One of the best restaurants I have been to in a bit. If you have never tried crickets on anything, I do suggest trying it with the items that have the option. The interior is stunning and the service is impressively quick, especially of you are going for a light, nibbly lunch. The one star for atmosphere is simply because my friend and I got lost and went in the back entrance. Some extra signage for the entrance (at least the back one) would be a small addition that I would have found so helpful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Daniel Barrera
Excellent food and excellent service, authentic Mexican place. The waiters make you feel at home
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Brione Lacey
This is our go to place, especially for out of town guests who visit, because the food, drink and atmosphere are always phenomenal!Tonight we were served by Pamela, our favourite server at this restaurant. She is fun and vibrant and knowledgeable, and just brings the whole table’s energy up with her smile and great humour! Ask to be in her section - you won’t regret it!Pro tip: margarita flights are an absolute must and the guacamole is so fresh and delicious, it’s a do not miss! Plus, if you’re three or more, order a set of tacos each and share one to each other - you get to try them all this way! Also, churros with three sauce choices are just the chefs kiss!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gaurav Marchanda
I had been to El Catrin 5 years ago and had some really good memories. Experience this time was a bit disappointing. The food was very ok and not great for the high price. Drinks were fine though had too much ice and seemed watered down. Service guy was polite but not around most of the time. At one point I tried to flag down another service person who saw me, we made eye contact. She paused went back to add something to here touch pad thingy and then proceeded to just walk past me just ignoring us. Wow!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Masha Tupitsin
Authentic Mexican,but a little bit expensiveWhile waiters are super nice, the receptionist is a little bit rude
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
JUDY CINIELLO
I went with my daughter to eat at our favorite restaurant but it was closed on Monday. So, we gave El Catrin a try. Our server David is one of the best servers I've had. Just so well rounded and polite, making sure everything was perfect, and it was! The Guacamole, the Baja Fish Tacos, Lamb Chamorro, Mango Chai and the churros. I am telling my friends already to ask for David.My daughter and I went to the distillery and went to eat at El Catrin. David, the waiter, served us incredibly. Attentive, helpful and fast. He is also bilingual, he speaks Spanish.Delicious food! Fresh guacamole, fish tacos, chamorro lamb and delicious churros with cajeta. It's cajeta and not dulce de leche, which I loved.The restaurant has a very Mexican decor and a happy atmosphere. We will definitely return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Tommy Sachs
Great food and drinks! Our server Alyssa was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guac and Chips
Susan Fayez
A little pricey but a solid taco spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Tersia Prins
Came a little early for our reservation greeted by a very unfriendly hostess with so much attitude and asked if we could sit at the bar & order drinks while we wait. We were told no and that if we were to sit at the bar that is where we would need to stay. And if we wanted to be seated at the bar there would be a wait time.They also could not seat us early, totally understandable. And so we walked to the outside patio and asked the hostess there if we could sit at one of the many many open tables on the patio, order drinks while we waited for our table inside. There were just a few couples seated and no line. We were told no. Ok, second time our money is turned away.We head over to the oyster bar across from El Catrin. The service from the hostess, bar tender, and sous chef was incredible. Night and day. Friendly, gracious, just a complete difference from what we just experienced. I wanted to stay, but my friend was craving the food from El Catrin. We had some drinks, some oysters and left to return for our reservation.We get there for our reservation, about 5 mins late, and greeted by the same unfriendly hostess asking us to wait a few moments as she walked through the restaurant as if looking for a table for us. Which was supposed to be reserved! We waited for almost 20 minutes to be seated. No apologies for wait time, no courtesy, no friendly demeanor at all. Absolutely terrible.We get to our table, another 20 mins go by and we haven't even seen our waiter.All around absolutely terrible service.Food and drinks were spectacular, and it's unfortunate that their customer facing staff absolutely killed the whole vibe.Shout out to the kitchen staff and bartender.But really rethink your customer facing staff and training.Disappointed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
Kaitlyn Durkan
OH MY GOSH!!! ONE WORD!!! or name…ASHLEY!!! What a server!!! Explained everything sooo beautifully and helped us out so much!!! Thank you so much Ashley for the best night ever!!!! U r the best for taking care of us!!!
I've never written a negative review before, but this was too much for me. I drove over 45km because I haven't had the churros in years, and I was craving them. I told the girl on the phone 2 times! that I'd like fresh churros. I get there and 1) the churros were significantly smaller and 2) they were slightly above room temperature. I paid $40!! For 8 skimpy churros (Look at the picture and see for yourself). The whole ride home, I felt violated. I know the cost of running a business is high but damn.. this was a robbery.. I learned my lesson.. Next time I'll just go to Panchos Bakery in Kensington Market where the churros are fresh, tasty and affordable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Samira Shaikh
Great service and atmosphere, I ordered chicken tacos and Quesedillas but unfortunately the chicken was not fresh.however, we ordered nachos and the guacamol was very fresh as the server made it from scratch in front of us . Server was nice and helpful.I l9ve the atmosphere and location as well as Drink was awesome.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Jaime Flores Aristizábal
Noce atmpsphere, drinks a bit light on alcohol, mostly tequila cocktails, nice nachos
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Cathie Hillock
Love it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish Tacos
Pedram Nasseh
The food was excellent. Despite being busy, our server was exceptionally kind and helpful. The atmosphere, both inside and outside, was fantastic, and the washrooms remained clean despite the crowd. However, expect potential long wait times and linesKid-friendliness: Yes, good place for kids
One of the best restaurants I have been to in a bit. If you have never tried crickets on anything, I do suggest trying it with the items that have the option. The interior is stunning and the service is impressively quick, especially of you are going for a light, nibbly lunch. The one star for atmosphere is simply because my friend and I got lost and went in the back entrance. Some extra signage for the entrance (at least the back one) would be a small addition that I would have found so helpful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Excellent food and excellent service, authentic Mexican place. The waiters make you feel at home
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is our go to place, especially for out of town guests who visit, because the food, drink and atmosphere are always phenomenal!Tonight we were served by Pamela, our favourite server at this restaurant. She is fun and vibrant and knowledgeable, and just brings the whole table’s energy up with her smile and great humour! Ask to be in her section - you won’t regret it!Pro tip: margarita flights are an absolute must and the guacamole is so fresh and delicious, it’s a do not miss! Plus, if you’re three or more, order a set of tacos each and share one to each other - you get to try them all this way! Also, churros with three sauce choices are just the chefs kiss!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had been to El Catrin 5 years ago and had some really good memories. Experience this time was a bit disappointing. The food was very ok and not great for the high price. Drinks were fine though had too much ice and seemed watered down. Service guy was polite but not around most of the time. At one point I tried to flag down another service person who saw me, we made eye contact. She paused went back to add something to here touch pad thingy and then proceeded to just walk past me just ignoring us. Wow!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 2
Authentic Mexican,but a little bit expensiveWhile waiters are super nice, the receptionist is a little bit rude
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
I went with my daughter to eat at our favorite restaurant but it was closed on Monday. So, we gave El Catrin a try. Our server David is one of the best servers I've had. Just so well rounded and polite, making sure everything was perfect, and it was! The Guacamole, the Baja Fish Tacos, Lamb Chamorro, Mango Chai and the churros. I am telling my friends already to ask for David.My daughter and I went to the distillery and went to eat at El Catrin. David, the waiter, served us incredibly. Attentive, helpful and fast. He is also bilingual, he speaks Spanish.Delicious food! Fresh guacamole, fish tacos, chamorro lamb and delicious churros with cajeta. It's cajeta and not dulce de leche, which I loved.The restaurant has a very Mexican decor and a happy atmosphere. We will definitely return.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food and drinks! Our server Alyssa was amazing!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Guac and Chips
A little pricey but a solid taco spot!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 4
Came a little early for our reservation greeted by a very unfriendly hostess with so much attitude and asked if we could sit at the bar & order drinks while we wait. We were told no and that if we were to sit at the bar that is where we would need to stay. And if we wanted to be seated at the bar there would be a wait time.They also could not seat us early, totally understandable. And so we walked to the outside patio and asked the hostess there if we could sit at one of the many many open tables on the patio, order drinks while we waited for our table inside. There were just a few couples seated and no line. We were told no. Ok, second time our money is turned away.We head over to the oyster bar across from El Catrin. The service from the hostess, bar tender, and sous chef was incredible. Night and day. Friendly, gracious, just a complete difference from what we just experienced. I wanted to stay, but my friend was craving the food from El Catrin. We had some drinks, some oysters and left to return for our reservation.We get there for our reservation, about 5 mins late, and greeted by the same unfriendly hostess asking us to wait a few moments as she walked through the restaurant as if looking for a table for us. Which was supposed to be reserved! We waited for almost 20 minutes to be seated. No apologies for wait time, no courtesy, no friendly demeanor at all. Absolutely terrible.We get to our table, another 20 mins go by and we haven't even seen our waiter.All around absolutely terrible service.Food and drinks were spectacular, and it's unfortunate that their customer facing staff absolutely killed the whole vibe.Shout out to the kitchen staff and bartender.But really rethink your customer facing staff and training.Disappointed.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 1
OH MY GOSH!!! ONE WORD!!! or name…ASHLEY!!! What a server!!! Explained everything sooo beautifully and helped us out so much!!! Thank you so much Ashley for the best night ever!!!! U r the best for taking care of us!!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Baja Tacos
Restaurantji Recommends
I've never written a negative review before, but this was too much for me. I drove over 45km because I haven't had the churros in years, and I was craving them. I told the girl on the phone 2 times! that I'd like fresh churros. I get there and 1) the churros were significantly smaller and 2) they were slightly above room temperature. I paid $40!! For 8 skimpy churros (Look at the picture and see for yourself). The whole ride home, I felt violated. I know the cost of running a business is high but damn.. this was a robbery.. I learned my lesson.. Next time I'll just go to Panchos Bakery in Kensington Market where the churros are fresh, tasty and affordable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 3
Great service and atmosphere, I ordered chicken tacos and Quesedillas but unfortunately the chicken was not fresh.however, we ordered nachos and the guacamol was very fresh as the server made it from scratch in front of us . Server was nice and helpful.I l9ve the atmosphere and location as well as Drink was awesome.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 5
Noce atmpsphere, drinks a bit light on alcohol, mostly tequila cocktails, nice nachos
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 3
Love it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Fish Tacos
The food was excellent. Despite being busy, our server was exceptionally kind and helpful. The atmosphere, both inside and outside, was fantastic, and the washrooms remained clean despite the crowd. However, expect potential long wait times and linesKid-friendliness: Yes, good place for kids
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Mexican Street Corn, Baja Tacos, Salad, Tortilla, Beef Tacos, Birria