There's a Mexican restaurant hiding inside this popular Toronto burger joint
A Toronto restaurant just resolved the eternal debate of burgers or burritos, opening a new Mexican concept under the same roof.
Etobicoke's Elijah's Automatic is something of a burger business nepo baby, which is perhaps why, upon opening in 2024, it made such an immediate — and sustained — splash.
Founded by local restaurateur Shant Mardirosian, founder of Burger's Priest (which he sold in 2017) and Fourth Man in the Fire, the restaurant specializes in flame-broiled patties cooked on a 1000-degree surface, served with fairly standard toppings to let that caramelized crust do the talking.
I'm getting carried away now. Bottom line: the burgers at Elijah's Automatic are good. Over his decades-long career, Mardirosian has proven that he knows what he's doing, which is why, though the choice to also start serving Mexican food under the same roof as Elijah's may be unexpected, you've kind of got to just sit back and, quite literally, let the guy cook.
The Borrowed Donkey, Mardirosian's somewhat-secret Mexican restaurant, has been operating in various capacities out of the burger shop for nearly a year, starting with a humble bean-and-cheese burrito and growing into what it is now: a fully fleshed-out menu of Sonoran fare.
In a video on the Borrowed Donkey Instagram account, Mardirosian explains the specificities of cuisine hailing from the Mexican state of Sonora, which shares a border with Arizona, U.S.A., to the north and California to the west.
It's all about burritos (both breakfast and otherwise), enchiladas, chimichangas, chips, dips and quesadillas, all built, most importantly, on a house-made flour tortilla, and The Borrowed Donkey is one of the only restaurants in the city where you can find it.
The Borrowed Donkey is open seven days a week at 821 The Queensway, and is also available for delivery.
Fareen Karim
