I have never posted a review before but after my horrible experience, I think is it is my duty to stop people wasting their money and having a bad evening. The problem is that the drinks pricing is unfair. You can order 2 cocktails in fancy glasses for a total of £12 /1000ml or you can choose a pitcher for 4 people in small, boring glasses for a total of £18/1000ml. Is that not the most ridiculous thing that you have ever heard of ? and when you try to reason with the Manager (who by the way being a Mexican Restaurant you expect would speak Spanish or a least good English but no they don't ) he was extremely rude and argumentative. The funny thing was when my cousin arrived later in the evening, the first thing she said to me was " Don't get the pitcher, it is a complete rip off" The food is ok but the terrible service and staff who think their job is to outsmart the customer rather than giving them what they want, make it not worth coming here again EVER !

Absolutely appalling experience or should I say lack of experience! I had booked a table for 8 people for my birthday two weeks in advanced. I called twice before to double check that it was still booked an I was assured that the reservation had been made.So I turn up with half of my party as the others were running a few minutes late. When I arrived I was told my table was not ready and it would be a 10 minute wait so we were hushed outside back into the cold. 10 minutes later I return through the door and the table is still not ready, the manager makes a few more excuses saying that the party before us is taking their time with paying their bill and because my entire party were not present, what different would it make? By that point I think it was pretty clear that there had been no booking in the first place.Anyway, another 10 minute wait and another few excuses from the manager, who even ha the nerve to ARGUE with us because we were upset we had no table- we had no choice but to find ourselves another restaurant, and at 10pm that is no easy task.I have eaten here a couple times before and even if you do get a table (I would suggest parties under 3), the food really isn't great.Advertise on your website that it's a great place for birthdays and special occasions then at least keep to your word when someone makes a booking!!!!

My self with 2 friends dined here last night(06/09/11)It was fantastic, really friendly staff, good vibe, great food, also a special mention for one of the waitress by the name of Sab, great attitude funny, and so warm and friendly, proving how servicing should be done! thanks to her for making it a fun filled night, through her excellent hostess with the mostest skills, total thumbs up to her and the whole team.

I have being going here for many years and food and the staff has always been fantastic!

I cant understand all the bad reviews on this restaurant. I have been coming here for years and recently had a birthday party for 15 people. It was a great night, the staff were very hospitable and entertaining. The food was very good as always, drinks are very reasonably priced and they do the best cocktails in town.

I would definitely recommend to anyone especially for large parties as entertainment was really good.

Rang and booked a table for Saturday night. Upon arriving we had to wait standing in the doorway for over half an hour for our table. The waiters were grumpy and chose to argue rather then find a table.

When we were finally shown to our table the food was ok but the service remained miserable. Maybe they were just having an off night, but I would not recommed Desperados.

Please please avoid going here as it you'll find it to be a complete waste of money! The service started off OK but rapidly went down hill from the moment the starter was on the table. The calamari was greasy with too much batter and the fajita chicken of my main was uncooked. When I pointed this to the waiter when he came to collect our plates, he told me I should have told him (not in a polite way) and poked about the chicken on the plate to check as I was lying. In fact I didn't really care about asking for a replacement as it was tasteless anyway. We didn't get offered a desert menu and so waited and waited and waited for our bill; in the end I had to get up and ask for it, and even then the waiter had to be reminded again 5 minutes later by the manager who could see we were rapidly getting very angry. When we finally got the bill a 10% service had been added. We told them we wouldn't pay for the service charge and that we really shouldn't pay for the fajita main seeing as it was largely inedible - the waiter said it wasn't pink - we said it was - he said it has to be a bit pink as otherwise the outside would burn if you cook it too much - errrr, OK. We left feeling robbed having payed over the odds for terrible food and terrible service. I can't believe they are still in business being that awful! I think it's quite obvious whether or not we will be back.

This restaurant is horrible to the point of hilarity. We started off with the top shelf margaritas; we were brought original margaritas (the price difference was nil so we decided to give them the benefit of the doubt and not say anything). Then we ordered nachos as a starter and asked for no guacamole as I'm allergic to avocados. We received the starter with guacamole which was cleverly covered up by some sour cream. Again, i just ate around it and didn't mind. BUT THEN... we were brought chimichangas rather than our burritos (chimichangas are deep fried as opposed to burritos which are served with normal soft tortillas). We informed the server of the mistake in advance of him putting the plates on our table. Five minutes later we were brought the same exact plates except this time the chimichangas had melted cheese and salsa on top. We let the server know that these were still the same plates, but with extra food on top of them (the table next to us had ordered a burrito as well so we were able to compare). We refused the entree and instead just asked for our check for what we had eaten and left. This place has mediocre food, terrible service and a cooking staff which thinks they ought to outsmart the customer rather than giving them what they want! On the plus side the margaritas were nice; however, we would not recommend!

I have been using desperados for years and always loved it but after last night I will never set foot in there again! the customer service was just absolutely appalling! after being spoken to so rudely we actually left before our starters had arrived! As it is so close to Christmas we were worried about getting a table anywhere else but were welcomed with open arms by Mem and Laz on Theberton street! Our night would have been ruined if it wasn't for their amazing food and excellent customer service!
As for desperados I would have ranked them in minus figures if that was an option!!

(the name says it all!)i have been to Desperados many times, it use to be good but in the last few years it has become awful and I have finally given up. Its such a shame as it had so much potential. The tall bald manager is extremely rude and pushy. I once saw him ask two girls to leave because they were only ordering drinks, at the ridiculously high prices that are charged for drinks, they would have probably spent a small fortune anyway. The ribs are dry and burnt more often than not as with the burritos. The final straw for me is that they now water down the bbq sauce. It use to be delicious but now just a tasteless watery mess. Avoid. If you want a delicious burrito go to Chilango's just up the road towards the station. (same side as Desperados)

i dont understand why you have given a bad reveiw on this restaurant
i have been to desperados lots of times and the service is on the ball
food was the best i have ever eaten for a long time its fresh and the food always is on time
as for the cocktails well they are the best
my favorite are the mojitos

This was the worst culinary experience I have ever had.

The weather ended up driving us into this place and we were mildly attracted by the steaks and nachos on the menu by the door.

We hadn't even taken our coats off before being asked for drinks, and when we said can we think about it, he told us he thought we would just want beers!!

To be rushed once by 1 waiter would be enough, but to have a different waiter harass me and my girlfriend literally every 30 seconds really drove me up the wall to the point where I had to ask them politely to back off until I called one of them over. Of course, when we were ready, I had great difficulty catching anyones attention.

The drinks we ordered were poor excuses for cocktails and at the price of £6, we were expecting better.

Once the food arrived, no sauces were offered so we had to find another one of the 1 million different waiters walking past to ask. The BBQ pork ribs were alright,in all honesty. They don't however know the way to cook steak. My girlfriend ordered a medium rare sirloin and both of us always have and know what to expect with medium rare. What came to the table must have been put on the grill for 10 seconds each side and when she cut into it, it was completely rare. I called the manager over and he was very rude and argued the toss over what he describes as medium rare. After it was recooked, it was still unenjoyable.

Our meals almost ended up on the floor with all the waiters banging into our table. Once we got the bill, I was appalled to see a 10% compulsory service charge added onto it. I called over the manager to confront him, bringing to his attention the "service", which led to another very rude argument concluding in me giving up rather than making a huge scene.

We quickly paid and left. On the way out, we looked at the menu by the door to check for any mention of a compulsory service charge. It was very conveniently hidden by some miniature mexican hat.

This restaurant i

I don't understand all of the BAD reviews below. I have been here about 10 times with different parties of friends and family... and never had any complaints! OK, it gets a little squashy during the weekends after 6 pm, and saying that I prefer not to go as a couple (as yes then your likely to be sat right beside another couple (rather intimate, sardine can kinda way) however that said, if you were looking for a quite table for two in a cosy corner... you can clearly see from the outside of this establishment, that its not that kinda place.

I have always found the staff friendly, I have never been rushed to finish. The atmosphere is vibrant and fun..and if your celebrating a birthday, the staff (including the very pleasant manager) all gang together to sing Happy Birthday to you! a bit embarrassing but really sweet too

You get what you pay for here, the food is decent and the cocktails * a little over priced, but very yummy.

Its my birthday today and yes I'm taking the gang to Desperados ... my choice for a fun filled evening, value for money and yummy tucker for my tummy :)

What an unpleasant experience.

It started with the stuffed jalapenos, which were frozen in the middle. A bit of a shock when you're expecting something piping hot from the deep fryer. I'd guess they were microwaved from the freezer.

Then there was the chili. Tesco Value mince in a flavourless red sauce.

Margaritas, at £17 a jug, were watered down.

And then, to top it all off, halfway through the meal we were asked to move to a different table.

We didn't stick around to see what the desserts were like.

I can't understand the negative reviews below. I've been a few times, most recently last night, and have developed a deep affection for the place.

First things first: BEST BBQ SAUCE EVER. If you go here, make sure you have the ribs - magnificent, succulent meat that falls off the bone (little to no gnawing required), slathered in the most sublime, smoky-sweet, rich brown BBQ sauce I have ever experienced. I never used to be a big fan of BBQ sauce, but this place was an absolute epiphany.

In addition, I've always found the staff attentive and charming (if untutored), and while the cheerfully OTT tex-mex decor might not be to all tastes, I think it adds a carnival atmosphere that complements the food and cocktails perfectly.

NB I have no kind of affiliation with the restaurant - just a satisfied customer.

I normally wouldn't write a review about a restaurant but after my experience at Desperados I think it is my duty to stop people wasting their money and having a crap evening. Where to begin mmm.... once apon a time a boyfriend and girlfriend went out on a Saturday night for something to eat and happened apon a restaurant in islington called Desperados. Hungry and undecided as to what cuisine they would like to eat they entered the restaurant and proceeded to be seated in a lively busy eatery (so far so good).
Once they had ordered their food, they took in the absence of their surroundings and where looking forward to a good meal (Fools). The starters arrived of potato wedges with melted cheese and chicken wings in their special sauce. As the couple proceeded to eat their starters there was a sudden dawning of realisation that the food was, how shall we put it s##t. Potato wedges, under cooked under seasoned, under whelming .How the F##k can you not cook wedges properly? answer: ask the chef (if that's what they call themselves) at Desperados. The cheese was bland bordering on plastic. The WINGS (I wish they could of flown off my plate into a bin) where covered in their sauce which was so over powering, thick sweet and sticky which was a shame because you could not taste the over cooked , dry chicken underneath. no more space but u understand

Went to Desperados for a friends 17th - what a waste of a night as far as im concerned! The service was absolutely terrible and slow. The waitresses were incredibly rude and the service was terrible. Our food took ages to arrive. The quality of the food was terrible and the portions tiny and was of incredibly poor quality. We were cramped in a tiny space and everyone was sweating like mad. This business is only concerned for its money so please do not fund Desperados! I really would not recommend this to anyone unless you're willing to be ripped off, spoken to rudely by staff and want a poor quality meal. Such a shame I cant give it a 0 star rating

Very cramped restaurant & rushed service which was to ensure we was sat down, eaten and out within the 1 hour mark - NOT relaxing in the slightest.

We recieved incredibly unprofessional service especially from the manager, he was very rude and abrupt, dealt with the general running of the business (on a saturday night) in a poor manner, very low standard of service.

Other than that, the menu was impressive and the food was tastey but of a small quantity but you pay for what you get as it wasn't over priced.

I probably won't be returning to the restaurant, I will be going to another mexican called Tortilla!

I went with a friend and we couldn't have been happier. Good friendly service, excellent food at a good price. Looking forward to going there again soon.

I have wanted to eat here for ages- every time I walk past its rammed and I thought that was a good sign. NOT SO!

The staff were all smiles when we booked our table earlier that day - when we arrived that evening they had crushed so many people in it was uncomfortable.

We were sat at a table for two so close to the sloppy couple next to us he may as well have been sat on my lap!

We ordered drinks and some tap water - the starters came but not the water, so I asked again, the main course then came but still no water, and I dared to ask again stating that this was the third time I had asked for water only to be shot down by the moodiest waitress I have ever come across who said "some people have asked 15 times!"

Shortly afterwards she slammed to glasses on the table, one was only half full and said "see you just need to ask the right person!".

The food was average as far as mexican goes but the staff - who clearly all hate their jobs are beyond belief.I will NEVER ever go back!

I went last night with some friends, although I found the food very good, the staff were awful, rushed us from the minute we entered and constantly were harassing us to finish, i don't think I would eat there again purely because of the rudeness of the staff and the manager was even worse, the place wasn't even busy and thought they could have given us a little more time to relax and enjoy our food.

We were delighted with the service and attentiveness of the staff. The tapas meals were great, tastey with lovely cocktails.

They have great offers mid-week. Very friendly flexible and caring atmosphere.

In the end we got two £5 worth margaritas:-) We give A++++ and recommend it!

Absolutely the worst experience I have ever had.

A large group of us had a reservation later in the night at this "cocktail bar" according to their signs and menus, most of us wanted to eat but some people had come from other places and weren't too hungry right away.

They brought drinks out right away (pitchers completely filled with ice) but didn't have enough glasses so we literally waited over 40 minutes for everyone to get glasses.

One person ordered water from three different people and after over an hour, never got it.

They never even got around to everyone to ask them what they wanted. Instead, they flipped out at the first people who said they weren't ordering a main, actually yelling at people.

I've never seen such rude staff, and the manager was even worse.

We were planning to be there for 2-3 hours, drinking who knows how much, and eating who knows how many mains, starters, etc.

Instead, they asked us to leave because not every person was immediately ordering starters and mains. AVOID this place.

Booked a table for 8 of us, when we had got there the manager had made a mistake and booked it for a different day, waited 25 mins for another table, when we finally got the table it was for 6, the manager said we should be happy that we got a table at all!

The food was bland, and one of our starters was burnt and rubbery (tortilla), we showed the manager and he flipped out and started shouting at us, saying that it was meant to be like that.

We wasnt noisey or rude so there was no reason for it. My friend got upset she was shouted at and was half in tears! One of the other managers, a lady, heard him shouting and came over and asked what was going on, when he started shouting again saying that we should be happy that we got a table (even though we booked).

The lady explained that he was stressed and apologised for his behaviour. By now everybody in this busy restaurant was looking at us.

We were so embaressed, by this point we didnt even want to be there, half of my friends payed for thier drinks and starters and left where as the mains for the other half us had arrived, so we picked at our bland food and left.

The only good thing about the experiance was the cocktails looked and tasted great, but the service and food was rubbish. NEVER AGAIN!

i first went to Desperados 4 years ago with my boyfriend in fact we had our first date there...since then we have always been regular customers..and on 14/feb/09 my boyfriend proposed to me...we are planning on have a family celebration at Desperados in may/09...we find the staff are very welcoming and helpful..the food is always fresh,well presented and tastes devine..the resturant its self has a very livly mexicano feel to it..we always ahave a grate night out there..and being regulars the manager always gives us complimentry night caps before we leave...Further more Desperados have always displayed outstanding customers service and from what i see a high level of hygeine..so we give them 5 STARS...c u guys soon amigos..

fantastic resturant and even better food...love it there

I've been Valentine's night at Desperados with my girlfriend and I had excelent night, I had best mexican food for long time. The staff are very excelent very hospitality end of the night Desperados staff gave rose to my girlfriend which is really nice for guys and highly recommend for everyone Valentine's night.

i had my 21st b day here and it waqs the best night of my life, we always come here and my familys been coming here for years service food and the cocktails are amazing
as a thank you i would like to recommend desperados to everyone in the london and sourrounding areas if you want good fresh mexican food then come on down its wicked

I've been in Desperados with my girlfriend, it was top quality food, excelent cocktails, very nice latin music, I will definetly go back again.

The food was standard and unexceptional but the affair got worse when the meal was finished.

The restaurant was full and clearly over booked. The bill came quickly without request or a dessert menu. We were then asked (without apology) to more to another table (biggest table is 6 and there was 5 of us!) Our complaint was not registered but instead the manager proceeded to threaten to 'take this outside' (whilst trying to physically remove one of us. All in all not the best experience.

There are two lovely Burrito joints just down the street towards angel. Mocho Mas and Tortilla both serve excellent traditional Mexican food, are better priced and by far tastier.

Fabulous food and service. First time there and we had a really great time. Highly recommended.

Desperados has obviously gone down hill since the View London review was written! The food is awful and the cocktails are badly prepared and quite simply watery!
My Ribena tasting Cosmopolitan was £5.95 - for £2.50 more I could have bought an amazing Cosmo in most bars in London. I paid £8.95 for Vegetable Fajitas which were raw vegetables and packaged seasoning. A store-bought fajita pack from a supermarket would have been nicer. We also suffered microwave rice, processed cheese and boring salads. Basically I don't want to part with money for something I could have made better at home - and I'm no chef!

And the service was so bad. I'm still waiting for my glass of water and several other drink orders. The staff had no clue what the food was and the restaurant was stifling! I took up smoking again just to get out of the place for a few minutes! At at the

Seriously - don't go there! It's BAD

HORRIBLE. I'm from the US and was at first delighted to find a restaurant that seemed to mirror the similar ones that I frequent back home and was more than extremely disappointed to discover a menu of horrendously overpriced food. I feel sorry for the reviewer who stated that this restaurant was his first Mexican experience. Obviously back in the States we are more proximate to Mexico and hence have greater access to quality Mexican food but it really isn't that hard to recreate yet Desperados certainly made it seem so. We ordered the nachos grandes that for just over 6 pounds was decent, but the enchiladas that I ordered for dinner were 8 pounds and filled with a grand total of 4 corn kernals along with a enchilada mystery sauce that was forgettable. The lettuce that was served on the side was not the shredded lettuce of custom but a tiny salad with balsamic vinaigrette. What Mexican restaurant serves salad with balsamic vinaigrette?! My friends ordered a chili cheese hamburger with fries (why a Mexican restaurant has hamburgers on it's menu is more than beyond me) and got a burger that was lacking in taste and a roll that made McDonald's rolls seem gourmet. Another friend sought refuge from the high prices in an appetizer of sauteed chicken that came as a rather paltry chicken breast th with an over the top presentation that was laughable. The chimichangas that were also ordered seemed to be the most filling and decent portion but were still soaked in mediocrity. Whoever said they left this place full must have eaten a meal beforehand because we left stumbling to the local Sainsbury for a quick fix. Sure the cocktail menu reeks of Cancun in it's flashy cocktails that don't merit 5.95 pounds but they aren't worth coming back. Bottomline: If you seek decent Mexican, try the other two spots around the area whose Mexican was exponentially better without the cloyingly annoying feel of a Mexican cruise gone wrong.

This place is great, I had my birthday at Desperados a couple of years ago, and a love affair began! The servings are generous, there’s a wide range of cocktails and the atmosphere is really good fun. The food is your classic tex-mex, everything is tasty and the staff are always keen to make sure you have a good time. I would definitely recommend it.

First experience of Mexican food & boy did I like it. The staff were great, really happy good team there. The atmosphere is party time but the service is superb. I can honestly say I have never been so impressed. The food was fantastic & so filling. Wonderful place to eat.

Vibrant and enticing restaurant, certainly stands out on Upper Street. The food is extremely good and the staff are very friendly.