Pachanga

In a town that has a dearth of good dining options I am so glad this Mexican restaurant is now on the scene. Pachangas offers truly authentic Mexican cuisine with imaginative recipes and great ingredients. A long fully loaded cocktail bar offers a large range of large and strong cocktails all made by hand to order. Kali the barman was great and clearly had a passion for what he was doing.
Carlos the owner has been in the trade for several decades and his latest offering is a must try. If you like real Mexican food you will love this. I have lived and travelled extensively in Central America and this is as good as you will find in the UK.
The restaurant although rather dull from the outside is wonderfully bright using some vibrant Mexican colours for the décor. Great up tempo music and clever lighting make a great ambience.
Ely from South America served us and she was very smiley efficient and helpful. We ordered the Calamari to start which was tender and superbly presented. The pulled pork main was a highlight. A table next to us order the ribs and a huge rib-​steak so there are a few dishes for those who don’t want to do the full Mexican thing. A must is the fried planton as a side. If you want even hotter spicy food + ask Carlos he can really ramp it up or alternatively tone it down if you are the boiled cabbage variety.
A nice touch they use corn flour rather than wheat flour so much of the menu is GF.
For smokers there is an outside dining area. There is also ample public parking right behind the restaurant. Book at weekends as it is usually full!
In summary vibrant, authentic, owner driven with a South American chef team, prices reflect quality of produce and authenticity of recipes.

Came here on Friday night. This is one of Henley’s newest foodie additions to the town, at a location which used to a pub and burger bar, and various unsuccessful incarnations on the theme before that.
Once inside, it’s very dark and the Mexican décor doesn’t change that, with somber lighting. We were greeted very warmly by the staff, who were universally friendly and accommodating. Too many to mention but Marco from Brazil and Nubi from Portugal were helpful. We had a drink in the outside space which was empty at 8pm and returned to the restaurant to eat, which was about half full. The atmosphere is lively; clearly everyone here has come out for a good time and Carlos, the owner, is on hand to have a chat and make sure you have what you need. I enjoyed my strawberry margaritas immensely. It got busy, and there was no shortage of staff, so the food did take a while to come. We shared the nachos to start, which were not really what I expected. It was a small portion with some sort of sauce on top. I didn’t enjoy that. I then had the chicken chimichanga which was reasonably tasty.
I had looked on Unilocal before I booked a table, but could only find this restaurant on Tripadvisor, where it has 4 and a half stars. Carlos told me that he had the same restaurant in Marlowe but had to shut it down due to rent rises. I checked out the Unilocal reviews for that restaurant; 3 stars and cheesy.
Was the restaurant cheesy? Yes. Was the food good? It was okay. Would I go again? Probably. There’s not a lot to choose from in Henley, and out of a barrel of mediocrity I would rather pick a busy place with smiling staff and tolerably good food. A solid three stars.