Best of Toronto
The Best Tacos in Toronto
The best tacos in Toronto seem to buck the very popular sentiment that you get what you pay for. The tacos on this list run from a low of $2 each all the way up to $6. Although, if you're really hungry and feel like eating 15 tacos in one sitting, you can even get them for as little as $1 each.
As a perfect fast food that's also fresh and healthy, perhaps it comes as no surprise that most of the best tacos come from small, no frills, family run establishments that have, as their genesis, a simple desire to share the food they grew up with. Coming from Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, and Honduras among others they marinate, cook, stew, press, fold, form, slice and dice these 4" diameter corn tortillas and fillings into a powder keg of taste that's just waiting for you to light a match.
A special shout out has to go to La Tortilleria because regardless of whom you buy your taco from, it's almost guaranteed to be served with one of their incredible corn tortillas, made fresh daily.
Here are the 12 best tacos in Toronto as chosen by readers of this site.
Tacos el Asador
Opened by their father in 1993 and the grand pappy on this list, brothers Rene and Alberto Salvador continue the tradition of mixing Mexican and El Salvadoran cuisine for their insanely loyal following up on Bloor West. A colourful interior nicely complements the excellent tacos ($2.45 each) that are served with maybe the city’s best guacamole. More »
El Trompo
For 7 years Lucero Hernandez and her 3 daughters have run their Kensington restaurant and grown their clientele so that any day of the week their patio can be seen full of very happy people. And why not? The tacos (5 for $9.75) are incredible - especially the al pastor with the added sweetness of pineapple that plays perfectly off the pork. More »
La Perla
Upstairs from Milagro on West Queen West and with hard to find fish tacos on the menu, La Perla does it right. Beer battered red snapper is served with pico de gallo and topped with a cabbage, jalapeno, carrot, jicama and pineapple coleslaw that’s fresh and light, has a hint of heat, nice acidity and still packs a ton of flavour. More »
Frida
On the more upscale end of things, this cute (and very blue) restaurant on Eglinton West is notable for the absence of pork. They make up for it, however, by adding lamb and goat to the usual offerings and make sure only top quality cuts of meat are used. A generous serving (3 for $11) of gorgeously marinated steak only needs lime to pack a flavour punch. More »
Dos Amigos
Just under the Bathurst bridge, crammed with Mexican artifacts and with a great selection of tequilas and Margaritas, Dos Amigos is perfect as a pre-Tarragon or after work destination. The tiny restaurant with a really cute patio fills quickly, but their tacos (3 for $10.95) are worth the wait. More »
La Tortilleria
La Tortilleria combines their monopoly of the tortilla production biz with some pretty good fillings. But with rice and beans as a base the shells (3 for $6.49) get soggy and fall apart easily. Thankfully the generous servings more than make up for the extra effort. More »
Mexitaco
Owners Alex and Gabriela opened at Bloor and Shaw 9 years ago and for flavour, they can’t be beat. At $7 for 4 chorizo, cochinita (pork), bistec (beef), arradera (skirt steak), al pastor (shredded pork), or tinga (chicken) tacos, it feels like theft. Presented simply with just the shell, meat, marinated onion and 2 sauces it’s worth a few trips. More »
Mexican Salsas
Around for only 7 months, owner Jesus Martinez’s Kensington Market hole in the wall cooks up flavours from Mexico City, Merida and Puebla. The tacos are crazy colourful, super fresh and you get 3 for $6 from Monday to Thursday. With grand ambitions for a much larger menu offering and the intention to make his own tortillas asap this is a place to watch. More »
The Drake Hotel
The Drake's SoCal fish tacos (2 for $12) are a summer thing but with their popularity (over 200 served a week) here's hoping they become a mainstay. Made with cornmeal fried pieces of the Daily Catch, the white corn tortillas come with guac and a coleslaw topping. The fish is fresh but be sure to add some salsa because the base flavour can be a bit light, bordering on bland. More »
Rebozos
Open smack in the middle of a very residential neighbourhood, Rebozos' tacos (3 for $7.50) are yummy and must be eaten with an incredible red salsa that just might be the most flavourful I’ve ever encountered. If this isn’t your hood, make the effort and go. More »
Perola Supermarket
Situated at the back of this Kensington grocery store is a kitchen that dishes out food 7 days a week (it used to be just weekends). You order and pay at the cash (2 for $6), take your receipt to the back and await delivery. With 6 kinds of tacos on the menu, large portions and guaranteed authenticity on their side, it’s hard to go wrong. More »
Discussion
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That still doesn't explain the existence of The Drake on the list though. Or for that matter that Mexican food in Toronto is the worst of any large city in North America.
Agreed, Toronto has some of the worst Mexican food in NA. (because a "good burrito" = "huge burrito"...)
But looking forward to that quickly changing with a newly expanding Latin population as noted above.
Can any one recommend a good mole poblano anywhere in town? In a central Mexican style?
Is Chowhound big here in TO?
Thanks.
"Why isn't ______________ on the list?! You suck BlogTO! Other parts of Toronto exist beyond ________________ and ____________ you know!"
That said, I could really go for some tacos now, perhaps even a fishy one.
you guys need to start putting a disclaimer on these articles that the list is voted on, not entirely diffinitive and 'add your thoughts or recommendations' below, because it is annoying reading all these east enders tripe.
More and more you get best of results showing that. How many times can the Drake appear on these lists? It's crazy. It gives east enders continually less reason to visit the site because it's increasingly less helpful to them. Cue the cycle of east enders nominating fewer and fewer places, voting for fewer and fewer places and contributing less and less overall.
Over the last few years I've definitely seen a concentrating affect towards the west of Yonge (and starting to go further west to University or Spadina), south of Bloor area. The Annex used to get its fair share of nominations, but even that is a thing of the past.
Going east of Yonge, especially Broadview and -especially- Coxwell is getting increasing flack from the trendy community. I recently reviewed a fantastic new pizza place east of Coxwell, easily 5 stars and easily one of the best pizza places in the city and the second review gave it one or two stars and their main reason? East of Coxwell.
That said, there -IS- crap-all for Taco places on the east side.
Totally agree with Ryan L. This issue has gotten worse over the past couple of years. You used to have writers like Devon Scoble, who dared to venture further afield than Queen W. Hell, she went to Jane and Finch and by her review of some chicken place, convinced me to go too! Bring back Devon Scoble!
Enrico, I'm sick of reading the complaints too, but there is a reason they invariably pop up.
If anything, I think people are quite excited about the east end; they just don't broadcast it, for whatever reasons (maybe people can be more nervous about recommending a very new, unknown place, or because they want to keep it their secret). But people also by nature are just kind of lazy. I like exploring places I walk by, places by my house. They're going to be the most useful when I get hungry on a Monday night and I don't feel like cooking. Etc.
I honestly can't fault BlogTO for publishing what its writers feel comfortable writing about. They get paid, but I think BlogTO is a lot more reliant on writers' whims than the readers seem to think. The best they can do is encourage writers they already employ and put out a call for people from more places in the city.
You want more east-end coverage, get your east-end friends and adventurous west-end friends to contribute.
if you feel so upset about the shops that are not listed above,...make your own list and place in the comments. If you don't, you're a loser for complaining. Loser!
If you don't live in the East end, you probably don't notice it, but it's getting glaringly suspicious.
The best recent example was the recent Best Butter Chicken list that didn't feature a SINGLE restaurant from India Town! What?!!
I understand what some people are saying (If you don't vote for the East end, you won't see the East end on the lists), but there really are exciting new places popping up there that don't get nearly the amount of love that a random place on College or Queen W. would get.
The owness really is on the site that claims to represent the entire city to find a solution.
But this list does have 3-4 or my personal favs.
Never heard about Oddfellows. Do they really have an all you can eat taco night on Sundays?
MUST TRY!!!
It's a tough road you ride on, I know. people are very quick to judge, and not so forthcoming in praise. Guys, great work in bringing both the rain and the sunshine of Toronto to our fingertips.... BUT.....I think we need to either get an additional field reporter out there, or rename this site BlOgTo-WeSt.com.
Big love.
I don't think it's fair to cite the city's gigantic burritos as evidence of low quality Mexican food in Toronto. The burritos you refer to are not Mexican food. They are Tex-Mex, or some other thing, and their existence says nothing about the quality of the (admittedly more rare) Mexican food in the city. Granted our food here is not as good or varied as it is in Mexico, or even in California, or even in Chicago. This is a function of the size of the Mexican diaspora and the quality of ingredients available and it is a problem you see with most cuisines when prepared outside their areas of origin.
With respect, however, I do wish you would drop the pretense of asking for a good mole poblano in a "central Mexican style." Since mole poblano means "Mole made in the style of Puebla" it's impossible for true mole poblano to be made in any other style than "central Mexican," which is where Puebla is located. If it was in another style, then it would be another kind of mole. Mole poblano is these days made all across Mexico, but there are hundreds of others and I hope you will consider trying them in your laudable quest for delicious mole. Mole verde, each region having its own style, amarillo, chochilo negro, colorado, moles de olla (these are more like soups), guaxmole, clemole and ayamole, to name just a few. The Oaxaca region has tonnes, and if you like mole poblano you should definitely check out the moles from this region.
I don't really order moles of any sort (except maybe guacamole) from restaurants in Toronto as it's a very special dish that I like to make myself or eat while in Mexico. I would bet that Rebozos would have a decent version if you call ahead to see if they have it available, and I would also guess Frida's is quite good. The food at these places is made with love and care.
As for Toronto not having good Mexican food I can verify that that is a complete load of garbage. I lived in Dallas for 3 years and Los Angeles for a year. Both cities with a massive Mexican diaspora and much of the food I tasted above was as good or better than the most of their joints.
Anyone???
C'mon, now's your chance to speak up...I'm hungry!
Willow.
That is all.
to anything Mexican in Toronto.
I've had my fair share of Mexican food all over California, all the
way down to Tiajuana, Carne Asada, Burritos, heavenly
fish tacos, sometimes at 3 in the morning in Oceanside...
THE BEST.
However, that being said, Kensington Market's Latino
supermarkets and Tacquieras offer some pretty good
tacos. Try any number of places on Eglinton, east of Dufferin too.
The good news is the the scene is improving with the recent influx on immigrants from Mexico (see Pancho's bakery). The bad news is that I can still have a better Mexican dining experience in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Sigh.
Second, El Sol is good and worth trying, but it is the slowest restaurant I have ever been to, and it's always like that, every time I go. Which isn't a bad thing, sometimes you want a long leisurely meal. But yes, it's not just slow, it's VERY slow.
Apart from that, as a few people have said, Toronto does suck it BAD for mexican food, it's pathetic but oh well.
they have 3 amazing locations with authentic mexican food.
Please be sure to know that there is NOTHING going on at Queen and Broadview, or Leslieville. No cool bars or restaurants; none have sprung up in the past few years since you were here last...NOOOO need to come over and check things out! Honest!
And if you dont see me standing in line at the Drake, its because I have a window seat in a cool bar you've never heard of over here.
What's with all the Taco hate? Tacos are a happy food! If you are not happy about the Taco guide...(that's all it is...a guide), turn off your computers and explore Toronto for yourselves! Yummy Tacos for everyone!
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