A Fun, Vibrant and Colourful South American Food Restaurant in the heart of Worcester

Every year in January it has become a bit of a tradition for me to meet with some of my good friends and visit a well-known Mexican restaurant in Worcester to catch up and start off the New Year with something to look forward to. This year was no exception, and a date and time with my friends was duly arranged. However, having visited our usual restaurant on a couple of occasions since our last meet up and found that it wasn’t up to it’s usual standards (the food seemed to be much spicier every time, even though I was ordering the same dishes) I decided to suggest we try another venue – the Bodega Cantina next to Foregate Street Station, and my friends agreed.

I had a look at the website and perused the menu beforehand which featured a whole host of different South American food options, all quite affordable and all extremely mouthwatering! I made a phone call to book a table for 7pm on January 4th, and the lady who answered the phone and who took my booking was polite and pleasant and ended the call by saying “we look forward to welcoming you on Thursday night.” A great start so far!

I was the first one to arrive as my friends were coming into town on the train but due to train cancellations they decided to abandon that plan and drive to Worcester, but I was greeted enthusiastically, shown to my table and asked if I would like to order something to drink, which I did – a Hummingbird mocktail as I was driving. The first thing that struck me about the venue was how colourful it was, I felt like I had walked straight into a South American carnival or fiesta, which I guess was the idea – I absolutely loved it! The first week in January is always quite gloomy as Christmas and New Year is over, everyone returns to work, it is dark outside and it seems like a long way away until Spring, but the colourful venue and atmosphere at Bodega’s really helped to give me an instant lift. I loved the decorations and was amused to see coloured paperchains adorning the walls and ceilings – I can remember making those as a child in the 1970’s as Christmas decorations, they were all the rage then!

My Hummingbird mocktail, which contained strawberries, watermelon syrup, fresh basil, lime, pomegranate and soda was absolutely delicious. When my friends arrived we ordered our food, and I decided go to for the House Nacho’s to start with and then the Halloumi Burger for my main course.

The nacho’s were sublime and I was pleased to see that they weren’t the usual nacho’s you get in a bag of crisps that you can get anywhere, they were hand made and fried to perfection with a  generous helping of sour cream, salsa and guacamole along with some chilies sprinkled on for good measure. Two of my friends had already had something large to eat that day so they went for a handful of the smaller plates to share between them including the grilled halloumi and a Peruvian favourite Ceviche, which they both enjoyed and said was mouth-watering.

The Halloumi burger was divine – I’m a huge fan of halloumi cheese and this was coated in breadcrumbs and served inside a wrapped tortilla with salad. It came with sweet potato fries and a spicy coleslaw. The coleslaw, although delicious, was not to my taste as I found it to be too spicy, but this is nothing to do with the venue or the chef, it is purely down to my own personal tastes and not a criticism. I couldn’t eat it but I thoroughly enjoyed my Halloumi Burger and sweet potato fries.

I cannot find anything to fault Bodega Cantina for at all. The service was excellent, attentive and professional, the food was sublime, and my Hummingbird cocktail was delicious. I don’t think we will be going back to the other Mexican restaurant now, for us it is Bodega Cantina all the way!

Some of the food and drink may not be to everyone’s taste, but if you love South American food and want to go to a fun, vibrant and colourful venue, look no further than Bodega Cantina in Worcester!

My Ratings

Food – 9 (I am only giving it 9 because of the spicy coleslaw that I couldn’t eat, but remember that is only because of my own personal tastes)

Ambience – 10

Service – 9

Value for money – 10

For more information visit www.bodegacantina.co.uk or call 01905 22200.