My first experience with Mexican food included deep fried ice cream in a plaza next to a mall. As you can imagine, it wasn’t the most authentic and I didn’t love it – not a great start. Things have changed. I’m a total Mexican food junkie. I love spicy and crunchy and both are usually part of a good Mexican meal.
I went with a friend to El Catrin on one of the last warm days of the year. We started on the patio, but it started to lightly drizzle – picture me sitting with a napkin on my head chugging my margarita. We asked the waitress if we could sit inside, maybe at the bar? She said no. Annoying…and wrong – we ended up at the bar. That was the best decision of the night. The bartender was super friendly and knowledgeable.
I had the traditional margarita and my friend had a beer cocktail. Both were really large and pretty tasty. Very fair prices for the huge drinks we got.
Classic margarita
They give you 3 salsas and lime at the start so you can add as you like. Since we moved locations, we got them twice. Both our original waitress and the bartender said they were in order of heat, but the order they gave them to us in was different. Is rojo hotter than verde or not? Anyway, none really packed the Mexican spice I was looking for, especially since there were 3.
Tacos con Tinga – make your own tacos with refried beans and pulled chicken. I enjoyed this dish, but my friend wasn’t really feeling it. It was a little too simple for her. I was loading on the limes so take that for what it’s worth.
Guac – mashed in front of you with a whole avocado. My friend ate it all fast. I’m not a fan of mush (nothing against El Catrin, just avocados), I had some chips and some of the salsas they give you.
Elote Placero (whole corn) – one piece of corn with chili butter, chili aioli and crumbly cheese. The presentation was much better than the actual taste. We had this during corn season so I had pretty high hopes.
Tacos Gobernador – Sauteed shrimp and lobster tacos with a creamy chili sauce. This was the spiciest and best for sure. The bartender said it recently won a Toronto contest. I believe it.
Tostado de Atun – my friend had both of these tiny tostados. Nicely seared pieces of tuna with guac. I think this was her favourite.
Finally, we had the Mexican bread pudding. Interesting flavour. Next time, I will try the churros. Or for $18, you can get 3 desserts plus caramel popcorn. A very intriguing offer, for sure.
At slightly more than $100 for dinner for 2, I found it on the high priced side for what we got. That’s not to say I wouldn’t go back. The patio is beautiful, the decor is awesome and it’s wayyyy better than the previous restaurant in that space.
Best: Gobernador. Spicy and well cooked seafood
Not the best: Corn. Hard to pay $6 for a single ear
not foodies. 