LA CARNITA

In following Toronto’s taco trend, a visit to La Carnita is a must.  Their Kensington market location is easily accessible by TTC and my girlfriend biked over from her Annex apartment. She was able to get a table easily before the dinner rush at 5:30 on a weeknight for our catch-up date.

Atmosphere: The restaurant’s pretty spacious with a full bar and a few small tables in the front and larger tables in the back dining area. Sitting next to the bar, my table got a lot of natural light and we were able to the see each order being delivered to the service window. It was a very casual and relaxed feel.

Service: Our server patiently checked in on us a few times to order since we were busy talking instead of perusing the menu. Once we got our orders in the food arrived quickly and when we added more tacos to our order, they arrived just as prompt. It took some time to flag down someone for the bill, but we weren’t in a rush so didn’t try too hard. Again, the pace of the restaurant at the time was very relaxed and they hadn’t hit their rush yet.

Food: None of the appetizers really jumped out at us and besides, we were there for tacos, so tacos we did. We ordered one of each taco from the menu and their daily special mushroom and corn tostada.

Both my friend and I loved the “in cod we trust” taco and had to order a second one. The fish was lightly battered and just melted in your mouth. I also liked the mushroom tostada, which had an earthy flavour and a hint of sweetness. The tuna ceviche was light, refreshing, not too limey and the tuna was a great texture. The tostadas  was crispy and not greasy, we did eat these ones first to avoid having them sit in any sauces for too long.

I felt the chorizo overpowered the toppings in that taco. It was still good but you could only taste the chorizo. The “beef cheek” was sweet and balanced well with the avocado and raw jalapeno topping. The fried chicken in the “pollo frito” was crispy and tender. This taco again was overall sweet, a little heat would’ve been nice. Lastly the “crispy avocado and frijoles” taco was just alright, I would order any of the other choices before this one, but it’s nice to see a non-meat option on the menu.