Santo

I only have one word for this place: AVOID !!!
you will only be disapointed, the portions are tiny, overpriced, not tasty and they are cold when they arrive at your door. I mean… I understand that delivering 200 yards away would take nearly an hour and it might explain why the food was cold but once only for me ! Honestly a Disgrace ! try Camino accross the road…its much better on all counts !
minus 1000 out of 10 !

I'm sad that the other reviews for Santo aren't so positive as we were very impressed by the meal we had there at the weekend. It has been some time since they were written and I can only assume that things have dramatically improved over the last 6 months.
It's a funny place, full of rickety tables and chairs, but very suited to that part of London. While some of the main courses are quite expensive, you can eat on the cheap if you pick wisely. There's a good range of burritos to suit all tastes; I had the cochinita pibil, which was well sized and stuffed with meat. In fact, it was possibly one of the best burritos I've had in London in a long time…certainly one of the spiciest! A dish of enchiladas was also very good although almost twice the price and a lot smaller than the burrito. While Santo is a little out of the way, it's worth making the trip here as it does offer more offbeat taste of Mexico that you won't find elsewhere in London.

This place is the definition of you get what you pay for. It's cheap for sure – but it's also awful. The service is beyond slow – and confused. We had to ask for our drinks three times over the course of fifteen minutes before we got them. Try ordering water or chips and salsa and it feels like you're speaking another language. And the food is beyond boring. We ordered guacamole – which was watery and bland. And the burritos are the worst of “Tex Mex” – just starchy and awful. Do not bother with this place.

Still the best new ‘local’ in Portobello Road. Again I had a wonderful night last Saturday. It's Thursday already but I'm still remembering it.. thank you guys for the amazing music, the dancing, the fantastic margaritas and the FOOD!
Having travelled extensively in Mexico, I know how hard it is to experience that authentic taste and you guys are doing it! Salud! See you soon, E x

I am invariably disappointed by Mexican restaurants in this country. I spend a lot of time in Tokyo – the Mexican restaurants there are superb (that doesn't surprise me as the Japanese have such high standrads in food and service) no idea why they're generally rubbish in this country. Santo is a nice looking place, the staff are nice and the location is good. The kitchen seems to make some kind of effort with the food – it is well presented. However, it is generally cooked by people who know little about Mexican food and very little about how to cook beef. You'll end up with a plate with a burrito that itelf is OK and it all looks good, but the filling is just another pile of UK – Mexican stodge – mushy beef mushed up with a mushy mish mash of stodge. It's the sort of thing that somebody in the 80s who had never tasted Mexican food might have said ‘ very nice dear’. But don't tell me this is good Mexican food – it's just another pile of soggy mushy stodge. Sorry for saying this, but it's true. Crazie Homies up the road is better but it's still a long long way from authentic quality mexican food.

just read the last two reviews and think that Wayne and Ken a) must be the same person, and b) must have some sort of a grudge against the owners…
The style of writing is the same and the content inacurate. Why have both Wayne and Ken visited many times despite obviously finding the food so revolting??! I have eaten there over a dozen times, but have done so because i think the food is wonderful. It IS authentic, i am married to a Mexican and should know. It is also damn fine. The service can be a little slow, but this is the only fault i can find. Wayne and Ken? Go home to Barbie…

If you're craving “Authentic Mexican” then avoid Santo. Sadly the food and service only consistently disappoint. The staff is unfriendly, the service is slow to non existent and the bar service is the worst I've ever encountered. Over the past year I dined there about half a dozen times but reserved judgement until now: BAD. In addition to the above, Santo should win awards for London's most tiny and pricey margaritas, avocado-less guacamole, oddly rubbery and fatty pork pibil, and synthetic like cheesey enchiladas, to name a few. If you enjoy being ignored and paying for food that tastes like it comes from a jar then Santo could be one of your favorites. It certainly isn't mine.

Mediocre Mexican food, terrible service and a poor attitude add up to a very disappointing evening. Having dined there several times over the past year, the service and food keeps getting worse. When they first opened, it was nice to have something that was striving to be authentic but now suffers from a lack of caring. The bartender is probably the slowest and most arrogant I have ever witnessed. Do no eat here!

I know not much of Mexican cuisine – i guess i expected cheap food comprising of dorito style chips with cheese and beans, maybe a hot salsa on the side, its main objective to stop one getting quite so drunk on the tequila's…
I was taken to Santo by a friend who'd been there and liked it, and i have to say i am truly grateful to him as my taste buds have now been exposed to a new experience. Delicious food and i'm guessing the real deal as the owners and chef are all Mexican. Tasty dishes with chile's that are not just ‘hot’ but are smoky and unique. Good variety of starters, with ceviche, guacamole etc. I have been there twice, and had a good experience both times. I recommend it and am now on the look out for more real Mexican quality restaurants in London.