It’s becoming a family tradition to go to The Nutcracker at Christmastime – again! Again because I was taken to see it as a child for many years and it’s wonderful that now my grandsons are old enough to enjoy it too. It was Freddie’s (10) third time; Ben’s (8) second and this time my son Jonathan, their dad, came too. He joined us for a meal after the matinee last Christmas, straight from work, but when I learnt he would still be on holiday this time, I was delighted to find I could get a seat for him right next to the three I’d already bought. 

The London Coliseum is the largest theatre in London and, indeed, England, seating 2,359 people. Designed by architect Frank Matcham, it opened in 1904. It was one of the first theatres in Europe to have lifts to take people up to the upper levels and the first theatre in England to have a triple revolve fitted onto the stage. Its baroque exterior is topped with a huge dome and it sits in the heart of London’s theatre land in St Martin’s Lane. Today it is home to the English National Ballet and the English National Opera. 

The auditorium is magnificent and for The Nutcracker, the stage curtain is a fabulous display of Nutcracker themes. Ben was delighted to see that if you watched carefully, every so often the Nutcracker’s mouth dropped open – so we all had to watch for it!

We enjoyed the ballet enormously and, as we exited the theatre we decided, with about an hour to spare before our booking at Wahaca, to take a walk round the Covent Garden Piazza. It was very busy, but it was good to see the huge Christmas tree and all the festive decorations. I suggested we went into Benjamin Pollack’s Toy Shop, which has been selling toys for over 100 years. I’ve taken the boys there before but thought Jonathan would be interested to see it. From one aisle of the market, you go through an entrance and up a narrow winding staircase into the shop. It’s tiny! And nearly always very busy. But it’s wonderful and like stepping back in time. It’s an absolute must to see if you’re in Covent Garden. Jonathan bought the boys small gifts and then we made our way carefully down the stairs again and headed to Santa Nata. Another tradition with the boys is that we have to take some of their Pastel de Natas home! 

Finally, at Wahaca, a small chain of Mexican restaurants, it was down more stairs into their huge basement area. It was busy and has a lively, colourful interior. We were shown to our table and menus – kids’ for the boys – and a carafe of water and glasses were immediately brought. I do like it when restaurants bring water straight away!

It was buzzing with happy talk and laughter and the boys were immediately captivated. It was years since I’d been though I once went quite regularly. Freddie – nearly 11 – is getting a bit big for kids’ menus but we immediately saw this one was a great deal and said if the boys each ordered from that, we’d order lots more dishes to share. 

They each chose ‘Build Your Own Tacos’ with the chicken option and when it arrived they were big plates (trays really) with plenty of food. Any doubts about what a kids’ menu might serve them were immediately dispelled as they tucked in enthusiastically.

The boys’ drinks were a good size too and Jonathan and I chose to have Lucky Saint low alcohol beers. 

   

Jonathan had been to Wahaca more recently than me and I more or less left it to him to choose the rest of our food, though requested the Guacamole with tortilla chips (£6.95). And we’d promised Freddie when we looked at the menu outside earlier in the day we’d have the halloumi tacos: Halloumi Al Pastor, grilled with tomatillo sauce and pineapple salsa and dressed slaw (£7.95). Freddie likes meat but he’s also developed a love of halloumi after having a halloumi wrap in Comptoir Libanais recently. He loved this halloumi tacos and so did I, particularly liking the fresh pineapple salsa complementing the slightly salty halloumi cheese.

Jonathan wanted Pork Pibil – free range slow-cooked in citrus and achiote – saying it was his favourite dish (£7.95). 

I was keen to have Grilled Chicken & Avocado: with a warming Yucatescan salsa (£7.95). We also ordered Beef Gringa: grass-fed, slow-cooked with grilled cheese and salsa Fresca ((£8.50). As a side we ordered Sweet Potato Bravas: crisp chunks dressed in jalapeño allioli with hibiscus salsa (£6.50). These were fabulous. Potatoes Bravas can sometimes be disappointing, I think, but these were wonderful with a gorgeous hot spicy sauce. The boys don’t like sweet potato so Jonathan and I shared them.

    

All the tacos dishes came as two soft corn tortillas, grilled and filled, so the prices given here are for two tacos. Jonathan ordered two portions of some, giving us 4 tacos, which I thought would be too much. How wrong I was! He and the boys ate more than I did and it was all eaten up.

The boys each had a scoop of ice cream (£1.95 per scoop) and both chose chocolate. I ordered an espresso which came with a ‘bite of chocolate mole cake’, which was really delicious so another time, when I’ve room for dessert, I think I’ll have to order some.

   

It was a wonderful meal, which we all enjoyed a lot. The boys were impressed that their food came so quickly and the rest of the dishes came at intervals, as is usual in restaurants like this. The boys decided it had earned 10 out of 10 in their scoring! Service was friendly and helpful and it was such a good and fun place to enjoy a tasty and exciting meal after the lovely ballet. The total bill with service came to £116.