El Catrin

Inside the heart of Toronto’s Distillery District is a restaurant that boasts one of the best guacamole dishes in the world.  Hearing that we decided to pay El Catrin a visit to see what it was all about. 

My family of three including myself ventured down there during the Christmas time to check out Santa and of course this restaurant out.  We got there just before noon hour and we were very happy that we had done so.  We had no troubles getting a table however just minutes after the noon hour, the place was lined up all the way outside the door. 

Guacamole En La Mesa

We decided to get a little bit of everything which included at least a regular portion of the Guacamole En La Mesa to share, my young daughter had the Pescaditos ($9) off the kids menu, the wife had the Comida Corrada combo ($16.95) which she chose the Baja Tacos as the entrée and yours truly went with the Pastor Tacos. ($15.95)

Pescaditos

For starters, the Guacamole En La Mesa lived up to its name.  The waiter would come right to your table and mix a large bowl of avocado, chili, onions, cilantro and tomatoes right before your eyes. The mixture had a big of zangy taste to it and tingled on your mouth like no other guacamole sauce I have ever tasted before and if you ever run out of chips, they will bring you extra free of charge. 

Baja Tacos

Our entrees came next and personally I enjoyed the Pastor Tacos more so that than the Baja Tacos.  The baja tacos consisted mostly of battered cod mixed with coleslaw. The interior of the tacos was cold and for me it just didn’t have enough taste to it.  The whole taco was somewhat dry and there was little to no sauce in it.  Truthfully it tasted quite bland.  There was lots of coleslaw in it, maybe too much which totally overwhelmed the taco.  My Pastor fared better where the marinated pork, pineapples and red onions provided a unique zing to the taco and made the taco more juicer and more savory.  It was warm to hot and in my mind much more enjoyable.

Pastor Tacos

We were pretty full when we were finished even with the disappointment of the baja tacos.  It’s possible that the cod baja tacos were not as enjoyable since it was a cold December afternoon and eating cold food was  just not as appealing.  Not sure.  However, if one wanted to come down for happy hour and just have chips and guacamole, the price is reasonable and you surely won’t be disappointed.  Looking around, every, and I mean every table had ordered at least one regular size guacamole dip which showed how much this one appetizer was adored around there.  Overall I give it a 4 out of 5. 

El Catrin

18 Tank House Lane/55 Mill Street

Toronto, Ontario

 416-203-2121