you be up for the challenge?
I’ve been to the Wimbleon branch but that was a couple of years ago. I liked it overall but like you thought thaat teh portion sizes were a bit small. Think that Whahaca is probably a better bet.
We were shocked by the starter size but found the main course Fajitas to be ok (although a little lacking in cheese).
Would probably not go back unless they had a voucher deal on – 50% off seems to be floating around recently.
🙂
The Reverend