The cocktail bar serves up cold beers and an inventive craft cocktail list, with one drink featuring a rim of traditional crushed grasshoppers. In 2023 Cabbagetown welcomed its first fine dining Mexican eatery, Luis H Restaurant. Tacos are $5 each and available with traditional fillings like asada, barbacoa, pollo, pastor, carnitas, and camaron battered shrimp. We visited the OG Gus Tacos location on August Avenue on a hot summer Saturday afternoon and hopped in line to order a plate packed with tasty tacos. The largest concentration of Mexican restaurants in Toronto can be found in Kensington Market. The Toronto rooftop patio in Leslieville is famous for its churro sundae, crispy battered fish tacos and chicken enchiladas.
Luis H Restaurant & El Nahual Tacos
Campechano redefines the taqueria experience in Toronto’s Fashion District, offering a concise menu where each item shines through simplicity and freshness. Specialising in dishes like tortas, enchiladas, and churros, dining here feels like a hearty meal shared with family. Fonda Lola is where traditional Mexican flavours meet Toronto’s health and wellness trend. Centered on Queen Street East, the neighborhood feels like a small seaside town folded neatly into the city grid.
There are over 130 tequilas behind the bar, so it’s an excellent opportunity to familiarize yourself with Mexico’s finest mezcal. Skip through the front door and you’ll find exposed brick walls, a long narrow bar and the perfect pitch of subdued romantic lighting. You’ll find Kalbi beef and kimchi paired with tomatillo salsa and bulgogi shrimp stuffed in tiny tacos. Barrio Coreano’s kitchen does an excellent job at crafting memorable fusion dishes. The concept is similar to other Playa Cabana restaurants, specializing in small plates and shareable snacks. The fresh vibe makes it one of the most popular vegan restaurants in Toronto.
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Skip inside XOLA on Queen Street East and you’ll find a bright interior featuring dangling lightbulbs and colourful graffiti by Mexican mural artist, Andre Castro. The tiny dining room in The Beaches has just 18 seats so it’s best to make a reservation in advance. The restaurant’s name translates to “by the water” in Mayan, a hat tip to the fact that The Beaches neighbourhood sits perched over Lake Ontario.
- Skip inside Taqueria Gus and you’ll find casual stool seating at the front, open kitchen overlooking the checkout counter and pretty backyard patio.
- Cocktail fans can pair their So-Cal inspired Mexican dishes with a margarita or paloma.
- It’s praised for its tacos al pastor, carved right off the spit, and its inclusive menu featuring an array of vegan options, embodying the diversity of Toronto’s culinary landscape.
- The casual Mexican restaurant features yellow painted walls, dangling lamps, picnic table and bench seating and TV screens that play popular Latin American soap operas and sports.
- You’ll also find a seasonal wine offering alongside a Mexican beer list featuring Dox XX, Sol, Tecate and Model Especial.
The Fernandez sisters from Vera Cruz run the restaurant, offering a menu filled with unique Mexican dishes. East end residents looking for the best Mexican restaurants in Toronto will be delighted at XOLA. The open concept kitchen allows diners to peep onto the grill while a DIY salsa and hot sauce bar features freshly made sauces to spice up your tacos. Her menu focuses on celebrating traditional Mexican recipes using fresh ingredients. Pancho y Emiliano is a friendly restaurant in Kensington Market that has been serving authentic Mexican food and drink for over 10 years in Toronto. Just make sure to pack lots of napkins as dunking tacos in consome can be a messy yet finger-licking-good experience.
Their fresh ceviche and signature margaritas are perfect for those looking for a beach getaway without leaving the city. Traditional dishes and margaritas are enjoyed to the backdrop of live Mariachi bands, offering a slice of Mexican festivity in the heart of The Danforth. El Charro stands out not just for its delicious fare but also for its vibrant fiesta-like atmosphere. Serving up dishes prepared with locally sourced, organic ingredients, this Queen West gem offers a guilt-free way to indulge in your Mexican cuisine cravings.
The 13 Best Mexican Restaurants in Toronto
Andrew has been a keynote speaker at travel conferences around the world mexican restaurants in toronto and interviewed as an expert by publications like the Toronto Star, MoneySense and Toronto Life. In addition to the restaurant, the owners run a Latin American grocery store next door. We were also delighted to discover a Mexican band performing during our dinner. Tierra Azteca caters to the local Mexican community, a sure sign the food is going to be good!
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Andrew studied food & travel trends at the University of Guelph's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management. Two guitarists and a singer crooned upbeat Mexican folk songs to the delight of the dining room. During our visit the place was packed with local families munching on tacos and spooning through bowls of steaming pozole.
Set atop a new Mercer Street skyscraper in the Entertainment District, Nobu Hotel Toronto is an intimate 36-room retreat carved out on the 41st-47th floors of a slick mixed-use tower. Rooms feel like a lake house in soft neutrals, with filtered water on tap, Bamford bath products, deep soaking tubs and yoga mats propped by the closet. Outside, a rock garden of native trees and shrubs shields you from King West’s chaos; inside, it’s reclaimed elm, living walls and more than 3,000 plants helping out with mood regulation. Its striking 14-story structure, all ruddy brick and raw concrete, was ground-up built by acclaimed local architects Shim-Sutcliffe, yet it feels like it’s been part of the historic Garment District for generations. Move past the CN Tower-and-Niagara Falls circuit, and the real Toronto reveals itself in its neighborhoods.
Summer Pedestrian Sundays turn the area into a street festival of live music, murals and curbside stalls. One block holds Mexican spices and dried chiles, the next racks of retro leather and ’90s streetwear. Gift Shop remains one of Toronto’s great hidden rooms, tucked behind a working barbershop on Ossington. The beloved “Petrichor” layers candy cap mushroom, pu-erh tea and pine into an uncanny forest-in-a-glass, while seasonal sours spin quince kefir or pickled lime into bright, complex hits.
Creative menu items you can also sample include Birria Ramen, Pizadilla and massive Torta sandwich. If you’re a newbie to the art of eating Birria we suggest ordering the classic beef stew taco dipped in consome. Abraham Luna, who co-owns the business with his girlfriend Lluvia Minton, was 25 when he started serving his Toronto Birria menu, but he’s been cooking the mouth-watering dish since he was 15. The small food counter is located at the back of a slender food court at 214 Augusta Avenue.
El Catrin
Designers sell upcycled pieces beside family-run Caribbean and Italian food shops, while dusty bookstores and DJ-forward record shops round out the maze. Minimalist concept shops spotlight local designers beside Scandinavian labels, while Ossington’s side streets reveal bookstores, record shops and a modern apothecary scenting the air with small-batch perfumes. Mother sits near Trinity Bellwoods like a candlelit salon, all shadowy walls, jazz and jars of bubbling ferments glowing behind the bar.
