viva mexico

i dined here on my own recently when the weather and traffic leaving the city were horrible. it was a tuesday early evening and the place was full. there are probably only 6 or 7 tables in this small establishment - which gives it an intimate feel. the two gentlemen working were both mexican, and very friendly. i ordered several dishes - so as to make it worth their while - since i was alone and occupying a valuable table. there wass no wine sold here so i settled for a margarita. it wasgoodand traditional. all of the food was as well. a bit pricy - like all mexican places in nz - but definitely well worth it. i had tacos, quesadillas, and stuffed jalepenos. nice fresh food cooked onsite. i will be back.

no better place in nz for tacos!! for your $ you get agoodportion. i love that it is made by mexicans! the taste and flavours are authentic much like the restraunt itself x

the food here is good, however, the prices have been slowly rising and what used to be great value for money is not so much any more.

good mexican beers, my wife asked for a margarita and was scorned at, they said "that's not a mexican drink, only tourists drink that in mexico" very arrogant. it's off the beaten track in a grimey part of the city, it's a tiny place, yes the food isgoodbut come on guys? you had everything perfect before why do you put the prices up so much??

good me

i had heard about viva mexico from a few friends and finally tried it out a few days ago. absolutely loved the atmosphere, the food and the service was impeccable. the place was packed the whole time i was there and you can see why by howgoodthe food is. i will definitely be back soon!

we went to the petone outlet (no option on zomato to leave a review for that outlet), and we were so happy we went!!!! the food is just beautiful!! we got the beef and lamb tacos and they tasted sogood- loved the guacamole! we also go the churos to share and wish we got the bigger plate of them as we didn’t want them to finish - the caramel sauce that goes with them is so yummy, and it was fantastic they weren’t covered in chocolate (and this is coming from someone who loves chocolate). will happily recommend this place as it’s worth your money!!

for a start, i was very happy there were agoodrange of options for vegetarians. the tacos are a little bit small but very tasty with an interesting range of flavours. the music was quite loud but the staff were friendly.

not asgoodas it used to be, they only do tacos now and they don't come with salad or rice. $15 seems quite steep, might be ok if you want tapas with some drinks late at night but not for a regular meal. i feel like they should retain some of what they are known for,goodhearty food with nice portion sizes. see photo for example

closest thing to authentic mexican food you will get in welly (for now???). the owners are from ensenada, mexico instead of the faraway lands of whakatane or timaru. definitely leans towards food on the northern side / border food, but the soups especially are verygoodand flavoursome. also the dudes pop the cap off your jarritos with a lighter from their pocket, so it's true authentic.

had readgoodreviews about this place and went withgoodexpectations! we were quite happy to note that the menu was just right and what we ordered was superb. we ordered a pitcher of frozen maragarita, jalapenos relenos, chilaquiles, quesidillas and enchiladas. the portions were just right and the quality excellent, especially the special sauce served with the food. that was something out of the ordinary. the taste was perfect in spice. highly recommended.

alwaysgoodall the time. everything my friends or i have tried on the menu has never disappointed. we keep going back to the salads, tacos, and jalapeños rellenos. for after dinner you can't go past the brownie and mexican coffee.

can't recommend enough. this place is mad good.

my first visit to viva mexico was underwhelming to say the least. to say the most, the restaurant'sgoodfood is completely overshadowed by the ineptitude of their service.

first we were greeted and sat and left with menus. being a completely empty restaurant, it was a bit surprising to wait ten minutes to have our order taken.

upon ordering, our server started listing rules that don't appear anywhere on the menu... no you cannot have two different meats in the three enchiladas. choice of meat means one meat for all three enchiladas. one meat, one sauce, three enchiladas.

ok, a rule is a rule even when it doesn't make any sense, but then it got worse. after telling me no to the enchiladas, the server said i could mix meats in the three taco plate (because, you know, that makes sense?!). so i switch gears and order the tacos because i want to try both the pork and the chicken. oh not those tacos!!! as it turns out, you can have different meat choices on the tacos either. so why did the server say i could? he flips back a page and says "these tacos" -- so the grand summary for those who skipped ahead, there is one plate on the menu for which you are allowed to have different meats despite their being many similar plates on the menu. at it's best, it is restaurant bureaucracy -- a type of red tape that you're never meant to understand. at it's worst, it is poor planning by the kitchen staff and poor communication by the serving staff.

it was enough that i almost put down the menu and headed to a different mexican restaurant down the street. [note to viva mexico: you aren't the only mexican restaurant in town. why are you empty at lunch on tuesday? because of experiences like mine.]

but we aren't done yet!!!

so, after the ridiculousness of the enchiladas and tacos, i decide to flip back to breakfast and order heuvos rancheros, something with no meat at all.

the food was, despite the service issues, quite good. authentic and loaded with flavor and some spice.

however, while eating the food... a splash of water comes flying over the wall from the kitchen. yes, i got rained on while eating my food. who knows if this is dirty dish water or something from food prep. it did not help to brighten my mood. and whoever sent the water flying certainly didn't come to check on whether they hit their target.

add to that a mexican coffee that was ordered but not received, and you've got a recipient for some of the worst service in wellington.

if you go for the food and enjoy terrible service, you'll love viva mexico.

a great place to experience authentic mexican food! all the food is delicious but totally recommend la sopa de tortilla, the tortilla soup! it's quite addictive! so yummy! i took my spanish students with me and they were able to practice some spanish there since they are mexicans!goodfun!

my husband and i had mexican food for the first time. loved it!
i tried one of the enchiladas i think the queso? yum!

verygoodservice too. we were seated within 10 minutes.

do not eat here if you want any kind of decent food. i don't know who is writing all thesegoodreviews but they have obviously never tried real mexican food.

the service i experienced was shocking, i ordered a mild sauce (yeah right) and was unpleasantly surprised to discover that i couldn't even eat my meal because it was so spicy. when i said this to our waiter and asked for something else he first argued with me and then said if i wanted something else i would have to pay for both meals. i was hungry so ordered a quesadilla, which was basically a chicken toastie with cheese and sour cream on the side. very dissatisfied and would not eat here again.

(nb they did not end up charging me for both meals, not sure why possibly because they feared a bad review!)

vegetarian quesadillas are sogoodhere, a great addition to wellington's diverse and cultured eating places. will come back to try the other mexican dishes. not sure if the hot chocolate stand in the friday markets next door is also a part of this house? both aregoodnonetheless